Machine for mechanical pickling of wires with the aid of rolling

An apparatus for rolling and cleaning small diameter metal wires being advanced into said apparatus, said cleaning apparatus being driven by independent means, comprising in combination:

• a supporting plane on which said apparatus is positioned a first set of rotary brushes arranged in pairs on said apparatus and being disposed at the sides of the advancing wire, said brushes in each pair having axes with the axes of adjacent pair of brushes being substantially perpendicular with respect to one another, each of said rotary brushes being flanged throughout their diameter so as to laterally compress and maintain alignment of the bristles of each of said brushes and being rotated by an independent motor in a direction opposite to wire feed direction, said brushes further defining an enclosed section or arc of about 180.degree. of the wire, said brushes having bristles with tips co-acting in respect of the advancing wire by a flange holding action formed at the interface thereof, wire rolling means downstream of said first set of brushes;
• a second set of said flanged rotary brushes arranged in pairs on the sides of the wire with each pair of brushes having axes and the axes of adjacent pairs of brushes being substantially perpendicular with respect to one another, each of said brushes being rotated by an independent motor in a direction opposite to the wire advance direction to define an enclosed sector or arc of about 180.degree. of the wire, wherein the bristles of said set of brushes coact with surfaces of the advancing wire in response to a restraining action by said flange restraining means formed at the interface thereof to permit a minimum and constant tip bending at a tangent with respect to the bristles;
• and counterweight pressure means for pressing said brushes against the wire penetrating into the brushes, without substantial spreading of the bristles of the latter as said brush bristles are being worn out.