For this project we are going to be building upon the fantastic foundation that was provided here by Dejan over at How to Mechatronics. (https://howtomechatronics.com/projects/arduino-3d-wire-bending-machine/) First we will start out by remaking his project in the same way, then I’ll be adding some new functionality and seeing if there are any other upgrades we can make. This project consists of an Arduino, 3 stepper motors, and a servo to automatically feed in a heavy gauge wire and then bend it to a predefined shape. Most of the design can be made with only 3D printed parts and spare wood or MDF so it’ll be fun to see how things shake out. 

That being said, I first visited the link above and downloaded both the Solidworks Files and the STLs for 3D Printing. If you don’t have Solidworks then just import the files into Fusion360, which is free and for most hobbyists it’s more than good enough. The design has a need for 9 bearings.

Quantity 7: MR608-ZZ 

Quantity 2: MR6202-2RS

I pulled the bearings from our stock and set them aside while I began to 3D print the parts. I was able to fit all the parts on a single plate and print everything at once. I would only do this if you really know your printer can handle it, I had one part fail but luckily it was a quick 2 hour print afterwards.

The parts are just the right size for the bearings but in order to make sure they are secure I coated the parts with CA Glue and used the accelerator spray to set them instantly.

Finally, I assembled the servo mount. These are all somewhat disjointed now but once they are mounted on a board, I will walk through how the machine works.