Apparatus and method of straightening the ends of elongated workpieces

An apparatus for straightening the end of an elongated workpiece having a longitudinal axis at a locus and an elastic limit, comprising:

• means for nonrotatively holding said workpiece within said apparatus;
• means arranged about said workpiece for deflecting said longitudinal axis of said workpiece for a predetermined amount and along a path of revolution around said locus without rotating said workpiece around said axis, said means comprising at least three load applying members symmetrically arranged around a common axis for selectively applying a predetermined load to said workpiece, by moving perpendicularly to said axis;
• actuator means connected to each said load applying member for imparting said load applying movement to said workpiece;
• and
• means connecting said actuator means for selectively controlling each said actuator means so as to impart to said load applying members a phase shifted sinusoidal stroke movement.

A method of straightening the end of an elongated workpiece having a longitudinal axis, comprising:

• holding said workpiece to prevent rotation around said longitudinal axis;
• centering said workpiece between at least three load applying members adjacently disposed radially and fixed in symmetrically spaced apart relation about said workpiece so that said longitudinal axis is positioned at a locus and so that an equal degree of separation is defined between each load applying member and an adjacent load applying member;
• independently controlling the load applied by each of said radially disposed load applying members to said workpiece so as to deflect said longitudinal axis of said workpiece away from said locus by a predetermined amount and in a direction perpendicular to said axis and beyond the elastic limit of said workpiece;
• acting simultaneously with each of said load applying members at radially symmetrical fixed points on said workpiece so that said deflected axis describes a path of revolution around said locus without rotating said workpiece;
• and
• maintaining said predetermined deflection over at least one revolution.