How can I quickly and accurately form batches (10 to 100) of parts from mild steel wire about 3mm diameter ?
The parts are 3D with bends of several radii, about 200mm in the longest direction with a 0.2"diam 270 degree loop in one end for a bolt.
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I removed the resource hunting part of the question. – user6342345 Jul 26 '18 at 12:21
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1Are you able to post pictures of one of the parts? It may be easier for those small batches to 3D print out a negative mold and cast the parts. – Mark Jul 26 '18 at 14:31
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Yes here are handmade versions the two parts connected with a screw pivot. – user6342345 Jul 26 '18 at 18:25
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Did you Google wire forming machinery? – William Hird Aug 01 '18 at 12:16
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Yes it's mostly very expensive. – user6342345 Aug 01 '18 at 19:05
2 Answers
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A CNC bender would be the way to go for quality and repeat ability. Otherwise, you can try building some bending jigs to try and replicate some of the bends between pieces better.
Corey
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Thanks. This confirms what I decided to do. The problem was it was hard to find a CNC bender who could bend wire with features as long as my part, wire as thin as I needed, and would make small enough quantities. After an extensive search I found a few and will go with Western Wire Products Company, Fenton, MO. They can make 10 for prototyping for 500 dollars but can make 1000 for around 1000 dollars. Much easer than making them myself. – user6342345 Aug 09 '18 at 13:58
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- CNC - commercial
- Huge machines such as YF-CNC502. On Alibaba.com, you can order custom-bent wire.
- Pensa Labs (2D and certian types of 3D shapes). You can order free samples
- CNC - DYI (mostly 2D shapes): link link link (each has build guides and source files)
- manual - one joint - commercial: Du-Bro E/Z Bender, Almhs 11-0043A Mini Universal Bender, Falon-Tech bending device, KAKA Industrial Mini Universal Bender MUB 1, ...
- manual - one joint - DIY
- manual - no joints: wire bending jig; bending gauge
- manual - pliers
- manual - various types - DYI: 3D printed etc. link link
Round nose concave pliers have too little leverage.
The Du-Bro E/Z Bender's great.
root
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While this is not directly a link-only answer, I fear that if the several linked youtube videos become unavailable at some point, there isn't much left to the answer. – OpticalResonator Nov 16 '21 at 11:32
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@OpticalResonator Good point, feel free to paste screenshots into the answer. – root Nov 16 '21 at 11:42