Method and wire processing machine for forming prefabricated shaped parts

Abstract

In a method for forming preformed shaped parts from wire, a wire (W) is drawn from a wire stock and fed to a wire processing machine (100). The wire is straightened in the wire processing machine (100), and a predetermined length of shaped parts is separated from the straightened wire by a separating device (300). To separate the shaped parts from the supplied wire, the wire (W) is first notched at a separation position provided for separation by a plurality of notching tools from opposite sides in at least one notch process, so that a tapered wire cross section remains between the opposing notches at the separation position. The cut wire is then separated in a splitting process by two splitting tools engaging opposite sides of the wire at the separation position in the region of the tapered wire cross section and synchronously feeding the wire material transversely, particularly perpendicularly, to the wire axis in opposite feed directions until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP). A wire processing machine configured to perform this method is also described.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a wire processing machine for forming pre-formed shaped parts from wire. [Background technology]

[0002] The preformed shaped part can be a straight shaped part, also referred to in this application as a "wire rod," or a bent part made of wire that is bent in two or three dimensions with one or more bends between the ends of the wire.

[0003] Vehicles with fully or partially electric drives are increasingly being offered on the market. These vehicles generally have an energy storage system with multiple battery modules. Electrical energy must be transported between the individual battery modules. For this purpose, insulated, bent copper or aluminum rails, also known as "busbars," are used. Busbars are typically formed from appropriately shaped flat material, for example, using flat copper or aluminum wire with a flat rectangular cross section. The flat material can be partially or completely coated with an electrically insulating insulating layer. In the finished busbar, these end portions are typically bare metal and therefore without an insulating layer. The end portions are then fixed, for example, by screwing, clamping, or soldering within the area of ​​the end portion in the intended installation environment. To ensure a reliable contact, the end portions of the wires must fit as well as possible with the corresponding contact elements. To minimize post-processing of the wire ends, the wire ends are pre-finished immediately after forming in a wire processing machine to ensure a good fit to the application environment.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes the application areas of prefabricated wire rods and methods and devices that can be used to form them so as to separate the wire without burrs. It describes how, when forming electric motors for traction drives, individual winding elements (plug-in coils, so-called "hairpins") are formed, which are then processed into complete stator windings in a subsequent process. To achieve higher efficiency of the electric machine through a higher degree of packing, hairpin technology is moving away from round wires toward wires with rectangular cross sections. To form the plug-in coils, the appropriate wire sections are trimmed and separated from the endless material, and then welded after positioning them in the stator. To ensure reliable and as burr-free as possible by structurally simple means, a method has been proposed in which, in a first forming step, the wire is first shaped (without burrs) along the wire length by moving two opposing forming parts of a first forming unit toward each other in a first plane along a first axis of movement. In this first forming step, the wire cross section is narrowed from two opposite sides, for example, from two narrow sides. Since the forming parts of the first forming unit are always spaced apart during the shaping of the wire, a narrowed wire cross section remains. The wire is then shaped in a second forming step at the same wire longitudinal position by moving two opposing forming parts of the second forming unit toward each other in a second plane along a second axis of movement. In this second forming step, the already narrowed wire cross section is narrowed from two other opposite sides, for example, from two wider sides. Since the forming parts of the second forming unit are always spaced apart during the shaping of the wire, the already narrowed wire cross section remains in a further narrowed shape. Thus, a material web remains at the wire longitudinal position, displaced inward compared to the original cross-sectional shape of the wire. At this point, the wire sections located before and after the wire longitudinal position (defined separation point) are still materially bonded to one another via the material web.Thereafter, thus after the second forming step, a pulling force (acting at least partially along the wire length) is applied to the wire, thereby pulling the wire apart at the same wire length position, so that the wire is separated at that wire length position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] German Patent Invention No. 102018114579(B3) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a wire processing machine for forming preformed shaped parts from wire, which allows for the formation of preformed shaped parts having a very well-defined geometrical configuration of the wire ends. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve this object, the present invention provides a method having the features of claim 1. Furthermore, a wire processing machine is provided having the features of claim 16. Preferred developments are set out in the dependent claims. The language of all claims is incorporated by reference into the description.

[0008] This method and wire processing machine are used to form preformed shaped parts from wire. In the context of this application, a "preformed shaped part" is a semi-finished or finished product formed from wire, with the wire length desired for the application and wire ends that are as well defined as possible. The wire ends must have a geometry that is particularly suitable for the application, for example, with chamfers at the wire ends. The starting material is a long, reasonably easily bendable material with a suitable cross-sectional shape. Wires with a circular cross-section are called round wires. Wires with other cross-sectional shapes also exist, such as flat wires, four-edged wires, or profile wires.

