European Journal of Orthodontics 10(1988) 187-191 <D '988 European Orthodontic Society

Japanese NiTi alloy wire: use of the direct electric

resistance heat treatment method
Fujio Miura, Masakuni Mogi and Yoshiaki Ohura
Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan

SUMMARY Japanese nickel titanium (NiTi) alloy wire possesses excellent spring-back proper-
ties, shape memory and super-elasticity. In order to adapt this wire to clinical use, it is necessary
to bend as well as to control its super-elastic force, and so a direct electric resistance heat
treatment (DERHT) method was developed. An electric current is passed directly through the
wire, thus generating enough heat to make it possible to bend it as well as to impart a change
in the super-elastic force of the wire. With this DERHT method, the excellent spring-back
properties of the wire are not diminished, and it is possible to apply an optimal force to each
tooth with a single archwire.

Introduction
Japanese nickel titanium (NiTi) alloy wire pro-
duced by the Furukawa Electric Company has
been the subject of basic research at the ortho-
dontic department of the Tokyo Medical and
Dental University since 1978. This wire possesses
an excellent spring-back property and shape
memory, and a unique quality called super-
elasticity. With super-elasticity the stress value
remains fairly constant up to a certain point of
wire deformation. At the same time, as the wire
rebounds, the stress value again remains fairly
constant. It was also reported that heat treat-
ment with a nitrate salt bath produces some
dramatic changes in these properties (Miura et
al., 1986).
These findings indicate that it might be pos-
sible to bend the wire into other configurations
and still be able to effectively control the amount
of force without completely losing the super-
elastic quality of the wire. The original method
was, however, too inconvenient to be of any
clinical value. A more efficient, direct electric
resistance heat treatment method, DERHT has
now been developed.
This report is focused on a practical heat
treatment method for clinical orthodontic use
and is divided into two parts:
1. Bending the archwire.
2. Controlling the amount of the force with
super-elasticity.
Material
1. Wire specimens
Five different diameters of the Japanese NiTi
alloy wire, 0.014, 0.016, 0.018, 0.020 and 0.022
inches were used. For comparative evaluations,
other wire specimens such as stainless steel (Tru-
chrome), Co-Cr-Ni (Elgiloy, Rocky Mountain/
Orthodontics), and work-hardened NiTi alloy
(Unitek Corporation, Monrovia, California)
were tested.
2. Heating equipment
The equipment for the DERHT method consists
of an electric power supply, a pair of electric
pliers and an electric arch holder (Fig. 1). The
electric power supply consists of a transformer,
a timer, an electric current meter and a foot
switch. The amount of heat can be controlled
by the amperage and the heating time.
Method and findings
1. Bending the archwire
Specifications for bending. The Japanese NiTi
alloy wire was bent using the DERHT method.
A 6 centimetre straight wire was held at
both ends with electric pliers and was bent
into a curve so that these two pliers made
a ninety degree angle. Electric current was
passed through the wire, which was heated and
188 FUJIO MIURA, MASAKUNI MOGI AND YOSHIAKI OHURA

Figure 1 The equipment for DERHT method, (a) electric pliers, (b) electric arch holder, (c) foot switch, (d) electric current
meter, (e) transformer, (f) timer.

(A)

10

0.022 inch
0.020 inch
0.018 inch
0.016 inch
0.014 inch

0 1 2 3 4 5 10 15 " 60 (sec)
Figure 2 The relationship between the length of time and the electric current value for archwire bending with OERHT
method.

memorized the new shape. Graph paper
was used to check whether the wire was bent
properly.
The relationship between the length of time
and the amperage at the moment when the wire
was bent to a 90 degree angle is shown in Figure
2. A longer treatment time required less current.
For example for an 0.016 inch wire, 1.0 second
of heat treatment required 5.5A. On the other
hand, for 5.0 seconds of heat treatment only
3.5A were required.
This study also revealed that the smaller
HEAT TREATMENT OF NiTi ALLOY 189

o
^ v . Rad./min.
Stopper
Grip
| 1 inch -|
Figure 3 Schematic drawing of a cantilever straightening
test.
the diameter of wire, the less electric current
required. For example, a 0.022 inch wire required
8.0A for 2.0 seconds, but a 0.014 inch diameter
wire requires only 3.5A for 2.0 seconds.
Testing the mechanical properties of the wire bent
to a 90 degree angle. Samples of 0.016 inch stain-
less steel, Co-Cr-Ni alloy, the work-hardened
NiTi alloy and the Japanese NiTi alloy wires
were bent to a 90 degree angle, around a
radius of 1.0 mm with a three beak plier. This
is called the cold-hardening bending method.
Impressions of these wires were made in hard
stone and the Japanese NiTi alloy wires were
bent to a 90 degree angle on these plaster models
by the DERHT method. Since the wires were in
contact with the plaster, the current had to be
increased.
A cantilever straightening tester (Fig. 3) was
designed in order to examine the mechanical
properties of the wire bent to a 90 degree angle.
These were tested by rebending the 90 degree
angle back to 0 degrees and then releasing the
wire to determine to what extent it rebounded
(Fig. 4).
The Japanese NiTi alloy wires which were
bent with the DERHT method rebounded to the
original 90 degree angle indicating a permanent
deformation of 0 degrees. In other words, it can
be said that even when an electric current was
passed through the wire and heat treatment
occurred under the conditions shown in Fig. 2,
there was no change in the spring-back property.
On the other hand, stainless steel wire and
Co-Cr-Ni alloy wire rebounded to a 50 degree
angle which indicates that there were permanent
deformations of 40 degrees. The work-hardened
NiTi alloy wire rebounded to a 75 degree angle
indicating a permanent deformation of 15 de-
grees. The Japanese NiTi alloy wire bent with
the cold-hardening bending method, rebounded
to a 55 degree angle indicating a permanent
deformation of 35 degrees.
2. Controlling the amount of force
The electric current of 3.5A transmitted through
the electric arch holder was applied to the

