Apparatus for manufacturing metallic fibers, method of manufacturing twine of metallic fibers, twine of metallic fibers and method of coloring metallic fiber

A twine of metallic fibers formed by:

• plastically forming, in spiral shapes, units of two or four multi-metallic fiber wires which have previously not been subjected to a primary twisting, the multi-metallic fiber wires including a plurality of metallic fibers that are embedded in a matrix member comprising a metal or a metal alloy having a composition that is different from the composition of the metallic fibers;
• intertwining the plastically formed units of multi-metallic fiber wires in one direction to form a twine;
• and
• subsequently to intertwining the plastically formed units of multi-metallic fiber wires, removing the matrix member from the multi-metallic fibers,
• wherein the twine tends not to unwind, and
• wherein the number of fluff-like metal hairs generated on the surface of the twine is 10 or less per cm in the longitudinal direction of the metallic fiber.

A method of manufacturing a twine of metallic fibers, comprising:

• drawing a multi-metallic fiber wire, comprising a plurality of metallic fibers embedded in a matrix member comprising a metal or a metal alloy having a composition that is different from the composition of the metallic fibers, until a desired diameter is obtained;
• plastically forming, in spiral shapes, units of two or four of the drawn multi-metallic fiber wires which have previously not been subjected to a primary twisting, and intertwining the plastically formed units, such that a diameter of the resulting twine is larger than a diameter of a twine that would be obtained by closely intertwining units of drawn multi-fiber wires without spiral formation;
• and
• subsequently to intertwining the plastically formed units, removing the matrix member from the multi-metallic fibers by passing the intertwined multi-metallic fiber wires through electrolytes in a plurality of electrolytic baths which are arranged in series in a conveying direction of the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires, and by passing the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires through a plurality of feeding devices which are provided between the electrolytic baths in the conveying direction of the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires and which supply electricity and guide the drawn multi-fiber wires,
• wherein the electrolytic baths are arranged in the shape of a gentle convex arch, and the feeding devices are arranged in the shape of a gentle convex arch that corresponds to the gentle convex arch of the electrolytic baths, and
• wherein the twine tends not to unwind.

A method of manufacturing a twine of metallic fibers, comprising:

• drawing a multi-metallic fiber wire, comprising a plurality of metallic fibers embedded in a matrix member comprising a metal or a metal alloy having a composition that is different from the composition of the metallic fibers, until a desired diameter is obtained;
• plastically forming, in spiral shapes, units of two or four of the drawn multi-metallic fiber wires which have previously not been subjected to a primary twisting, and intertwining the plastically formed units, such that a diameter of the resulting twine is larger than a diameter of a twine that would be obtained by closely intertwining units of drawn multi-fiber wires without spiral formation;
• and
• subsequently to intertwining the plastically formed units, removing the matrix member from the multi-metallic fibers by passing the intertwined multi-metallic fiber wires through electrolytes in a plurality of electrolytic baths which are arranged in series in a conveying direction of the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires, and by passing the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires through a plurality of feeding devices which are provided between the electrolytic baths in the conveying direction of the intertwined drawn multi-metallic fiber wires and which supply electricity and guide the drawn multi-fiber wires,
• wherein the electrolytic baths are arranged in the shape of a gentle convex arch, and the feeding devices are arranged in the shape of a gentle convex arch that corresponds to the gentle convex arch of the electrolytic baths,
• wherein the twine tends not to unwind, and
• wherein the number of fluff-like metal hairs generated on the surface of the twine is 10 or less per cm in the longitudinal direction of the metallic fiber.