Machine for bending thin wire. Handicraft and industrial wire bending methods

Objects of various configurations and purposes can be made from wire. During operation, it is important to bend the material correctly, therefore, with a metal thread diameter of more than 1 mm, it is advisable to use special devices.

The main types of this type of tool, as well as how to make a wire bending machine with your own hands, will be discussed in this article.

If it is necessary to perform a small amount of work, then manual devices are used to bend the wire. For bending soft metal material or when the wire diameter does not exceed 3 mm, pliers or round nose pliers are used. These tools allow you to securely clamp a part of the product in one tool, and with the help of another, bend the wire to the desired angle.

Thus, it is possible to bend the material with the help of a carpentry vice. In this case, the wire is fixed in a vertical position, and the change of direction is also carried out using pliers or any other clamping device or mechanism.

If you need to make a rounded bend, then for this purpose any rod of suitable diameter is used, which is also clamped in a vice. A rounded bend will need to be made during the independent manufacture of springs from elastic wire.

To do this, it is enough to clamp a rod or pipe of a suitable diameter in a vice, fix the end of the wire on one side, and use pliers to wind the wire to the required number of turns.

If the wire has to be bent too often, then the most appropriate solution would be to purchase special fixtures or machines.

Tools for bending this material are a design in which the clamping of the wire and its bending is carried out due to the muscular strength of a person. Machine tools usually use electric drives, and for the manufacture of complex products, such machines are equipped with electronic controls.

Rules at work

Wire bending is not a difficult process, but to work effectively with this material, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. For work it is necessary to use gloves made of dense fabric.
2. Use only serviceable tools and automatic machines.
3. If a vice is used to perform this operation, then before proceeding with the process, it is necessary to make sure that the workpiece is securely fixed.
4. Before bending, the workpiece must be leveled.

The implementation of these recommendations will prevent marriage and injury in the event of a sudden release of material from the restraint. You should also take care of the wiring and proper grounding when using machines powered by electricity.

Equipment use

If the amount of work is large enough, then equipment equipped with an electric motor will allow a large number of operations to be performed. The use of machines will greatly increase labor productivity, but at the initial stage, it will take some effort to study the process of the wire bending machine.

The most economical machine for bending wire is bay equipment, in which the material is fed from bulk coils.

The process of bending wire on such equipment is carried out in the following order:

1. The wire from the coil is fed to the roller mechanism, which aligns the material.
2. Aligned wire enters the bending mechanism.
3. At the next stage, bending and separation of wire products takes place.
4. After cutting off the finished product, the process is repeated.

To make the work of bending the wire as comfortable as possible, CNC machines are used.

Despite the significant cost of such equipment, the return on investment in the business is made within a few months. Machines equipped with a microprocessor allow not only to fully automate the process, but also to perform welding of curved products.

DIY fixture

If the wire bending device will be used only for homework, then you can make a manual machine yourself. Do-it-yourself equipment will not be highly productive, but such a product will be quite enough to perform daily operations in a small volume.

For a homemade machine, you will need to prepare the following materials:

1. Sheet steel 4 mm.
2. Steel bar 20 mm.
3. Profile pipe 20*20 mm and 30*30 mm.
4. Two nuts 12 mm.
5. Steel pipe ¾.
6. Bolt 12*70mm.
7. Bushing from the jet thrust of the car VAZ 2106.

Also, to perform this work, you will need to prepare the tools:

• drill and 20 mm.

A do-it-yourself device for bending wire is made in the following sequence:

