On wire drawing lines that run wet — and especially where acid solutions are involved, as in copper plating tanks — the mechanical components work in one of the most aggressive environments of the entire production cycle. Chemical corrosion, abrasive wear and the need to keep an impeccable surface finish all add up, pushing traditional materials and coatings to their limit. In these conditions, the material the wire-contact parts are made of is no minor detail: it determines component life, finished-product quality and how often the line stops.

This is where Kersint® comes in: the sintered technical ceramic based on zirconium oxide developed by Paganoni, a division of Mario Nava S.p.A. that has specialised since the 1970s in anti-wear coatings and technical ceramics for the wire drawing industry. Unlike the other products in the range, Kersint® is not a coating applied to a surface, but a material from which entire parts or inserts are made.

Wet drawing and acid baths: an environment that tests every material

Wire drawing reduces the cross-section of a wire by pulling it through a series of dies. When this is done wet, the wire and the line components are immersed in a liquid lubricant; in the case of copper plating tanks, this is an actual acidic electrolytic bath used to deposit a layer of copper onto steel wire. It is a stage that is as delicate as it is common in wire mills.

In these tanks, the parts in contact with the wire and the solution — rings, cones, shafts, roughing dies — face three degradation factors at once: the chemical corrosion of the acidic environment, the abrasive wear of the moving wire, and the need to keep a very low surface roughness (Ra). Roughness is the parameter that measures surface finish: the lower it is, the less friction the wire experiences as it passes.

An unprotected metal part in this scenario tends to corrode and lose its finish: Ra rises, friction grows, the wire’s surface quality deteriorates, and maintenance work and downtime multiply. The cost is measured not only in spare parts, but above all in hours of stopped production.

Kersint®: a sintered ceramic material, not a coating

The single most important thing to understand about Kersint® is that it is not a surface layer. While the other products in the range are coatings applied onto an existing part, Kersint® is a super-sintered ceramic material based on zirconium oxide and rare minerals, from which parts or inserts are made in their entirety.

Sintering is the process that, through heat and pressure, binds the ceramic powders into a compact, homogeneous body. The result is a part that carries the properties of zirconium-oxide ceramic throughout its whole volume, not just on the surface.

This is exactly what makes the difference in chemically aggressive environments: however high-performing, a coating always has an interface with the underlying metal that can become a point of attack for corrosion. A Kersint® part, on the other hand, has no layer that can wear through to expose a substrate or detach: its chemical and wear resistance is an intrinsic property of the material.

The technical properties of Kersint®

The characteristics of sintered zirconium oxide translate into concrete advantages for anyone running wet lines and copper plating tanks:

• Excellent corrosion resistance in acid baths, thanks to the chemical inertness of zirconium-oxide ceramic.
• Negligible wear over time, even with the wire running continuously at high speed.
• A drastic reduction in maintenance and downtime, with a clear impact on production continuity.
• Very low surface roughness (Ra) that can be achieved and maintained over time, to reduce friction and preserve the wire’s surface quality.
• Stable geometries: with no coating layer to regenerate, profiles stay consistent for longer.

It is worth remembering that Kersint® expresses its full potential when the part is machined and finished to a very low roughness: it is the combination of material and finish that delivers lasting performance.

Where Kersint® is used: parts and applications

Kersint® is used to produce a wide range of parts, particularly those in contact with acid baths or requiring very demanding surface finishes:

• rings for copper plating tanks;
• cones for wire mills;
• rings for copper and aluminium roughing dies;
• multi-groove rollers for multi-wire machines;
• pulleys, wire guides and wire spreaders;
• bushings and shafts for copper plating tanks;
• sheaves with insert.

Its natural field of application is wet drawing, and in particular any situation involving an acid bath or calling for very low roughness. Where mechanical stress prevails instead — impacts, heavy slippage — the Paganoni range offers tungsten-carbide solutions, as we will see in the next section.

Kersint® and the rest of the range: how to choose

Kersint® does not replace the other Paganoni products: it completes the range, covering the situations where the critical factor is chemical attack or surface finish. As a guide:

• for dry drawing of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the reference is Kerblack®, a chromium-oxide coating, indicated when the main issue is galvanic corrosion or the presence of aluminium parts;
• for high mechanical-stress applications, both dry and wet, there is Wolside®, hot-fused tungsten carbide produced with HIP technology and a super-compact structure;
• for ribbed wire destined for reinforced concrete, the choice is Coldside®, tungsten carbide that can also be applied to already finished or worn parts;
• Kersint® is the choice when the environment is chemically aggressive (acid bath, copper plating) or when a very low Ra obtained on a solid ceramic material is required.

Component recovery and long-term performance

Paganoni’s approach does not end with supplying a new part. For components subject to wear on the pulling band — the area most stressed by the passing wire — a recovery service for capstans and pulleys is available, restoring the original geometries by depositing Kerblack®, Wolside® or Coldside® and giving the part performance that is often superior to that of a new, uncoated component.

It is an approach that combines economic benefit — recovery costs less than buying new — with sustainability, because it reduces scrap and the material and energy needed to produce spares. Every component, recovered or new, passes through the dimensional, roughness and final inspection checks set by Paganoni’s internal standards.

In short: where the environment is chemically aggressive and wire finish matters, Kersint® offers an answer that comes from the material itself, not from a surface layer. On wet lines, that difference translates into fewer stoppages and consistently high-quality wire.