Rockford Manufacturing Group, Inc.

Michael Kern

Irvin Burns

Michael J Yankaitis

Patrick Robbins

A clutchless wire cutting apparatus for successively cutting off leading end portions of a predetermined length of wire from a wire stock. The wire is advanced through a cutting station which includes the cutting apparatus. The cutting apparatus includes an electrical motor whose output is coupled to the cutter mechanism which performs the successive wire cuts. A proximity switch or sensor located downstream of the cutting station signals a controller each time the wire reaches the desired length to periodically generate an electrical current to the electrical motor for selectively intermittently driving the motor at a relatively high frequency corresponding to the frequency at which wire cuts are made. The motor may also be continuously driven for cutting shorter wire lengths. The motor has an output on an motor shaft which is coupled to a cutter shaft via a belt drive. The cutter shaft includes an eccentric cam which acts directly on the wire cutter. A proximity sensor or switch is also provided at the cutting station to determine the location of the wire cutter to provide a home position for the system.

Clutchless wire cutting apparatus

A release assembly for wire cutting apparatus. The present invention provides a release assembly for wire cutting apparatus which allows for dynamic alteration of the cut parameters. The release assembly allows for the length of the wire to be cut to be altered, allows for the biasing force to be increased or decreased to thereby reset the release assembly for a wide range of wire gauges, and allows for the stroke length to be altered to thereby either increase or decrease the cut frequency. The release assembly includes a housing having a distal end, a proximal end and a longitudinal chamber. A plunger tube is slidably disposed in the longitudinal chamber and is biased towards the proximal end by a dynamically adjustable spring mechanism. A gauge rod is mounted within the plunger tube at an adjustable axial position. In operation, the wire being pulled from the coil engages the gauge rod and pushes the gauge rod and plunger tube in the distal direction. A sensor senses the distal movement and sends a signal to the cutting mechanism to make a cut in the wire and drop the wire from the cutting machine. The plunger tube is retained in the housing by two collars. The distance between the two collars is dynamically adjustable during cutting operations to adjust the travel distance of the plunger tube. The position of the housing relative to the wire coils is also dynamically adjustable to control the cut length of the wire.

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South Beloit, IL, United States of America

Michael Kern