How to bend steel wire - flagman-ug.ru

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

From a physical point of view, the process of bending wire consists of 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 for working with metal wire is widely used in many industries and in jewelry.

Homemade and industrial methods of wire bending

Wire bending made it possible to give products any shape. How this happens in production and how to bend the wire with your own hands - more on that later.

It is difficult to say where products made from wire, which is a metal thread or a thin rod, have not been used today. Wire bending

made it possible to give products any necessary shape. Both using hand tools and mechanical influences on special equipment.

What kind of wire to weave from?

Homemade things are always original. Wire weaving requires some patience, but a fun decoration can add to your own jewelry box or become an excellent gift for loved ones. Weaving is usually made from soft wire. Products made from copper and its colored variations look beautiful.

Skilled needlewomen can make jewelry from silver and even gold wire. Then the product already belongs to the category of jewelry and is valued much higher. However, connoisseurs of beauty can easily create something unusual from simple wire.

For needlework, it is better to use copper, brass, or aluminum wire.

Galvanized iron material is also suitable. The easiest way to work is with copper; it is recommended for beginning craftsmen without experience. This metal does not oxidize, so the jewelry or decorative item will last for many years.

Rough wire can be combined with various beads and stones. This allows you to make the appearance of the finished product more elegant and interesting.

It is worth noting that not only jewelry can be woven from wire. Handmade objects made from this material will decorate the interior of any home.

Methods for bending metal wire

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

manual method of bending wire using special tools and simple devices. It is used for wire with a diameter of up to 3 mm in the manufacture of simple products in utility production or households. As a rule, it does not require virtually any financial investment or special knowledge;
manual method of making jewelry from wire up to 2 mm in diameter. Requires special tools and devices, as well as certain knowledge and skills for working with precious metals;
bending wire from a coil, which is based on a special device called an unwinder;
bending wire from a metal rod;
bending using wire rolling method;
bending metal wire using the pushing method.

History of wire use

People began using it as a material for creativity and creating necessary household items 3000 BC. Archaeologists have been able to establish that in Sumer (around 2600 BC.

) wire was used to make women's hair ornaments, which were gold and silver ribbons.

Over time, it began to be used to make chain mail, candlesticks, horse brushes and other things.

But where did the craftsmen get the wire suitable for such products? Initially, it was created in a rather labor-intensive way: sheets of metal were cut into thin strips, then twisted together and rolled between two flat sheets.

The second way to obtain it was also to wind thin metal strips onto a round core. Today, it is produced by drawing it through special conical molds, which is why the method of its production is called drawing.

Most often, wire weaving involves the use of copper wire, which has a beautiful appearance and color. In addition, wire made of brass, steel, silver and aluminum is used in needlework. In addition to everything on sale, you can find wire with an additional coating (an alloy of other metals), which allows you to change its color.

Also, an important characteristic of any wire is its diameter. Handmade products use wire with a diameter of 0.2 to 2.0 mm.

Even though today there are a large number of special devices and devices, working with wire can hardly be called simple. After all, in order to create the simplest jewelry, the master needs to have on hand:

Pliers
Side cutters
Round nose pliers
Anvil
Device for winding springs
Hammer
and Jig-Wig (a plate with rows of holes and special nozzles of various diameters)

Each of the above tools must be used correctly. And this, of course, takes time. Therefore, you should not expect that everything will work out the first time.

However, the presence of such difficulties does not mean that wire is an unpopular material among needlewomen.

On the contrary, it enjoys special attention among handmade craftsmen, because it makes it possible to create complex, exclusive jewelry, the likes of which cannot be found.

Well, now let’s get down to the fun part and tell you what you can create from wire. First of all, these are, of course, earrings, bracelets, rings and all kinds of necklaces and pendants. The variety of weaving techniques, as well as their combination with bright stones and other decorative elements, allows you to create a large number of different women's jewelry.

They all differ in design style, so they can be selected for a wide variety of occasions.

For example, this is what earrings might look like:

Most of them have a complex curled shape. Some are made in the form of small studs, while others, on the contrary, are made in the form of large and massive earrings. Here are some examples:

As already mentioned, chains and pendants are often made from wire. Chains can have completely different shapes and diameters, which completely depends on the chosen weaving technique. In addition, needlewomen often like to complement them with unusually shaped pendants, which together look cute and quite original.

As for pendants, they can either consist entirely of wire or be a cabochon braided with it. The choice of one or another method of creating a pendant or pendant depends entirely on the imagination of the master and the materials at his disposal.