1. A rectangle measuring 150 * 80 mm is cut out from a steel sheet with a grinder.
2. Stepping back from the side of a shorter length of about 30 mm, exactly in the middle it is necessary to make a hole with a diameter of 20 mm.
3. Cut a piece 45 mm long from a metal bar.
4. Install a piece of rod into the hole made earlier and weld it on the back side.
5. Cut a rectangle 70 * 30 mm from a metal sheet.
6. Make two holes with a diameter of 16 mm in a 70 * 30 mm plate. The holes must be equidistant from the edges of the plate, and the distance between them must be equal to 20 mm.
7. Weld M12 nuts to the 70 * 30 mm plate so that they align with the holes made earlier. In order to perfectly center the nuts before welding, it is recommended that they be driven on the bolt, which should be threaded into the hole.
8. From the steel pipe ¾ cut a piece 45 mm long.
9. Weld a 70 * 30 mm plate to the resulting cylinder from a metal pipe, so that the pipe hole is in the same row with the previously drilled 16 mm holes. When performing this work, the plate should be placed exactly in the middle of the height of the steel cylinder.
10. Cut off a piece 400 mm long from a 30 * 30 mm profile pipe.
11. Weld a section of a profile pipe to a steel plate 70 * 30 mm. The metal connection is carried out from the side opposite to the welded cylinder. This way you get a lever with a cylinder and 2 holes at the end.
12. A piece 100 mm long is cut off from a profile pipe 20 * 20 mm.
13. A section of a profile pipe is welded to the edge of a 150 * 80 mm plate. It is necessary to position this element from one of the corners to the level of the previously welded metal bar.
14. Cut out a plate 70 * 40 mm from a metal sheet. This part will be designed to stop the workpiece, so it must also be welded to a section of the profile pipe.
15. The jet thrust bushing is put on a 12 mm bolt, which should then be screwed into a nut welded to the lever.
16. A lever with a sleeve is put on by a cylinder on a piece of metal rod welded to the bed.
17. For reliable fixation of the machine during operation, it is recommended to fix the bed on a flat horizontal surface using threaded connections or welding.

Wire bending is carried out as follows:

1. The workpiece is placed on the side platform in such a way that the front part is inserted into the gap between the central cylinder and the sleeve fixed to the lever.
2. The lever rotates to the desired angle.
3. The workpiece is removed from the machine, cut off and used for its intended purpose.

If the home-made machine was made of high-quality materials, and the welds were made at a professional level, then the device can be used not only for wire processing. In this case, it is possible to use the product for bending pipes, including profile pipes, with a diameter of up to 10 mm.

Useful video

Watch a video where a person shows how to assemble a simple design of a rebar bender for bending bars and a square:

Machines for flat wire bending are widely used by manufacturers of commercial equipment. The wire is fed from the coil, passes through the straightening block and is fed to the bending console, where the product is bent according to the specified CNC program. At the end of the bending process, the part is cut off by a guillotine. All operations are performed fully automatically. The machines have ample opportunities for the manufacture of flat products of any complexity: rings, frames, various open and closed contours, flat spirals. In order to obtain a 3D product, many customers use a press, thus having a high productivity in the production of flat products on a wire bending machine, the workpiece is placed under a 3D bending press, which ensures high productivity and good repeatability of the resulting wire product.

have a patented non-flatness compensation system. Actual for domestic wire, which, when unwinding from a coil, has internal stresses, the geometry of the product "twirls" and it turns out to be not flat (which is usually compensated in 3D machines by turning the console). UME bending machines have the mechanical ability to adjust the "reverse twist" of the wire, resulting in a completely flat product, without adjusting the bending tool or CNC program.

UME series wire bending machines have a turntable so that the operator can adjust the table to a comfortable angle (eg more vertical or more horizontal) according to the product geometry.

UME series wire bending machines very easy to operate and reliable. The CNC of the well-known company B&R (England) allows you to program bending modes, it is possible to program a batch of products, where several products are sequentially performed one after another. Both bending by rolling and pushing are programmed, with the transition from radius to radius.

Wire bending machine, model UME-40. Wire bending is made from a coil. Machines are most popular with manufacturers of commercial equipment and POS products. Wire bending is carried out according to the CNC program. Distinctive feature - high productivity, and also the inexpensive price of the machine and the tool. The maximum standard frame size is 600x600mm.

Wire bending machine, model UME-65. The wire is unwound from the coil, passes through the correct block and enters the bending and cutting unit. All operations are performed according to the CNC program. Machines are most popular with manufacturers of commercial equipment and POS products. A distinctive feature is high productivity, as well as an inexpensive price for bending equipment and tools. The maximum standard frame size is 600x600mm.

Wire bending machine, model UME-80. The wire is unwound from the coil, passes through the correct block and enters the bending and cutting unit. All operations are performed according to the CNC program. The machines are used for the manufacture of flat wire products of various shapes, both with small radii and with large (variable) ones. A distinctive feature of the machine is high productivity, as well as an inexpensive price for tools and equipment. The maximum standard frame size is 1000x1000mm.

It is difficult to say where wire products, which are a metal thread or a thin rod, have not been used today. Wire bending made it possible to give products any desired shape. Both with the help of both hand tools and mechanical influences on special equipment.

