Which process is known to reduce the tensile strength of wires?

Annealing is a heat treatment process that involves heating the material to a specific temperature and then allowing it to cool slowly. This process helps to relieve internal stresses, reduce hardness, and improve ductility in metals, including wires. By doing so, annealing effectively reduces the tensile strength of the wires, making them more workable for various applications.

The reduction in tensile strength can benefit processes where increased formability is necessary, such as bending or shaping the wires for specific uses. This is particularly important in electrical wiring or when wires must be intricately manipulated during manufacturing processes.

The other processes, such as compression, hardening, and tempering, generally focus on increasing strength or changing the mechanical properties in ways that do not align with reducing tensile strength as annealing does.