Method of making multiple diameter metallic tow material

Abstract

An apparatus and method is disclosed for an improved fiber tow having plural diameter metallic wires, comprising the drawing of a first cladded metallic wire to provide a first drawn cladding of reduced diameter. The first cladding is separated into a primary portion and a secondary portion with the secondary portion being drawn to reduce further the diameter. A selected mixture of the primary and the secondary portions are cladded to provide a secondary cladding. A plurality of the second drawn claddings is cladded and drawn to provide a third cladding of reduced diameter. The third cladding is drawn and the claddings are removed to provide a fiber tow comprising metallic wires having a major diameter and a minor diameter. The fiber tow may be severed into uniform length to provide slivers of metallic wires having plural diameters. The plural diameter slivers may be used for various purposes including a filter medium or may be encapsulated within polymeric material for providing an electrically conductive metallic layer therein.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.