From a physical point of view, the process of bending a wire consists in the simultaneous compression of the inner and stretching of the outer layers of the metal of the wire. The process can also be accompanied by a longitudinal displacement of these layers, if twisting occurs. This technology of working with metal wire is widely used both in many industries and in jewelry.

There are several main ways to give the metal wire the necessary shape of the finished product, so we can distinguish:

• manual way of bending the wire using special tools and simple fixtures. It is used for wire with a diameter of up to 3 mm in the manufacture of simple products in ancillary production or household. As a rule, it does not require practically any financial investment and special knowledge;
• manual way of making jewelry from wire up to 2 mm in diameter. Requires special tools and fixtures, as well as certain knowledge and skills to work with precious metals;
• bending wire from a coil, which is based on a special device called an unwinder;
• bending a wire from a metal bar;
• bending by wire rolling;
• bending metal wire by pushing.

Wire bending machines

Mechanical machines for the mass production of parts and finished products from metal wire are widely used in industrial production. Depending on the method of technology for shaping the finished product, there are:

• A wire bending machine that manufactures parts directly from a coil. It is the most productive and economical option for mass production of wire products. This happens due to the fact that the coil with wire is installed in a special device - an unwinder, from which the metal thread enters the correct block. There it is exposed to a roller or planar mechanism, as a result of which it takes the form of an even and straight rod at the exit. After that, the wire enters the bending block of the machine, where, with the help of mechanical devices, it is given the necessary shape of the finished product. At the end of the process, the finished part is cut with mechanical scissors. As a rule, such a wire bending machine can produce one kind of finished product, which is determined by pre-installed mechanical devices and is limited by the ability to manipulate the feed mechanism. Therefore, the shapes of products produced on such machines are not very complex in configuration, since the number of bending operations is limited to five.
• A wire bending machine for bending wire from a metal bar is a more technologically advanced method that has a number of advantages compared to working from a coil. This is especially necessary when the finished product needs additional processing. This can be threading or stamping, which in this case can be performed only before the finished product is shaped. The disadvantages of such a machine is its need for an additional complex mechanism for feeding blanks and a relatively low overall productivity.
• The rolling wire bending machine is mainly used to produce various round parts and various types of round springs. For example, such a machine for bending wire by running in works due to the fact that the wire is fed through guide rollers to a shaft of a given radius, where, due to its rotational movement, it goes around the finger a given number of times. In this case, the wire is twisted along a given radius, which has a bending finger and running rollers. Due to the position of the break-in rollers relative to the central shaft, it is possible to set and adjust the bending angle or spring pitch. A wire bending machine, like other similar mechanical devices, is capable of producing only one type of product per operation. To change the range of products, both replacement and commissioning are required.
• Wire bending machine for bending metal wire by pushing. For certain wire parts, during their manufacture, it is required to give them complex shapes of certain geometric shapes, such as variable radii, irregularly shaped arcs, a spiral look, and the like. It is not very efficient to do this by running in, and sometimes it is simply impossible technologically. Hence, the only possible way is to use the wire pushing method. The principle of operation consists in the translational movement of a metal wire through a three-roll roll forming block or a special spring-coiling device, in which, due to the position of the rolling rollers, the finished product is shaped. As a result, you can get any given curvature or a smooth change in the size of the radius. The main difference between running-in and other bending methods is a more complex equipment arrangement that requires special knowledge during commissioning and maintenance.
• Straightening machines are used as an additional device in production lines for the manufacture of various metal wire meshes for and giving it a certain shape. Two technologies are used here: editing by the rotation method using a frame and editing using a two-plane straightening block. The two-plane block rules not very perfectly, but does not twist the wire. But the rotating correct frame has a more complex design, but many machine tool manufacturers still prefer its classic straightening block design.

CNC machines

The development of machine tools has made it possible to produce wire bending machines with one or two bending consoles. They can produce finished products not only in flat 2D shapes, but also in spatial 3D models.
The transfer of control of production processes to an industrial computer made it possible for the CNC machine tool to ensure the rotation of bending consoles in three-dimensional space in any given sequence.

Wire bending by CNC machines not only allows for higher productivity, but also for the production of products of different shapes just by changing the production program.

Do-it-yourself wire bending devices

In any household, metal wire is widely used, or rather, various products made from it.