If desired, you can also make complete sets of jewelry from wire. Below is a video tutorial on how this is done in practice. During it, you can see what it takes for a master to create even a seemingly very basic decoration with his own hands:

Wire rings:

However, you should not assume that the wire is no longer good for anything. In the handmade world, everything is possible. That’s why in many homes you can see wicker trees, coasters, candlesticks, bottle holders, decorative figurines and many other wire products.

Alternatively, it could be these cute butterflies and dragonflies:
All of them fit perfectly into a modern interior, and can also be selected to decorate a house decorated in any other style.

Wire bending machines

A wire bending machine that produces 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 of 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 plane mechanism, as a result of which the output takes the form of an even and straight rod. After this, the wire enters the bending unit of the machine, where, with the help of mechanical devices, it is given the required shape of the finished product. At the end of the process, the finished part is cut with mechanical scissors. Typically, such a wire bending machine can produce one type of finished product, which is determined by pre-installed mechanical devices and 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 rod is a more technologically advanced method, which has a number of advantages compared to working from a coil. This is especially necessary when the finished product requires additional processing. This can be threading or stamping, which can only be done until the finished product is shaped. The disadvantages of such a machine are its need for an additional complex mechanism for feeding workpieces and relatively low overall productivity.

Useful video

Watch the video where a man shows how to assemble a simple structure of a reinforcement bender for bending rods and squares:

The second video shows an overview of the mechanism for bending wire and curling hooks:

Conclusion

What is used for bending wire is described in detail in the article. To work with this material, you can use both simple tools and complex installations that allow you to perform a large number of operations per minute.

If you have a limited budget, you can independently make a mechanical device that will not be inferior in quality to factory products.

Do-it-yourself wire bending devices

Bending wire with your own hands using hand tools allows you to produce a fairly large number of household products, such as:

But for this we have to use the softest and most flexible types of wire, so that we 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 vice are suitable, and you can cut the wire with wire cutters or side cutters. This 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’s quite possible to make the tool yourself. How to make a device for bending wire with your own hands from available parts can be seen in the photo.

Weaving features

Working with wire cannot be called easy, even taking into account the existence of many devices for this type of needlework. To create a simple product, you will need the following tools:

side cutters;
thin-nosed pliers and round-nose pliers;
anvil;
device for winding springs;
small hammer;
Wig Jig (plate with holes and attachments).

All of these items require utmost care and skill to use.

Wire crafts for children are simpler, but the result is less fascinating. Wire can be used to make jewelry and various interior decorations, such as trees. Homemade baskets in which you can put fruits or sweets look original.

Selling most products requires experience and constant honing of skills. There is no point in trying to do something complicated the first time: the result may not please you.

It is recommended to start with light products in order to gain experience and not destroy your motivation.

Wire is very popular among craftswomen because it allows you to create a wide variety of objects with different purposes.

Tools and accessories

Metalworking tools are used to process wire. Various operations are performed with a specific tool. The bent wire is straightened with a mallet. A thin wire is straightened on a round wooden block, clamped in a vice, by pulling it along the edge.

Rings and smooth bends are made with round nose pliers (a),

pliers are used to bend the wire at different angles (b

For cutting use nippers ( in

). Round nose pliers, pliers and wire cutters are distinguished by the shape of the jaws - the working part of the tool.

Thick wire is cut with a chisel (g

) on a metal plate.

When cutting wire, the edges turn out to be uneven; they are cleaned with files ( d

), which can be different both in shape and in the size of the notch.

Measure the wire with a metal ruler ( e

Soft copper wire bends and cuts easily, but it is not elastic and is not suitable, for example, for springs and hooks.

For many products you will need iron wire - thin galvanized and thicker, so-called “furnace” wire.

Hooks and springs can be made from PK grade steel wire or from balalaika strings.

Wire supplies are stored by winding them in circles. Such turns of wire are called piles.

How to cut and bend wire

Wire, especially copper and iron, bends easily. To make something out of wire, you first need to straighten it. Short lengths of wire are straightened on an anvil, a thick piece of iron, or an inverted iron. First, tap all the bends with a hammer, and then run it along the entire length of the wire back and forth, pressing it against the anvil. Iron and aluminum wires are straightened with a metal hammer, and softer copper wires are straightened with a mallet.

A long wire is straightened by pulling. For example, it is threaded through a door handle and pulled through, holding both ends firmly with your hands. If you have to work with wire often, it is better to make a special device for straightening it. A row of nails is driven into a thick board, a wire is passed between them and pulled through.