[0009] The preformed shaped part may be a straight shaped part, also referred to in this application as a "wire rod," or a bent part made of wire bent in two or three dimensions with one or more bends between the wire ends. Wire processing machines for forming straight preformed wire rods are sometimes referred to as "rod making machines," while wire processing machines for forming bent preformed shaped parts are typically referred to as bending machines. The preformed shaped part may also be a spring (e.g., a coil spring), which can be formed from wire using a spring machine.

[0010] In this process, wire is continuously or intermittently drawn in small increments from a wire stock and fed to a wire processing machine, where the wire is straightened, and shaped parts (wire segments having a predetermined wire length and desired shape) are then cut from the wire.

[0011] Between the straightening and the separation, one or more bending operations can be performed to form a shaped part with one or more bends, and thus a bent part. Alternatively, straight wire sections, so-called wire rods, can be cut from the straightened wire.

[0012] In order to separate wire rods of the desired length from the supplied wire, several functionally different processes are carried out one after the other in time.

[0013] First, the wire material is notched using multiple notching tools from opposite sides in (at least) one notch at a separation position or separation point defined for separation, in the following manner: i.e., so that a portion having a tapered wire cross section remains between the opposing notches at the separation position.

[0014] The term "notch" here generally refers to a cut made in the wire material by material removal or material removal, the size and shape of which are determined by the working contours of the notching tools that engage with the wire material and their penetration depth.

[0015] The notching is preferably a forming process, in which the notches are formed by material pushing or material shaping without material removal, and therefore the notches are preferably formed by classical shaping of the wire material in the region of the separation location.

[0016] The multiple notch cutting tools can have, for example, a wedge shape with a more or less sharp intersection. The notches formed thereby form cuts in the wire material that are generally V-shaped, thus wedge-shaped or sharply intersecting. However, the shape of the notch is not limited to a V-shape. The notch can also be more or less clearly rounded in the region of the notch base. It is also possible to form notches with a substantially cylindrical cut or notches with a U-shape.

[0017] Preferably, the notching tools are fed perpendicularly to the wire axis during notching in opposite feeding directions, and the notching device can be configured accordingly for synchronous feeding of the notching tools, so that, in the ideal case, no lateral forces are exerted on the wire during notching, and the wire is not globally bent by this notching.

[0018] Preferably, the feed movement of the notching tools is controlled so that the penetration depth of the notching tools is in the range of at least 10%, preferably 20% to 50%, of the extension of the uncut wire material in the first direction. Thus, in the tapered wire cross-section or in the necked region of the thinner web, a corresponding residual width (perpendicular to the wire longitudinal direction) remains, which is in the range of up to 90%, in particular 50% to 80%, of the original diameter in the first direction. According to the inventor's experience, a particularly good compromise can thus be achieved between good preparation for the subsequent cutting operation and, at the same time, sufficient stability in the region of the tapered wire cross-section.

[0019] Alternatively to this, the notch can be formed by removing material, for example by milling or punching.

[0020] It is important that in the notching process, a portion of the wire with a tapered wire cross section remains in the wire in the region of the separation location. The wire material is therefore not completely cut at the separation location, and the portions before and after the notch remain integrally connected to one another via the tapered wire material web. In the region of the tapered wire cross section, forming notches usually result in a hardening of the wire material and therefore an increase in the mechanical strength of the wire material by plastic forming.

[0021] After the notching is completed, a splitting operation is carried out, by which the cut wire is separated in the region of the tapered wire cross section at the separation position by two splitting tools engaging opposite sides of the wire and feeding them synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire is severed at the separation position.

[0022] The concept of "perpendicular" here includes a direction extending exactly perpendicular (at an angle of 90°) to the wire axis, or a direction deviating from exactly perpendicular by a certain angle, for example by a maximum of 5°. What is crucial is that efforts are made to achieve perpendicular feeding within the framework of technological tolerances. Similarly, the concept of "synchronization" means simultaneity within reasonable technological tolerances provided by the control device and hardware.

[0023] The term "splitting" in this application refers to the complete separation of the wire into two parts at the separation point in accordance with DIN standard DIN 8588. The separation is carried out mechanically and without chip formation. The splitting process is therefore a separating operation in which the wire is not cut and is separated without chips (without material removal or chip generation). The two splitting tools are therefore multiple cutting tools operating without chips.

[0024] In a wire processing machine for forming pre-formed shaped parts (e.g., wire rods or bent parts) from wire material, a separating device is provided for separating shaped parts from the straightened or straightened wire material that has been further bent in one or more dimensions at a separation position defined for separation, the separating device having a notching device and a dividing device that can be processed temporally after the notching device. The separating device is configured to perform the method.

[0025] The method can form a straight wire rod of a predetermined length that is separated from the straightened wire after straightening without an intervening bend. Alternatively, it is possible to form one or more bends in the straightened wire after straightening and before separation, so that the formed part is a bent part.

