High-speed, high-capacity twist pin connector fabricating machine and method

A machine for fabricating twist pins each from a segment of a greater length of stranded wire formed by a plurality of helically coiled strands, each twist pin further having at least one bulge formed at a predetermined location along the segment of the wire from which twist pin is fabricated, comprising:

• a wire feed mechanism which is receptive of the length of wire, the wire feed mechanism including:
• a roller which frictionally contacts the length of wire, and
• a feed motor connected to rotate the roller while the roller is in frictional contact with the wire to advance the length of wire during a wire advancement interval;
• a bulge forming mechanism into which the wire feed mechanism advances the length of wire to establish each predetermined location at which a bulge is to be formed, the bulge forming mechanism forming the bulge in the length of wire at the predetermined location during a bulge forming interval, the bulge forming mechanism including:
• first and second controllable clamp members located at locations to contact the wire above and below the predetermined location at which the bulge is to be formed,
• the first and second clamp members connected for rotation in an anti-helical direction relative to one another and to the wire,
• the first and second clamp members selectively gripping and releasing the wire when controlled,
• a drive motor connected to rotate the first and second clamp members in complete relative revolutions with respect to one another,
• a first actuator connected to control the first clamp member to grip the wire at the beginning of the bulge-forming interval of the relative revolution,
• a second actuator connected to control the second clamp member to grip the wire at the beginning of the bulge-forming interval,
• the first and second clamp members rotating the wire anti-helically between the first and second clamp members during the bulge-forming interval to untwist the helically coiled strands until the strands deflect radially outward to form the bulge,
• the first and second actuators controlling the first and second clamp members to release the grip on the wire at the end of the bulge-forming interval;
• and
• a wire severing device positioned relative to the bulge forming mechanism and controllable after each bulge in the twist pin has been formed to sever the segment from the length of wire and release the twist pin fabricated in the segment of the severed wire.