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3D CNC Wire Bending Machine for Medical Device Manufacturing
3D CNC Wire Bending Machine for Medical Device Manufacturing
3D CNC Wire Bending Machine is used to form metal wire into different shapes in two-dimensional space.3d cnc wire bending machine It is often paired with other machining processes such as milling, drilling and threading. These machines can be ordered with a single or double head, and they can expand to accommodate accessory modules for chamfering, pressing, decoiling, marking, end forming and so on. They can also be fully or partially automatic. 3D bending machines are well-suited to performing machining operations on medium and long workpieces with many bends, as well as symmetrical or closed workpieces.
Medical device components made from wire stock often require complex features that cannot be achieved using standard machining techniques. These additional features can include knurling, slotting, axial holes, cross-holes and special turned diameters. These extra steps are usually performed using a CNC Swiss machine before the component is ready for the 3D cnc wire bending machine. This additional processing provides the necessary accuracy, repeatability and surface finish required by medical device manufacturing.
The resulting geometry is then formed into 3D structures by a computer numerical control (CNC) deformation process called Bend-Forming, which uses path planning and geometrical computations to derive fabrication instructions for arbitrary 3D wireframe geometries. This path planning algorithm is illustrated in Fig. 3 for a simple 3D bend path of four nodes. The kinematic model calculates an offset vector for each strut and a rotate angle for each plane intersecting the strut, based on the order of nodal coordinates, and computes a planar curve containing the node’s desired bend orientation. This curve is then recursively appended to the node’s base line until it reaches the desired geometry.
In this way, Bend-Forming can fabricate reticulated columns, shells and trusses from wire feedstock and mechanical joints. To demonstrate this capability, we fabricated the exemplary structures shown in Fig. 4 from 1 mm-diameter steel wire and desktop CNC wire benders, after adjusting for material springback. The prototypes were joined using zipties, solder joints or plastic snap-fit joints, and weighed in Table 1.
These exemplary structures are proof of the power of Bend-Forming, which combines a simple path planning algorithm with a robust set of fabrication rules and can be used to produce a wide range of 3D wireframe geometries in relatively short build times. This approach offers an alternative to the use of additive manufacturing methods that require melting the feedstock. In addition, the embodied energy consumption is significantly lower than that of additive techniques. In particular, this method could be used to improve the fabrication of in-space truss structures, which have a high compaction ratio, by enabling the rapid construction of complex trusses from a small volume of spooled wire feedstock. It could also be used to manufacture kinetic wire characters, compliant mechanisms and other complex wire structures on a smaller scale than is possible with existing machining methods. However, a key limitation remains the ability to reliably fabricate structures with a desired level of precision.
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