Memory Metal Rigging - how to use?

[Thegreenmachine]

Hello,

I received some Memory Metal Rigging 0,12mm with my last upgrade set. Never heard of that before - just know stretch rigging like Ushi van der Rosten. Did anyone use that metal rigging before and how does it work?

[wefalck]

Any idea which memory metal is being used? Shape-memory alloys 'remember' the shape that was given to them at a material-specific temperature, can be bent or whatever and upon heating return to that shape.

I gather these wire have been stretched to be straight and now can be installed and must be slightly heated to straighten out.

I am not sure what advantage they would have over ordinary wire. May be just that any kinks can be easily 'ironed' out.

It would be important to know what temperature is needed for that particular alloy. The heat is probably best applied with a a hot-air soldering gun, where the temperature can be regulated down to 100°C. Otherwise, approaching (without touching) the tip of an ordinary soldering iron may be sufficient.

[Vladi]

Hi, I used 0.06mm nitinol wire from Shelf Oddity on my latest models starting with Kirishima. Pretty easy to work with. Main advantages over stretching materials are
- you can create sagged lines
- no stress on masts
- easy to cut the desired length and attach it with a tiny drop of CA glue
The only disadvantage is that I'd need a thinner option for halyards and thin antennae in 1/700 but I haven't found any source in reasonable quantity.

[wefalck]

There is silver wire down to 0.02 mm diameter on the market (apparently used for repairing printed circuit boards). However, it shiny silver. It could be blackened chemically though.

[Vladi]

Thanks for the hint, is it really made of silver? It would probably be too soft and easy to bend (unintentionally). The other advantage of the nitinol wire is that it is very stiff so it keeps straight (that´s the "memory" we want).

[wefalck]

Yes, it is silver, because of the high electrical conductivity.

There are not so many materials that can be drawn out or rolled to such thin diameters. Silver and gold are the most suitable metals, but are obviously very soft (which is why one can make such thin wires).

One could pry out single fibres from man-made fibre threads (e.g. fly-fishing threads) and stiffen them by soaking in a fast-drying lacquer/varnish.

[Vladi]

Good idea, thanks! I´ll give it a try in the future with 20 den fishing line.