Lead is a very soft metal and can be easily shaped into lead wire, lead ribbon or extruded into a variety of shapes of constant cross-section
Lead Wire
Lead Solder is often formed into lead wire for easy handling and storage.
Lead wire in highly pure form is commonly used in the semiconductor industry in chemical vapor Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) processes including Thermal and Electron Beam (E-Beam) Evaporation, Low Temperature Organic Evaporation, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Metallic-Organic and Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD).
It is also used in gas detection and thermometry equipment. Lead wire or round extrusions, are also used were any lead round diameter is required for turning or any other fabrication purposes. It can been used for lead weights or when flexibility of the metal is needed.
Lead ribbon
Most
lead ribbon is rolled for use in coating and thin film Chemical Vapor Deposition processes that are part of the creation of fuel cells and solar energy arrays.
Extrusion
Extrusion is the process of drawing a material through a die of the desired cross section, producing an object with a fixed cross section. Lead,
lead copper alloys and
lead tin alloys are well suited to the formation of products use extrusion.
A continuous lead extrusion process will produce an object of theoretically infinite length, while a semi continuous process will produce many similar pieces. This process allows for the production of very complex cross sections.
In a vertical extrusion process molten lead may also be used in place of billets. Large tubes up to 300 mm in lead alloys can be extruded over liquid metal
Lead and lead/tin pipes, pressure tubes (copper lead) and cable sheathing are typical products and applications.