They cut thin iron and copper wire with wire cutters, squeezing them with their hands. The steel wire at the cut site is preheated over a fire, which makes it softer. Otherwise, it is difficult to bite off a hard steel wire, and the pliers become damaged: their sharp jaws end up with jagged edges. You should bite the steel wire with the edges of the jaws, not the middle. If you end up with a jagged edge, it won't be so bad at the edge. It happens that the wire cutters “do not take” the wire: the student is not strong enough to bite it off. In such cases, you cannot hit the pliers with a hammer - it will be so easy to damage and even break them. A thick or hard wire can be cut with a chisel or filed with the sharp edge of a file (triangular) and then broken with your hands, bending and unbending several times in this place. A thin wire is bent at a right angle in your hands with pliers. Thick wire is clamped in a vice and bent with a hammer or mallet. Do not hit the vice with a metal hammer, as it may break.

The ears and wire rings are bent with round pliers. And to bend a regular large circle, select a rod, metal pipe or round log of the appropriate diameter.

Spiral springs are wound on round rods (for example, on a thick nail). It is most convenient to clamp the rod together with the end of the wire in a vice. When winding the wire, it is constantly pulled tight and tightly laid one turn to another without gaps. The excess end of the wire is cut off with wire cutters. If the wound spiral is cut to length, it breaks up into separate cut rings. It is easy to make a chain from such rings. You can cut the spiral with a fine-toothed hacksaw or the sharp edge of a file if the wire is thin. The teeth of the hacksaw are pre-lubricated with machine oil.

Steel wire is very elastic. After bending, it diverges somewhat. Therefore, in order to bend the steel wire at a right angle, it must be bent a little more. And to get a spiral of steel wire of the required diameter, the rod is taken a little thinner. Copper and iron wire, after bending, retains its shape and does not diverge.

Iron wire comes in different hardnesses and can sometimes be difficult to bend. Hard-to-bend wire is first annealed over a fire and then allowed to cool in air to make it flexible.

Rice. 55. Techniques for working with wire:

1, 2, 3

— methods of straightening wire;
4
- bending the wire at an angle;

- bending the ear;
6
- bending the ring;
7
— spring winding;
8
- rings and chains made of wire spiral.

The cooled wire, covered with scale, is cleaned with sandpaper. Bent iron wire can be hardened - made hard again. To do this, it is heated over a fire and immediately lowered into cold water.

Making jewelry

Even the simplest weaving technique allows you to make an unusual product with your own hands. It is possible to make keychains, crowns, models from intricate patterns and figures. Jewelry is usually created from wire-braided beads. It looks original and is suitable for various events. Simple patterns for beginners will allow you to weave your first product. It is recommended to start with something easy. Rings and pendants are quite easy to create.

The work does not take much time, so it can easily be completed in one go.

It is with such products that it is recommended to begin mastering this type of needlework. To create a ring, you should prepare the following materials and tools:

copper wire;
large bead;
pliers and tools with curved edges;
cylindrical object.

The latter must correspond to the diameter of the finger. It is on this basis that weaving will be made. Now let's see what a step-by-step master class looks like.

Take a piece of copper cord measuring 15-20 cm.
Place a bead or other decoration in the middle of the piece.
Wind the wire onto the cylinder. There should be three turns. It is important that the ends of the wire stick out in different directions.
Take the tail and pull the copper cord tightly. Make three entwinements around the bead. Each next turn should be lower than the previous one.
Make turns on each side of the ring. The wire must be pulled as tightly as possible.
Flatten the tip of the copper material using pliers and press it against the ring. It is important to place the end on the outside. Otherwise, the wire may injure your finger.
Press the loops as tightly as possible to each other.

The product is created using the Wire Wrap technique. It is easy to learn, so it is suitable for professionals without experience. The following materials and tools should be prepared:

copper wire with a cross section of 2 mm - 30 cm;
the same wire, but with a cross-section of 0.7 mm - 60 cm;
small beads – 12 pcs.;
pliers;
hammer;
ruler;
round nose pliers.

The work doesn't take much time. You must proceed according to the following instructions.

Take the thick wire by the end with round pliers.
Wind the copper into a spiral in increments of 2-3 mm. The last turn should be 5 mm wide.
Bend the end of the cord into a loop.
Flatten the spiral. To do this, tap it with a hammer. It is important not to damage the coating on the material.
Attach a thin wire to the loop.
Make turns with beads in the center on the last row of the flattened spiral.
Nibble off the remaining cord and flatten the tip using pliers. Press firmly onto the pendant from the outside.

Types of wire bending machines

[Wire bending] is one of the ways to give it a new shape using manual or mechanical action using special equipment.

