The wire feed mechanism includes a feed roll, a pressure roll, a pressure arm, and a pressure mechanism. The feed roll rotates around a rotation axis. The pressure roll is displaceable relative to the feed roll. The pressure arm has a first end and a second end that are separate from each other, and rotatably supports the pressure roll. The pressure mechanism engages with the pressure arm so that a pressure force is applied from the pressure roll to the feed roll with a wire held between the feed roll and the pressure roll. A force-receiving portion is provided at an end of the pressure arm. When the pressure roll presses the feed roll, the pressure mechanism applies a force to the force-receiving portion in a direction that is substantially parallel to the direction in which the wire is fed.

Provided are a systems and methods for continuously providing a metal wire to a welding torch for manufacturing objects by solid freeform fabrication to provide continuous deposition of metal to the freeform object, especially objects made with titanium or titanium alloy wire.

A winding module and a winding installation including winding modules for winding metal wire. In such a winding installation or take-up bench a driven capstan is used to pull the metal wire through a processing installation before being led onto a take-up spool. The spool is driven by a cantilever supported shaft. In prior art take-up benches, both the capstan and the spool is reachable by an operator from the same side. This means that the capstan direction—the direction from the driven side of the capstan to the operator side—is equal to the shaft direction—the direction from the drive side of the shaft to the open end of the shaft. In the inventive winding module the capstan direction is opposite to the shaft direction, which provides a completely different operation of the winding module and the winding installation and facilitates the introduction of doffing robots.

A welding or additive manufacturing wire drive system includes a spindle. First and second welding wire spools are mounted on the spindle. The spools include a flange, a mounting hub, a barrel, and a wire electrode wound on the barrel. At least two drive rolls simultaneously draw first and second wire electrodes from the spools. A clutch disk is mounted on the spindle and has respective frictional surfaces in contact with one or both of the flange and mounting hub on the spools to frictionally engage the spools. The clutch disk allows the spools to slip relative to each other during an operation of the at least two drive rolls such that the spools rotate at different speeds while the wire electrodes are drawn from the spools.

A wire container has a bottom plate, a top plate, and a plurality of vertically extending posts. The posts are releasably connected to both the bottom plate and the top plate. The bottom plate, the top plate and the posts are formed from metal.

A configuration and method for straightening a wire as the wire pays off from a bulk package. A bulk package hat is configured to be positioned over an opened bulk package containing wire bent in a helix shape. A bearing assembly is mounted inside the bulk package hat at a position where the wire exits the bulk package hat as the wire pays off from the bulk package. A wire straightening device has a plurality of rollers and only one single plane of straightening, and is configured to apply a counter bend to the wire as the wire pays off from the bulk package through the wire straightening device. The wire straightening device is operatively connected to the bearing assembly at an angle inside the bulk package hat. The bearing assembly and the single plane of straightening rotate, continually realigning with a current direction of the wire as it pays off.

Transport system which makes to transport a wire or sheet of any length and with the required quality to the location of the use of the wire or the sheet. The transport system has a transport platform, a receptacle for the wire or the sheet, wherein the receptacle is configured such that the wire or the sheet may be received coiled on the receptacle, a drive, wherein the drive is configured such that the wire or the sheet may be conveyed by the drive in a transport direction, and a straightening device, wherein the straightening device is configured such that the wire or the sheet can be straightened with the straightening device, wherein the receptacle, the drive and the straightening device are arranged on the transport platform such that the wire or the sheet may be drawn automatically from the receptacle and fed to the straightening device by the drive.

The invention has as its object a method for packing a welding wire (25) inside a container (40) which includes at least the following steps:

a feeding phase of said welding wire (25) inside a tube (13) placed in rotation to produce a prefixed torsion at each wire loop (25);

a winding phase of the wire (25) coming out of said tube in rotation (13) on a core (20) configured to wind said wire (25) on it, said core (20) being provided with an alternative movement in a substantially vertical direction;

a wire cutting phase (25) at the end of said wire winding phase on the core to (20) and;

a core pick-up phase with the wire (25) wound on it and a core introduction phase (20) with the wire (25) wound on it inside a container (40).

A kit or set of components, which can be assembled, in a mix-and-match manner, to provide multiple, different despoolers, for different wire spool sizes. One particular kit or set has components to provide three unique despoolers; the kit has a shaft, a tension spring, a first shaft body, a second shaft body having a length different than the length of the first shaft body, and a tension lock. The components provide despoolers that are easy to install and easy to set-up, having a limited number of components, and that are easy to use.

An apparatus for manufacturing a guitar string includes a table part; a holding part holds both ends of a first wire so that the first wire is rotatable; a winding part which is movable in a direction in which the first wire is extended, so that the winding part sequentially winds a second wire around on the outer surface of the first wire being rotated; and a supply part for supplying the second wire to the winding part, wherein the supply part includes a height measuring part; a first pulley part including a movable pulley and a movable body; a bobbin part around which the second wire has been wound; a motor part for rotating the bobbin part; and a control part which controls the speed of the second wire supplied to the winding part by controlling the operation of the motor part.