Apparatus for extruding wires of soft metals under vacuum or inert atmospheres

A bakeable apparatus is described that was constructed for extruding wires from small ingots of soft metals like the alkalis, the alkaline earths, and the divalent rare earths, while at the same time safeguarding the purity of the sample material. The unit is completely enclosed yet small enough to be hand transferred into and out of an inert atmosphere glove box where load/unload operations are performed. Extrusions are effected with the apparatus outside the glove box but with the sample material under the captured atmosphere of the box or under a vacuum. Given an external heating source it is possible to carry out extrusions at temperatures above room temperature as well as in situ recrystallizations of extruded materials.