Guideline Sets the Standards
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This wire guide is from a European competitor the poor inside finish is the result of their use of the “DOM process” (drawn over mandrel). Most tube manufacturers cannot effectively draw over mandrel under 1mm or .040” This means that in order to reduce the tubing further, a process called “sink forming” is employed. In sink forming, the outside diameter is reduced by drawing it through a die, causing the inside diameter to collapse proportionately
The three guides shown here all have an inside diameter of approximately .021” or .5mm
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From a US competitor. Here, again, we see evidence of draw lines.
Although the ID surface appears better, tube steel is often inconsistent and may require drill reaming or intense lapping to remove draw marks.
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Here is the result of our process in which we first gun drill the wire guide from solid tool steel. The machine finish after gun drilling is already below 1 micron Ra To further refine the bore, we use our abrasive flow machining process, which polishes the radius and the bore at the same time. Our target tooling fixtures guide the abrasive putty exactly where it needs to flow.