70 0.016 inch

60

50 DERHT method
Japanese NiTi
oo 40
The cold hardening method
•v
30 Co-Cr-Ni
Stainless steel
20 Work-hardened NiTi
Japanese NiTi
10

90 60 30
Deflection, (deg)
Figure 4 The results of the cantilever straightening test.
190 FUJIO MIURA, MASAKUNI MOGI AND YOSHIAKI OHURA
Anterior segment
A'
Premolar
segment Electric
arch holder
Molar
segment
Figure 5 The electric current was applied to A-A' for 45
minutes and B-B' for 15 minutes.
anterior segment of archwire (A-A') for a period
of 45 minutes (Fig. 5). The same procedure was
repeated by transmitting the same current to the
premolar segment including the anterior segment
of this archwire (B-B') for 15 minutes. As a
consequence, electricity was transmitted through
the section A-A' for a total of 60 minutes. The
ends of the archwire were not heat-treated and
so the molar segments remained unchanged.
The three point bending test (Miura et al.,
1986) was then performed on each segment
(Fig. 6). The super-elastic properties of the wire
became apparent above a loading of 280 gm
when the load/deflection curve exhibited a pla-
teau. At the premolar segment, the wire was
treated for 15 minutes and the super-elastic
plateau in the load/deflection curve was reached
at loads of 180 gm. The anterior segment which
was treated for 60 minutes demonstrated a
super-elastic plateau above only 80 gm. Thus by
using the DERHT method, it is possible to alter
the super-elastic characteristics of the wire in
any desired section.
0.016 inch
3 500
•a
to
2 /
0 0.5 1.0
Deflection (mm)
Figure 6 The results of the three-point bending test performed on anterior segment, premolar segment and molar segment.
Discussion
1. The direct electric resistance heat treatment
method DERHT method
It had already been established that when a
controlled amount of heat is applied using a salt
bath to a deformed NiTi alloy wire, a re-
arrangement of the metallic molecules takes
place so that the wire conforms to this new
shape (Miyazaki et al., 1982). However, this type
of equipment is bulky and is not suitable for
clinical use.
The DERHT method utilizes the electric re-
sistance of the wire to generate heat. In spite
of the resulting molecular rearrangement, the
mechanical properties of the wire\are unchanged.
The equipment involved in the DERHT me-
thod is small and light in weight. Unlike the salt
bath or the furnace where the entire wire has to
be treated, one distinct advantage is that with a
pair of electric pliers and an electric arch holder,
it is possible to heat-treat only the desired section
of the archwire.
2. Bending
Pliers and fingers are usually used to bend
orthodontic wires. This is a cold-hardening pro-
cess. The stainless steel and Co-Cr-Ni alloy wires
commonly used in orthodontics, which readily
undergo plastic deformation, are bent by this
method. It is difficult to bend some wires such
as the NiTi alloy wires, by ordinary bending
methods, due to their excellent spring-back
properties. Pliers have been specially designed
(Unitek Corporation, Monrovia, California)
and Orton (1985) reported the use of a triple
beak plier for this purpose. However, all NiTi
alloy wires bent in this way lose a significant
amount of their excellent spring-back properties.
Molar segment
^.^-r Premolar segment
Anterior segment
1.5 2.0
HEAT TREATMENT OF NiTi ALLOY
Figure 7 The super-elastic Japanese NiTi alloy wire can be
bent without any loss of the mechanical properties, (a) utility
archwire form, (b) reverse curve form.
The DERHT method of wire bending does not
diminish the mechanical properties of the wire.
Figure 7a illustrates an 0.016 inch utility wire
fabricated with a pair of electric pliers. An
electric current of 4.0A was passed through it
191
for 3.0 seconds. Figure 7b illustrates a wire held
at both ends with an electric arch holder and a
ceramic rod used to form a reverse curve in the
wire. An electric current of 4.5A was passed
through for 2.0 seconds.
3. Controlling the amount of force
There is an optimal force value for tooth move-
ment in orthodontics. Previously vertical loops,
electric reduction of wire diameters, etc., have
been used to vary stiffness.
In order to adapt the Japanese NiTi alloy wire
for clinical use, it is necessary to be able to
control the super-elastic force. With the DERHT
method, parts of the wire can be heat-treated
and, as a result, it is possible to obtain an
optimal super-elastic force on each individual
tooth with a single archwire. However, this type
of heat treatment is very prolonged at the present
time.
Address for correspondence
Professor Fujio Miura
First Department of Orthodontics
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku
Tokyo 113
Japan
References
Miyazaki S, Ohmi Y, Otsuka Y, Suzuki Y 1982 Character-
istics of deformation and transformation pseudoelasticity
in Ti-Ni alloys. Journal de Physique, Colloque C4 sup-
plement au nl2, Tome 43, decembre: 255-260
Miura F, Mogi M, Ohura Y, Hamanaka H 1986 The super-
elastic property of the Japanese NiTi alloy wire for use
in orthodontics. American Journal of Orthodontics 90-
1: 1-10
Ohura Y 1984 Orthodontic studies on super-elastic NiTi
wire. The Journal of Japan Orthodontic Society 43:
71-80
Orton H S, McDonald F 198S A simple sectional canine
retraction technique using the properties of nickel titanium
rectangular wire. European Journal of Orthodontics 7:
120-126