The bending itself occurs due to the compression of the inner layer, due to which the outer layer can be stretched and bent. Such technological work is in great demand, as is equipment for manual bending.

You can create products from bent wire with your own hands.

In this case, it is advisable to choose softer plastic materials for the process so that the wire can bend easily and doing the work with your own hands does not create difficulties.

If the wire is rigid and has a large diameter, then to process it manually you need to use certain tools:

using pliers you can create a small bend of a few mm; they are also convenient for fixing material for subsequent processing;
You can cut the wire into separate parts with wire cutters or needle-nose pliers;
pliers (a type of pliers) are considered one of the most convenient and versatile tools for bending wire with your own hands.

Before you start manually bending the material for the rings, it is better to create a certain template on paper and periodically check it as you work. Simple shapes can be made without templates.

For example, to create a regular rectangular clamp, it is enough to first clamp part of the wire with a bench vice, and bend the remaining piece at a right angle using pliers or a hammer.

Wire crafts. What do you need to know?

Before you start making your own wire products, it is recommended to study photos of DIY wire crafts on the Internet. This will make sure that such products look quite original and can become an excellent interior decoration.

Wire is a material characterized by a high level of flexibility, as a result of which it practically does not break, which means you can turn even the most complex ideas into reality, giving the craft one shape or another.

From wire you can create crafts not only for the home, but also for the garden. For example, it could be flowers, trees.

Rules for manual bending

When performing manual wire bending work with your own hands, you should adhere to certain safety rules that can protect your hands from possible injuries:

Before starting work, it is advisable to put on gloves made of thick, dense fabric;
Materials should be well secured so that they do not jump out of the vice during bending;
All machines and tools for manual work must be in good working order;
Do not place heavy objects on the edge of the table (for example, if you hit the pliers, you can drop them on your leg and get a noticeable bruise, or even injury to your fingers);
When working with the wire with one hand, try to keep the other away from the bend (the pliers can break off and injure your hand).

Safety rules will protect your hands, but the DIY bending process itself is still quite complex and time-consuming. You can bend products by hand only if you have certain experience and knowledge.

Special equipment helps bend wire in large volumes. Let's study it in more detail.

Making a bracelet

A simple weaving that does not involve soldering each individual link and involves working with a large piece of wire can be called Viking Knit. In this technique, each subsequent link in the chain must be artificially increased until the entire chain is closed. It’s not difficult to make a beautiful wire bracelet with your own hands. To do this you will need to acquire:

Thin copper wire.
Scissors.
Metal ruler.
With a simple pencil.

Processing methods

If we talk about bending wire on a large scale (in production or a specialized plant), then various methods are used to plastically deform it.

One of the most common and economical is the bay processing method.

In this case, wire rings are wound onto coils, and then they are fed to two-plane roller machines that straighten the wire.

Afterwards, the material is processed on bending equipment (the required shape is created), at the end the wire is cut, and the entire work cycle is repeated again.

Moreover, all work is fully automated, which allows you to save time and money and use the device to create a simple curved structure with a development length of about 1000 mm.

For rolling wire with your own hands, there are special devices that consist of fixed templates of certain radii of curvature (the radius can be one or several).

The material is rolled around the created template using pressure rollers.

Basically, this technology is used to create bent products that have a small bending radius (about the same as the diameter of the wire).

The method of pushing the wire is reminiscent of the way 3-roll equipment works on a profile bending and spring-coiling machine.

The material is pushed into the device using a special wire, then it is pressed against various rollers, which makes it possible to change the bending parameters and make transitions to different radii.

This device allows you to bend various structures that have a complex configuration and large bending radii on the development - from 1000 mm or more.

You can straighten the wire using straightening equipment or a special device. This equipment includes units consisting of rotating leveling frames or two-plane leveling blocks.

In this case, rotating frames are preferable, as they allow the material to be aligned more smoothly.

Execution technique

To make a wire bracelet with your own hands, you must first decide on the weaving technique, because the result will depend on it. After which you need to draw up a step-by-step action plan, select the decor, and then start weaving.

Let's take a closer look at the different methods and features of their implementation.

Weaving. A braid is made from several pieces of wire, which will eventually need to be flattened to create a more stylish effect, as well as for better fixation.
To make a braid, you need to take several thick wire elements and thin wire. Depending on your preferences, you can wrap thin wire around thick parts, connecting them together and forming an original pattern.
Bending and forging are ideal for creating openwork elements. Thick wire is bent to form the desired pattern, then flattened with a hammer, thereby fixing the bends and intersections of the parts.
Decoration - thanks to this technique, beads, seed beads and other decoration elements can be woven into wire patterns.
Often, bracelets are made from individual links connected to each other.

