On Mon, 21 Nov, wrote:
I have watched a few at shows. Wow ! Really neat and Fast !

The one I saw was along the lines of this....
http://www.opton.co.jp/new_hp/overseas/cnc_wf.html
But, It didn't have the overhead unit shown there.

Already found that site...I wish they had some better pictures or videos,
though.

I watched one bend a "Flower" out of 5/16 or 3/8. They had a roll
feeder behind the machine, and the wire came thru a feeder, and on the
end where it came out, there was a rotary head that could spin 359
degrees around the end. This head was not sophisticated really, it just
had a few pins of fingers that would grab and bend the material as it
came right out of the feeder. I wish I could explain it better.

This helps, believe me.

You might see things better with this one,
http://www.aim-inc-usa.com/AFM-3Dx-T.htm

Well, one thing I didn't think about was straightening first. Hmm.

That whole front head spins on that "Circle" in the front. The wire can
stay stationary other than being fed out whatever distance is necessary
to the next bend.

One thing was, these "Flowers" were about 3 foot tall when done, so
they had a bretty large fenced off area so no one could get "wrapped
up" in that rascal as it flew around. Every time it made a bend, the
growing "flower" flung around like a wild banshee. And again, it was
FAST.

If I find some time tomorrow, I will look around for a link to what I
watched operate.

Thanks.

Regarding building your own, entirely possible. In fact, your best bet
would be to check into the DIY-CNC or CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO Yahoo groups or
try CNCZone and throw your ideas out there. People have built
everything from EDM to WaterJet to Laser, so it sounds like a fun
project !

I bet a 3d version of the machine, could use basic 3 axis G code as
well..... This would be a fun project no doubt !

Yeah, I know about the groups. Should post there soon. I've already got
some of the hardware bits worked out, but it's a very small percentage.

Thanks for the info!


--Donnie

--
Donnie Barnes http://www.donniebarnes.com 879. V.