Provided is a shaft capable of suppressing a permanent set even when inserted into an extremely winding blood vessel, and a guidewire employing the shaft. A shalt 10 is twisted along a longitudinal direction N, having a cross section taking the form of an approximately rectangular shape in a direction vertical to the longitudinal direction N. Moreover, the cross section has a recess 14 recessed arcuately.

A connector having a constant helical configuration comprising; a wire body having an axial core (1) having a cross section comprising two-fifths or less of the circumscribed cross sectional area of the wire profile (35), two or three major radial fins (2,3) extending helically from the core, and a retaining head or clip.

A connector having a constant helical configuration comprising; a wire body having an axial core (1) having a cross section comprising two-fifths or less of the circumscribed cross sectional area of the wire profile (35), two or three major radial fins (2,3) extending helically from the core, and a retaining head or clip.

In a method of making a metallic thin wire (1), one single metallic thin wire (2) is prepared to have a predetermined length with a middle portion of the one single metallic thin wire (2) as a fixed portion. Front and rear half portions of the one single metallic thin wire (2) are twisted with the front and rear portions being symmetrically located at both sides of the fixed portion, while at the same time, applying a tensile weight (W) to the front and rear half portions in the lengthwise direction. The one single metallic thin wire (2) is processed with a heat treatment to remove a residual stress from the one single metallic thin wire (2). Otherwise, the front and rear portions of the one single metallic thin wire (2) is primarily and secondarily twisted alternately under the tensile weight (W) applied in the lengthwise direction. This provides the metallic thin wire (1) with a high rotation-following capability and high torque transmissibility, thus enabling artisans to usefully apply the metallic thin wire (1) to a main wire component (25) of a medical tool and equipment.

Method, applicable to two-dimensional wire bending machines for extension of their operation in bending to form three-dimensional wire frames, which is characterised by the application of a torsional moment along the axis of the wire and before the bending region, causing a permanet plastic deformation of the wire, by twisting it beyond the elastic region, with eventual result any bending action already occured in the regular plane of the two-dimensional bending machine to be positioned a new plane, which form an angle with the regular plane equal to the remaining due to plastic deformation angle of twist.

A wire-twisting machine for twisting individual wire-like structures into a cable, having a plurality of bobbins around which are wound the wire-like substance to be twisted, the bobbins being mounted on individual cradles which are supported at either end by disks secured to a common spindle, comprising: a drive mechanism having prime movers which are external to the bobbin-cradle assembly for controlling the speed of feeding the wire-like structure from its respective bobbin, thus resulting in constant wire-like structure tension, and another drive mechanism for controlling cradle rotation for fixing or adjusting the amount of twisting-back in said cable.

Apparatus for the cold working or hot rolled steel rod comprises a set of freely rotatable pulleys (18, 20) around which the rod runs. The set of pulleys as a whole is driven for orbital revolution. The rod is twisted in one direction as it enters the pulley system and is untwisted as it leaves. The rod is pulled through the pulley system by a rotatable coiler downstream of the system against braking effort imparted to the rod upstream of the system whereby the rod is pulled through under tension. Drive (24,26) for the orbital motion is from the coiler such that the orbital speed and rod feed are in a fixed relationship. Control of the transverse dimensions of the rod is imparted by a sensor downstream of the pulley system, the output from which is used to adjust the tension imparted by the braking pulley (34). The apparatus operates also to descale and straighten the rod continuously and is particularly useful in the production of steel rod for welded mesh in reinforcing concrete.

Apparatus for twisting a wire end comprises a wire holder, a twisting means for selectively engaging the wire end, a drive means operable to rotate the twisting means, and an actuator means operable to move one of the wire holder and the twisting means toward the other to allow the twisting means to engage the wire end. The actuator means is operable to move the one away from the other while the drive means rotates the twisting means, thereby twisting the wire end about its axis.