To better understand the technology for making wire bracelets, let's look at step-by-step examples using simple options.

Minimalistic bracelet without clasp

To make this product, you need to measure a piece of wire according to the volume of your wrist, as well as pieces to create a decorative element.

The main decor consists of spiral-shaped details at the ends of the bracelet, which are made using bending and forging, and metal beads are attached to the product using braiding technology.

Bracelet with original clasp

To make this product, you will need a piece of thick wire corresponding to the circumference of your wrist, a thinner wire with a reserve, pliers and a hammer.

The surface of the bracelet itself is made using the braiding technique, and both ends are bent into loops that will serve to attach the clasp. The end of a piece of thinner wire must be threaded into one of the resulting loops, after which the piece is twisted into a spiral at one end and into a hook at the other. We fix everything with a hammer. The resulting hook and free loop form a clasp.

Professional equipment

If only the simplest devices (vises, pliers) are used to bend wire on their own, then for mass industrial processing of the material professional machines are used (for example, for the production of key rings or springs for handles).

A wire bending machine with one bending console is one of the simplest and makes it possible to create bent products of simple shapes. The length of the sweep in this case should not exceed 1000 mm.

Double-cantilever machines can work with a reaming length of more than 1000 mm.

The material is cut into the required pieces, then it is deformed from both ends simultaneously.

Such equipment allows you to create products with a large number of bends. Machines with only one console can no longer perform this work.

Also, on double-console machines you can make figures with closed bends.

Wire bending on so-called 3D machines is becoming more and more popular these days.

Three-dimensional spatial bending can be done using a rotary bending console, which is controlled by an automated system.

Unfortunately, such material processing is quite expensive, so parts are mainly created using simple flat bending, and then, if necessary, individual parts are automatically welded.

But due to welding seams, products become more fragile and short-lived, so their cost is relatively budget-friendly.

How to bend steel wire?

Wire bending, performed either manually or using various tools and special equipment, allows products made from this material to be given different configurations.

During the bending process, the inner layer of the wire is subjected to compression, and the outer layer is subjected to tension.

Wire bending machines, which today are presented in a wide variety of models, are very popular, since bent wire products are actively used to solve various industrial and household problems.

The simplest device for bending wire

To perform bending operations at home without any problems, it is best to choose wire made from soft materials. Simple bending of stiffer wires, if necessary, can be carried out using ordinary plumbing tools:

pliers (with the help of such a tool, which 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 types 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 pieces of the required length).

Simple techniques for manual wire bending

If you need 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 the sketch. To form the simplest figures, such a sketch does not need to be used. For example, if you need to create a bent product of a rectangular shape, you can do this as follows:

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

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

To produce a large number of similar wire parts, templates and homemade devices are used.

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 complete this procedure without harm to your own health.

All bending procedures should be carried out only with gloves made of thick fabric.
The wire that is being bent must be secured in a vice as securely as possible so that it does not jump out during operation.
All tools and equipment that you are going to use for work must be in good working order and perform their assigned functions efficiently.
Heavy tools and equipment that you use when bending should not be placed on the edge of the workbench, so as not to accidentally hit them and drop them on your feet.
When carrying out all manipulations with the wire bending tool with one hand, the other should be kept as far as possible from the future bend. Pliers or any other tool can break off and injure a hand located close to the bending area.

Wire bending using improvised means is possible only in small quantities, since such a procedure is quite labor-intensive. In addition, this operation can only be used to create products of the simplest configuration.

A specialized wire bending machine allows you to produce various products in large volumes, including those with complex shapes.

Working with a wire bending machine

To produce a large number of bent products from wire, various techniques can be used, each of which uses special equipment. The most common and economical method is the coil bending method.

Bending using this technology occurs in several stages.

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

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

Budget wire bending machine

A wire bending machine can also look like a stationary template around which the wire is rolled using movable pressure rollers.

Using such devices, bends of even the smallest radius can be formed on the surface of the wire, the value of which is comparable to the outer diameter of the workpiece.

At the same time, the configuration of the product formed on such a machine can be quite complex.

The adjustable stops and variable arms of this template allow you to create many combinations of wire bends

A wire bending machine can also operate 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 parts of the machine.

A wire bending machine of this type, due to the features of its design, allows the production of products with even very complex shapes.

When leveling the wire, a wire bending machine is also used, which in this case is used for straightening.

The working parts of such equipment can be straight frames or two-plane straight blocks.

At the same time, rotating straightening frames are more efficient, which is why they are used in cases where leveling the surface of the wire needs to be done as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Types of professional equipment

The simplest type of professional equipment used to bend wires are machines with one console. Meanwhile, such devices can only produce products of simple geometric shapes, the development length of which does not exceed 1000 mm.

More complex products with a development length of over 1000 mm make it possible to create double-cantilever equipment, in which the workpiece is deformed simultaneously from both ends. This machine can produce products with many complex curves.

The most complex wire products allow the creation of 3D machines on which bending can be performed simultaneously in three dimensions.

The machines of this category are endowed with such unique functions by a rotary bending console, all movements of which are controlled by an electronic automated system.

Despite all the advantages of processing using such equipment, it is quite expensive, so these machines are used in exceptional cases.

What is used for bending wire? How to make a machine with your own hands!

Objects of various configurations and purposes can be made from wire. During work, it is important to bend the material correctly, therefore, when the diameter of the metal thread is 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.

§ 27. Bending of sheet metal and wire blanks

To bend workpieces made of thin sheet metal and wire, they resort to a metalworking operation such as bending. In school workshops, students perform bending in a vice, using mandrels - rectangular and round metal bars - and corners (Fig. 125).

Rice. 125. Metal elements for bending workpieces in a vice: 1 - mandrels; 2 - corner

Let's consider bending technology using the example of the product “household scoop body” (see Fig. 98).

Before bending, the workpiece is straightened, marked and cut. Bending begins by bending the side of the wall by 90°: first the edge of the side, and then its middle part. To do this, the workpiece is placed on a mandrel secured in a vice, and, holding it with one hand, the other hand strikes the workpiece with a mallet, bending the side along the marking line by 90° (Fig. 126, a).

Rice. 126. Bending a thin-sheet workpiece: a - on a mandrel with a mallet: 1 - vice; 2 - workpiece; 3 - mandrel; 4 — bendable side; 5 - mallet; b - in a vice with a hammer: 1 - vice; 2 - workpiece; 3 — bendable rear wall; 4 - wooden block; 5 - hammer

After this, the back wall of the scoop body is bent in the opposite direction. To do this, the rear wall is clamped in a vice along the marking line and the entire body of the scoop is bent relative to the wall. This work can be done using a plumber's hammer and a wooden block (Fig. 126, b). A wooden block is used to ensure that there are no dents left on the workpiece from impacts.

Then the workpiece is placed on a metal mandrel secured in a vice, and the two side walls are bent at an angle of 90° with a mallet along the marked lines (Fig. 127, a). After this, bend the shoulders to the back wall (Fig. 127, b) and fix them by bending the side to them. Figure 127, c shows the position of the side before and after bending.

Rice. 127. Bending on a mandrel without securing the workpiece: a - bending the side walls of the scoop: 1 - vice; 2 - mandrel; 3 - workpiece; 4 - mallet; b - bending of shoulders: 1 - vice; 2 - mandrel; 3 - mallet; 4 - shoulders; 5 - side; 6 - workpiece; c - bending of the fixing side: 1 - side wall of the scoop; 2 - shoulders; 3 - rear wall; 4 - side

To bend a curved part, such as a ring, a cylindrical mandrel is used (Fig. 128).

Rice. 128. Bending a curved part on a cylindrical mandrel

In order to give a wire product a shape, bending is also used. Wire with a diameter of up to 3 mm is bent using pliers (Fig. 129, a) and round nose pliers (Fig. 129, b).

Rice. 129. Bending wire with pliers (a) and round nose pliers (b)

Pliers allow you to bend the wire at a certain angle, and round nose pliers allow you to bend the wire at a certain angle.

A vice is used to bend thick wire (Fig. 130). To bend the wire at a right angle, steel angles are placed on the jaws of the vice. The workpiece is secured between the corners so that the marking line coincides with the edge of the corner. Hammer blows are applied to a section of the wire near the corners.

Rice. 130. Bending thick wire in a vice: 1 - vice jaws; 2 - corners; 3 - blank

You can bend a wire ring (for example, a ring for curtains) from thick wire using a cylindrical mandrel in three steps, as shown in Figure 131.

Rice. 131. Bending a wire ring using a cylindrical mandrel: 1 - vice; 2 - cylindrical mandrel; 3 - workpiece; 4 - corners

In industrial enterprises, sheet metal bending is performed on sheet metal bending and profile bending machines, press brakes, etc. For bending, bending dies of various designs are often used, one of which is shown in Figure 132. The die consists of a stationary part - the matrix and a movable part - the punch.

Rice. 132. Bending the workpiece in a bending die: 1 - matrix; 2 - punch; y_zagokhovka; 4 - finished part

The shape of the working part of the matrix and the punch is the same as that of the finished part. The sheet blank is placed on the matrix, the punch moves downwards under the action of the press and bends (forms, stamps) the blank, giving it the desired shape. For parts of different shapes you need your own stamp.

Safe work rules

Before bending, the workpiece must be properly and securely secured in a vice.
Use a mallet and hammer only with firmly attached handles.
The hand holding the workpiece must be wearing a mitten; This hand should not be held close to the bend.
You cannot stand behind someone working.

Getting to know the professions

A stamper is a specialist who at an enterprise is engaged in the production of blanks of the desired shape from sheet metal and long products. It operates on a variety of mechanical stamping hammers and presses, as well as other press and forging equipment. He is well versed in the properties of metals and alloys, knows which metal workpieces can be processed in a cold state, and which should be heated in a special furnace.

Practical work No. 25

Bending of sheet metal and wire

Prepare a workplace for bending workpieces, select the necessary tools and mandrels.
According to the teacher’s instructions, bend a blank of one of the products shown in Figures 97 - 99, 108 and others, as well as a blank of a part of your creative project.
Check the correct bending according to the drawing of the part.

New words and concepts

Bending, mandrel, pliers, round nose pliers, stamper.

Metal bending. Methods, tools for bending metal

The bending process is a metalworking operation by which a metal workpiece, when deformed, takes on the required spatial shape. In the practice of metalworking, a mechanic often has to bend workpieces made of sheet, strip and round material at an angle, with a certain radius, and bend curves of various shapes (squares, hinges, staples, etc.). To perform this work, you must first determine the length of the unfolded workpiece.

When the thickness of the workpiece exceeds 4 mm, hot bending is used.

During the bending process, metal is subjected to simultaneous tensile and compressive forces. On the outside of the part, at the bending point, the metal fibers stretch and their length increases; on the inside, on the contrary, the fibers are compressed and their length is shortened. And only the neutral layer, or, as is commonly called, the neutral line, at the moment of bending, is believed to experience neither compression nor stretching, and therefore the length of the neutral line after bending the part does not change.

When bending metal, you have to overcome the elastic forces of the metal workpiece.

Elasticity is the property of a metal workpiece, due to which the part restores its original shape and size after removing the load. At normal temperatures, limited by the rate and duration of deformation, the part can be considered with sufficient accuracy

elastic until the stresses and deformations arising in it do not exceed a certain value of the elastic limit. Therefore, a part bent to a certain angle after removing the stress tends, like a spring, to straighten out, i.e. The bend angle always increases slightly, and the part straightens a little. Therefore, when manufacturing flexible parts, the springing properties of the metal should be taken into account.

Plasticity is the ability of a material to retain, in whole or in part, the deformation resulting from the action of applied forces even after the action of these forces ceases. Depending on the ratio of the values of residual and elastic deformations obtained before the onset of failure, the material can be considered ductile or brittle. However, ductility and brittleness cannot be attributed only to the properties of the material. The same material, depending on the nature of the stress state, temperature and rate of deformation, can appear as ductile or brittle.

The following stages of plastic deformation are distinguished:

a) onset of yielding – plastic deformations of the same order as elastic ones;
b) plastic state at small deformations - plastic deformations are large compared to elastic ones, but small compared to the initial changes in the size or shape of the part;
c) plastic state under large deformations (technological plastic deformations) - the dimensions or shapes of the part change significantly.

Bending is accompanied by elastic and plastic deformations, which causes distortion of the original cross-sectional shape of the workpiece, and a decrease in its area (shrinkage) in the bending zone (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Distortion of the shape of the workpiece during bending: a – round section; b – rectangular section; c – tightening

In addition, folds may form along the internal contour and cracks along the external contour. The stresses of the outer fibers at a relatively small r in these fibers approach the tensile strength, as a result of which the material fails (cracks form). The smaller the radius of curvature and the larger the bend angle, the more likely these defects are. To prevent the appearance of defects, it is necessary to maintain a minimum bending radius.

The minimum bending radius is approximately determined by the formula: r=S·k, where r is the bending radius, k is a coefficient depending on the material and rolling direction, S is the thickness of the material. When bending across the fibers for copper, zinc, brass and aluminum k=0.25–0.3, for soft steel – k=0.5 and for medium-hard steel – k=0.8. When bending along the fibers for copper, zinc, brass and aluminum k = 0.4–0.45, for soft steel – k = 1.2 and for medium hard steel – k = 1.5. By cleaning the edges before bending, k can be reduced by 1.5, and sometimes by 2 times.