Bending a wire with the help of a manual metalwork tool with your own hands allows you to produce a fairly large number of products necessary for the household, such as:

• clamps,
• brackets,
• hangers, etc.

But for this you have to use the softest and most ductile types of wire, so that you can easily bend the metal into the shape we need.

So, for working with wire up to 3 mm in diameter, round-nose pliers, pliers and a bench vise are suitable, and you can cut the wire with wire cutters or side cutters.
Such a set is quite enough to give the metal wire the desired shape and its subsequent processing.

Working with large diameter wire has certain difficulties. But if it is also rigid, then to bend it manually you will need to use special bending devices.

Of course, you can buy a ready-made bending device, but it is quite possible to make a tool with your own hands. How to make a do-it-yourself device for bending wire from available parts can be seen in the photo.

How to bend the wire into a ring exactly

In order to bend the wire into a ring and at the same time it turns out to be of the correct shape, you must either use a pre-made wooden blank of the desired diameter, or use a piece of metal pipe of a suitable diameter. We wind at least two turns on the template and make marks, while not forgetting to take an amendment for the thickness of the cut. Next, cut the wire and weld an even ring.

Wire bending, performed both manually and with the help of various tools and special equipment, allows you to give products from this material a different configuration. During the bending process, the inner layer of the wire is subjected to compression, and the outer layer is stretched. Wire bending machines, which today are presented in a wide variety of models, are very popular, as bent wire products are actively used to solve various industrial and household tasks.

In order to perform bending operations at home without any problems, it is best to choose a wire made of soft materials. It is possible to carry out simple bending of a stiffer wire, if necessary, using conventional plumbing tools:

• pliers (using such a tool that every home craftsman has, you can form a simple bend in the wire, as well as securely fix its segment for further processing);
• pliers (using this tool, which is one of the varieties of pliers, you can perform bending of varying degrees of complexity);
• wire cutters, or needle nose pliers (using such a tool, the wire can be cut into segments of the required length).

If it is necessary to make a product of complex configuration from wire using the bending method, it is better to first draw it on paper and periodically check with the sketch. To form the simplest figures, such a sketch can not be used. For example, if you need to create a bent product of a rectangular shape, you can do this as follows:

• The wire in the place of its future bend is clamped in a bench vise.
• The upper (not clamped) part of the wire is bent with ordinary pliers or a hammer.

As a result of such a simple procedure, a bend at a right angle is formed on the surface of the wire.

Manual bending rules

If you are going to manually bend the wire, you must adhere to a number of recommendations that will allow you to perform such a procedure without harm to your own health.

1. All bending procedures should be carried out only with gloves made of dense fabric.
2. The wire that is being bent must be secured in a vise as securely as possible so that it does not jump out during operation.
3. All tools and equipment that you are going to use for work must be in good working order and perform the functions assigned to them with high quality.
4. Heavy tools and fixtures that you use when bending should not be placed on the edge of the desktop, so as not to accidentally hit them and drop them on your feet.
5. Carrying out all the manipulations with the wire bending tool with one hand, the other should be kept as far as possible from the place of the future bend. Pliers and any other tool can break off and injure a hand close to the bending site.

It is possible to perform wire bending using improvised means only in small volumes, since such a procedure is quite laborious. In addition, this operation can only be used to create products of the simplest configuration.

To manufacture various products in large volumes, including those with complex shapes, allows a specialized machine for bending wire.

Working with wire bending machine

For the manufacture of a large number of bent products from wire, various methods can be used, for the implementation of each of which special equipment is used. The most common and economical is the bay bending method.

Bending according to this technology takes place in several stages.

1. The wire, which is wound on coils, is fed to a two-plane roller machine that aligns it.
2. After alignment, the wire is fed to the wire bending machine, on which the product of the required configuration is formed.
3. The formed product is cut off, and the entire bending cycle is repeated anew.

The use of this technology allows you to fully automate the bending process and thus achieve its high productivity.

A wire bending machine can also look like a fixed template, around which the wire is rolled using movable pressure rollers. Using such devices, it is possible to form bends of even the smallest radius on the surface of the wire, the value of which is comparable to the outer diameter of the workpiece. In this case, the configuration of the product formed on such a machine can be quite complex.

The wire bending machine can also work on the principle of pushing the workpiece through a system of rollers. When using such equipment, the end of the wire is connected to a special wire, which pulls the product through the working bodies of the machine. A wire bending machine of this type, due to the peculiarities of its design, makes it possible to manufacture products that differ even in very complex shapes.

When aligning the wire, a wire bending machine is also used, which in this case is used for straightening. The correct frames or two-plane correct blocks can act as working bodies of such equipment. At the same time, rotating regular frames are distinguished by higher efficiency, which is why they are used in cases where the alignment of the wire surface must be performed as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Types of professional equipment

The simplest type of professional equipment used for wire bending are machines with one console. Meanwhile, on such devices it is possible to produce only products of a simple geometric shape, the development length of which does not exceed 1000 mm.

There are several ways to bend the wire. The most common option is to bend such parts manually. Within the framework of industrial production, the manual method is not cost-effective and has numerous costs. In production, various types of wire bending machines are used.

Types of wire bending machines

Depending on the technology, several types of wire machines are distinguished:

• manufacturing parts from the bay;
• bending from a metal bar;
• bending in a rolling way;
• bending by pushing;
• cnc machines.

Wire making machines

The specified type of unit is used for mass production. Such wire bending machines have high productivity and cost-effectiveness compared to others.

The wire manufacturing process goes through several stages:

• an unwinder is taken;
• a bay with wire is fixed in it;
• two mechanisms act on the wire at once, one of which is planar, the other is roller;
• the wire becomes a straight rod;
• a straight wire rod is placed in the bending section of the apparatus;
• the output is a part that has the desired shape;
• the finished product is cut off with special mechanical scissors.

Similar is able to produce only a certain type of finished product. This is due to the presence in it of devices that are pre-configured for the manufacture of parts having a certain shape.

Units produce parts that are simple in shape and do not offer a wide variety of them. The number of bending operations on such machines is limited to five.

Machines for bending metal wire

This device is considered more technologically advanced than the previous one. The machine carries out additional processing of the finished product, which the unit does not do from the bay.

The device allows you to make stamping and carving on wire products.

This type of machine has two main disadvantages:

• differs in low productivity;
• requires the installation of an auxiliary workpiece feeder, which is characterized by a complex design.

Roll bending devices

Devices of this type are designed for the manufacture of round parts. The wire feed on the machine is carried out on a shaft with a predetermined radius. Feeding is carried out using guide rollers. A rotational movement of the shaft is created, resulting in the wire wrapping around the finger several times.

The device allows you to adjust the spring step and the angle of bending of the part. This is ensured by the position of the running rollers relative to the shaft.

This manual bending machine only makes one type of product. In order to change the type and shape of the manufactured products, a preliminary replacement of bending devices will be required. It will be necessary to perform commissioning work.

Push-pull units

The pushing method is used for wire that needs to be shaped into a complex geometric shape.

The pushing procedure is based on the translational movement of the metal material through the roll forming machine. The given shape of the part is given by rolling rollers. Instead of the roll forming device of the machine, a spring winding device can be used.

The equipment on which wire bending is possible in this way is complex and requires special knowledge.

Machines with numerical control

Progress in machine tool building made it possible to introduce CNC units, with the help of which wire bending became possible.

The machines produce 2D parts and 3D spatial products. The machines are controlled by an industrial computer. Thanks to the computer, it is possible to rotate the bending consoles in three-dimensional space in any sequence.

CNC units have high labor productivity. If you need to change the shape and type of products, you just need to change them on the computer.

Do-it-yourself options for bending wire materials

For bending, sometimes it is enough to use improvised tools. Much depends on the thickness of the material used.

For bending products with your own hands, having a diameter of up to 3 mm, suitable:

• metalwork vice;
• pliers;
• pliers.

The material is cut with side cutters or ordinary wire cutters.

Products with a large diameter will require the use of a do-it-yourself device. The assembly of the machine is carried out in stages:

1. a corner made of steel 19 cm long is bolted to the table;
2. a frame is made of a metal plate, holes are drilled in it;
3. a frame with guide rollers and handles is screwed to the corner;
4. a metal bar is selected to the bed groove;
5. several through and blind holes are made in the bar;
6. a handle and a corrugated roller are bolted to the bar;
7. plates are welded at the bottom of the bed;
8. the bar is inserted into the bed groove so that it slides in it, and does not fall out;
9. guide rollers are screwed;
10. the construction of the bar is screwed to the corner.

A hand-made mechanism will allow you to make products of a more complex configuration.