Bending machine, and wire-processing system including a bending machine

Abstract

A bending machine that produces complex bent parts from straight wire rods includes computer-numerical control unit; a transport system that transports successive wire rods along a transport path, wherein the transport system has a plurality of workpiece-receiving devices each for receiving a single wire rod; a plurality of workstations arranged along the transport path, wherein at least two of the workstations are configured as bending stations, wherein at least one bending station comprises a bending unit configured as a rotary draw bending unit.

1 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A bending machine that produces complex bent parts from straight wire rods comprising:
 a computer-numerical control unit;   a transport system that transports successive wire rods along a transport path, wherein the transport system has a plurality of workpiece-receiving devices each for receiving a single wire rod;   a plurality of workstations arranged along the transport path, wherein at least two of the workstations are configured as bending stations,   wherein at least one bending station comprises a bending unit configured as a rotary draw bending unit.   
     
     
         21 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the rotary draw bending unit has a bending head rotatable about a bending head axis by a bending drive (Y-A) and movable parallel to the bending head axis by a feed drive (Z-A), wherein the rotary draw bending unit also has a machine axis (W axis) for actuation of a clamping device configured to clamp a portion of the wire rod against a peripheral portion of a bending form arranged on the bending head in the configured state. 
     
     
         22 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the rotary draw bending unit additionally has a linear axis (X axis) for displacement of the bending head parallel to a passage direction of the wire rod. 
     
     
         23 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the rotary draw bending unit additionally has a linear axis (B axis) for displacement of the bending head perpendicularly to the passage direction. 
     
     
         24 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the rotary draw bending unit additionally has a rotational axis (A axis) for rotation of a clamping device of the bending unit about the passage direction. 
     
     
         25 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein at least one bending station has a base bending unit with a bending head rotatable about a bending head axis by a bending drive (Y-A) and movable parallel to the bending head axis by a feed drive (Z-A), wherein no machine axis is provided for actuation of a clamping device configured to clamp a portion of the wire rod against a peripheral portion of a bending form arranged on the bending head. 
     
     
         26 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein the bending head axes of a rotary draw bending unit and a base bending unit are oriented transversely or orthogonally to one another. 
     
     
         27 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein bending stations directly following one another along the transport path are at least partly arranged at different intervals from one another. 
     
     
         28 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the transport system comprises a plurality of transport units each having a workpiece-receiving device that receives a single wire rod, wherein each transport unit is movable along the transport path by the control unit according to an individual movement profile. 
     
     
         29 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 28 , wherein the transport system comprises a transport path with at least one linear motor unit and guide rails that guide movement of the transport units, and that the transport units are movable magnetically along the guide rails via the linear motor unit under control by the control unit and/or that a transport unit has no carrying drive for progress along the transport path and/or that the transport path is a closed transport path. 
     
     
         30 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein components of the workpiece-receiving device in contact with the workpiece are mounted rotatably about a receiving axis of the workpiece-receiving device. 
     
     
         31 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the workpiece-receiving device of a transport unit comprises a clamping device with at least one movably mounted clamping element and an actuating element coupled therewith, wherein by actuation of the actuating element, the clamping device can be switched between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration, and the movable holding element is elastically preloaded into the locked configuration by a spring arrangement. 
     
     
         32 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein one of the workstations is a loading station that takes straight wire rods from an upstream unit to provide straight wire rods to the bending machine, the loading station comprises an actuating device, controllable via the control unit to actuate the movable clamping element of a transport unit, and/or that one of the workstations is an unloading station for transferring bent parts from the bending machine to a downstream unit, and wherein the unloading station comprises an actuating device controllable via the control unit to actuate the movable clamping element of a transport unit. 
     
     
         33 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein a bending station is configured such that the workpiece-receiving device of a transport unit, moved into the machining position, acts as a functional component of a workpiece-receiving device to receive a wire rod for a bending operation, and/or that a bending station has no workpiece-receiving device to receive a wire rod for a bending operation. 
     
     
         34 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein a bending station comprises a clamping device configured to act on the workpiece-receiving device of a transport unit, moved into the machining position such that machining forces occurring during a bending operation are received by the clamping device of the bending station, and the clamping device of the bending station reinforces a clamping force exerted on the wire rod by the clamping device of the workpiece-receiving device. 
     
     
         35 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the control unit is configured such that individual movement profile of a transport unit during a movement along the transport path in at least one compensation time interval includes a compensation movement of the transport unit to avoid and/or damp vibrations and/or reduce centrifugal force, and the travel speed of a transport unit is reduced on transition from a rectilinear portion to a curved portion of the transport path. 
     
     
         36 . The bending machine as claimed in  claim 20 , wherein the workstations include at least one measuring station with a measuring system that measures geometry of the bent part after machining by the bending station, and the control unit is configured to process measurement signals from the measuring system and control subsequent bending operations at the bending station and/or bending operations at a downstream bending station depending on the measurement signals. 
     
     
         37 . A wire-processing system that produces complex bent parts from wire comprising:
 a rod make-up machine that produces straight wire rods of pre-definable length from wire material;   a bending machine downstream of the rod make-up machine that produces bent parts with complex bends from the straight wire rods,   wherein the bending machine is as claimed in  claim 20 .   
     
     
         38 . The wire-processing system as claimed in  claim 37 , wherein the rod makeup machine has an infeed device that infeeds the wire from a material store, a straightening device that straightens the wire before entry into the infeed device, and a cutting device that separates the wire rod from the supplied wire, and the rod make-up machine processes insulated wire and has an integrated stripping device that strips portions of the insulated wire before separation of the wire rod from the supplied wire.