The length of the workpiece L during bending is determined by the sum of the lengths of the straight sections and the lengths of the neutral axes of the curved sections, for example, L= l1+ l2+ l (Fig. 2).

where φ – arc angle f in degrees (φ=180° – β); x – distance from the inner plane to the neutral axis in mm.

Rice. 2. Diagram of the components of the length of the bent strip

At relatively small r, the stretching of the material in the outer fibers approaches the tensile strength, causing the material to fail (cracks form).

Basic techniques for bending strip parts

When bending parts manually, it is necessary to take into account that, depending on the properties of the material, the thickness and size of the strip workpiece, it is necessary to apply different forces to complete the work. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account that:

when bending parts made of thin sheet plastic material, thickness 0.2 mm or less, marks from blows with a hammer may remain on the surface of the parts, therefore, when bending, it is advisable to use pads made of wooden blocks, pieces of steel strip or bar, etc., in some cases In cases, this work can be done without a hammer, but by crimping the workpiece manually using pads;
when bending parts made of thin sheet plastic material, 0.2–0.5 mm thick, use light hammers, non-ferrous metal pads, pieces of steel strip or bar, etc.;
for parts made of sheet material with a thickness of 3.0 mm or more, heavier hammers are used for preliminary bending (sledge hammers for material with a thickness of 8 mm or more), and lighter hammers are used for final bending and straightening of parts after bending;
when manually bending, depending on the effort applied to bending the workpieces, choose a lighter or heavier vice;
When bending manually, as the thickness of the metal increases, the effort with which it is necessary to clamp the workpiece in a vice increases. As a result, on the surface of the workpiece, the hardened jaws of the vice leave traces of corrugation of the jaw linings, which spoils the appearance of the parts. Therefore, when securing workpieces in a vice, linings made of non-ferrous metal, mild steel, etc. are used;
when manually bending symmetrical parts, it is possible to shift the axis of symmetry along the length of the workpiece, so it is advisable to leave an allowance at the ends of the workpiece symmetrically, which is removed at the end of bending;
When bending short flanges (for example, clamps made of material 4–6 mm thick), which are smaller than the width of the hammer head, it is advisable to leave an allowance symmetrically at the ends of the workpiece, which is removed at the end of bending.

Bending of parts is carried out according to a sample of the finished part, or according to a mock-up sample, which is more convenient for work.

To make a layout, a worker draws on a sheet of paper or on a sheet of metal (with a scribe) a life-size profile of the part that will need to be bent. Then the contour of the part profile is bent from wire or a thin strip using pliers according to the pattern (taking into account the radii and angles of inclination of the planes).

To bend parts, mandrels are selected with a minimum bending radius and with radii that should connect straight sections of the part.

On the workpiece, the parts are marked with a scriber to mark the lines along which bending will be done.

When bending shelves, workpiece 1 (Fig. 3, a) is clamped in a vice between two mandrels 2 and 3 so that the bending line faces the bend, at the level of the upper edge of mandrel 3. Hit the top flange of part 1 with a hammer. it is necessary evenly over the entire surface of the striker.

Rice. 3. Bending the workpiece in a vice: a – at an angle; b – along the radius

The angle of inclination of the shelf is checked by applying the template to the vertical face of part 1. The edge of the mandrel 3, on which the workpiece is bent, must be sawn to a radius greater than the critical one for the given thickness of the workpiece.

When bending along a radius, workpiece 1 (Fig. 3, b) is clamped in a vice between the jaw and mandrel 2 so that the bending line faces the bend and protrudes above the generatrix of mandrel 2 by the amount of A mm, if it is necessary for the flanges to be equal length.

where r is the radius of the mandrel.

The direction of hammer blows is shown by arrows.

Manual sheet bending machines and mechanically driven machines are used to bend sheet material blanks. The principle of operation is that a workpiece is secured to the machine table with a clamp, which is positioned at the point of bending relative to the clamp. Then the rotary traverse is set in motion, rotates to the set angle and thereby bends the workpiece to the desired angle. The machine has equipment that allows you to bend various profiles.

Basic techniques for bending pipe parts

Bending of pipe parts is carried out in cold and hot states by manual and mechanized methods, with and without fillers.

Fillers are used to prevent the formation of folds and flattening of pipe walls. Dried fine sand or synthetic granules are used as fillers.

For each pipe, depending on its diameter and material, the minimum permissible bending radius is established. With a smaller radius, bending is unacceptable (Table 1).

Table 1. Values of the minimum permissible bending radii of pipes in a cold state, mm