×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

(OP)
[copied from the Electrical Engineering Other Topics forum]

Here's a question about memory wire, also known as nitinol wire.  I'm looking for something that is difficult to cut, and extremely flexible.  I'm thinking that the nitinol wire meets my flexibility requirements, but I can't find a spec sheet that will tell me whether it will be easy to cut or not.

The application is a security strap that would be a rubber strap with a wire embedded inside.  The goal is to prevent cutting with ordinary scissors while it's worn on a wrist or ankle.  Flexibility is needed to allow it to wrap to different sizes, and high security is required to prevent removal.

I'd like to find something that meets these requirements and is smaller than 1/16" in dia.  Am I asking too much?  

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Why not use spring wire?

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Steel spring wire would be my first thought.
http://www.nationalstandard.com/prod_specialty_cap...
might be a place to start.  Steel spring wire is very strong and can be used very thin for your application.
If you want more flex you should look at low modulus alloys.  Ti wire is very flexible and strong.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Corrosion never sleeps, but it can be managed.
http://www.trenttube.com/Trent/tech_form.htm

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Nitinol is amazing stuff.  Although, I haven't seen a good spec sheet on this stuff either.  Seems to be proprietary??  Special Metals Corporation is a good resource.  

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

Jaysch:

The links in my previous post will give you a lot on the specifications.

There is a lot that is proprietary concerning the alloy, particularly in the way that it is made.  It is not an easy piece of metal to manufacture.  And yes, it does some pretty amazing things.

~NiM

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

NiTi wire is used extensively for braces (orthodontic).  You could check with some of the arch wire manufacturers, such as Highland Metals and G&H Wire.  They sell the wire in spools as well as cut and formed into arch wires, so they must know how well it cuts.

Jim Treglio
Molecular Metallurgy, Inc.

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

How about its applications in sheetmetal (at small scales)?? Also, how about pricing ...how much more expensive are they as compared to available choices of materials for sheetmetal work??

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

I know NiTi is so expensive and they are avaiable in thin film or thin wire form. Also the mechanical properties, such as young modulus, stiffnes are dependent on the temperature!

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

I've machined NiTi pins before, it cuts no worse than 316 SS.

RE: Memory Wire (Nitinol) questions

I think that you should have a try use superwlastic NiTi wire, which has low Youngers modle, high hardness and very big elastic strain, about 8%.

Share the newest technology with anyone for memory alloy materials and its applications.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources