Here’s a morning treat for you!

Marco from Pensa has posted a new how-to video for building your own DIWire, including a parts list and all the code (on a Google code site). Best news yet: the files for the parts you can MakerBot are all available on Thingiverse!

We posted about the DIWire a few weeks back with a lot of enthusiasm for Pensa’s goal of bringing down the costs of a CNC wire bender. It is so awesome to see that they’ve gone the extra mile and shared all the files and know how with everyone. And best yet, they’ve noted ways that people can help improve the project:

There are many ways to improve it. For instance, the wire straightener was good enough for now, but if you google wire straightener, you’ll see how its usually done. Also, the motors we “spec’ed” are the ones we found in a bin in our shop. They are pricey because they are real accurate, but not so powerful. Right now, with these motors can only bend 1/8” aluminum rod, and the 3D printed parts also would need to get stronger in order to bend more substantial material. So, if you make one and improve upon it, let us know, we’ll post your improvements for everyone else to see.

Check out the Pensa blog for more details on the project, and some other nice videos.

 

A group of designers at the Brooklyn consultancy Pensa did something really awesome last week, and graciously called it their own response to the “DIY ingenuity” of companies like MakerBot.

While we make machines that allow a person — among other pursuits — to prototype in plastic, the fellas at Pensa have made a machine that makes 2D and 3D shapes by systematically bending wire, and they’re calling it the DIWire Bender. Watch it in action.

This machine is a great peer of the MakerBot. As Pensa writes on their blog,

The closest thing to a machine that can output lines is a CNC wire bender, but these machines are used almost exclusively for mass production in factories. They are not used for rapid prototyping because the equipment is large, expensive and takes trained personnel to run. So, we decided to make the DIWire Bender.

I love this machine for its practicality, but the sculptural possibilities are endless, too. I can’t wait to see how far people in the DIY community push the DIWire Bender. This second video shows the production process from digital to tangible, which the Pensa blog outlines like this:

Simply draw curves in the computer, import the file into our software and press print. Our software can read vector files (e.g., Adobe Illustrator files), Rhino or Wavefront OBJ 3D files, text files of commands (e.g., feed 50 mm, bend 90° to right…) or pure coordinates (from 0,0,0 to 0,10,10 to….). All inputs are automatically translated into DIWire motor commands. During the print, the wire unwinds from a spool, passes through a series of wheels that straighten it, and then feeds through the bending head, which moves around in 3 dimensions to create the desired bends and curves.

More at the always great Core77.