[0026] A wire processing machine suitable for carrying out this method and set up has a splitting processing device, which, when set up for processing, has two splitting processing tools, through which the wire can be guided, and which can be fed synchronously in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis to perform the splitting processing, and the splitting processing device is configured as follows: in the splitting processing, the two splitting processing tools are fed synchronously in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is cut at the separation position, so that the cut wire can be separated in the area of ​​the tapered wire cross-section at the separation position.

[0027] Before the start of feeding the two segmented machining tools, there is usually no contact between the two segmented machining tools and the wire, so the two segmented machining tools do not hold the wire. Then, during the feeding process, the two segmented machining tools come into contact with the wire and mechanically engage the wire material. Theoretically, the segmented machining tools contact the wire simultaneously and with the same force. In practice, this is not always guaranteed due to technical tolerances. To prevent the wire from tilting from its ideal orientation when the engagement of the two opposing segmented machining tools is not simultaneous, press-down holders that can be supplied before and after the separation position can be provided, which temporarily hold the wire in the desired orientation before and, in some cases, even at the start of the splitting process.

[0028] The synchronous engagement of two splitting tools on opposite sides of the wire material prevents global bending of the end portion, so that the end portion maintains a straight shape during and after splitting, without any transverse forces. The preformed wire rod formed by this method can usually be used for its intended purpose without further processing. This allows for more economical further processing than in the past.

[0029] Within the scope of the present invention, there are various possibilities for configuring and matching the notching and parting processes to one another.

[0030] According to a further development, after the notching is completed, the dividing process is carried out in the form of a cutting process. The wire is thus separated, in particular, by a cutting process without cutting. The dividing device is therefore configured as a cutting device, and the two dividing tools are designed as a plurality of cutting tools. The cutting tool has at least one cutter, on which a cutting edge is formed, which is preferably a straight cutting edge here.

[0031] Preferably, the separation is accomplished by a bite cutting process or a shear cutting process, which are described in more detail below.

[0032] In one example of a cutting variation, the notched wire material is separated in the region of the tapered wire cross section, and thus at the separation position, by a bite-cutting operation. This is done by holding the wire material in position in the region between two wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools and moving the cutting tools or wedge-shaped cutters toward each other until the wire material is severed at the separation position. Before the start of the cutter feed movement, there is usually no contact between the cutter and the wire, so the cutter does not hold the wire. Then, during the course of the feed movement, the cutter comes into contact with the wire and penetrates into the wire material.

[0033] The "biting shearing" manufacturing method is a variation of the wedge shearing process and, according to DIN 8588, belongs to a separating process method in which the workpieces to be separated are separated without the formation of chips. The cutting edges of the wedge-shaped cutters lie in a common plane. The relative movement can be guided so that the cutting edges come into contact with each other at the end of the cutting process. The feed movement can also be terminated before the contact between the cutting edges occurs, if the flat material has already been separated. In biting shearing, the wedge-shaped cutters penetrate into the wire material to be separated from two opposite sides. It has been shown that this type of cutting process can prevent the formation of sharp burrs at or on the ends of the wire material. This cutting process can be said to enable a substantially burr-free cutting of the wire material.

[0034] The wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools synchronously engage opposite sides of the wire material, thereby preventing global bending of the end portion, so that the end portion maintains its straight shape without transverse forces during and after cutting. Such pre-cut wire rods can usually be used for their intended use without reworking.

[0035] The two-stage process variants, "notching" and "biting and cutting," separate the wire sections located before and after the separation point at a precisely defined separation point without the need for externally applying a pulling force acting in the wire's longitudinal direction. Therefore, unlike conventional pull separation, a corresponding device for pull separation can be dispensed with. Because pull separation requires the application of a pulling force acting in the wire's longitudinal direction, slight variations in the length of the separated wire rod cannot be excluded, which can result in length errors due to the pulling force. This source of error is eliminated in the method according to the claimed invention, so that preformed shaped parts, e.g., wire rods, with a precisely defined length between the wire ends are systematically formed.

[0036] Furthermore, the resulting wire end geometry at the separation point can be precisely determined by the operating geometry of the notching tools used in the notching and / or the cutting tools used in the cutting. This is particularly true when the notching is a purely forming process, since the notching tools and the wedge-shaped cutters do not function by tension and / or material removal, but simply by plastic material displacement, and therefore their functional contours are at least partially imprinted into the wire material or wire end. This allows for the formation of systematically preformed wire pieces (straight or bent) with small length tolerances and very well-defined geometric wire ends.

[0037] The two-stage process can also be described as one in which the wire material is separated at the separation location by a "biting shearing operation," preceded by a notching operation in which the wire material is prepared for the biting shearing operation in the region of the predetermined separation location. In particular, in the case of a notching operation that includes shaping to form a tapered wire cross section, the wire material is hardened in the region to be subsequently separated by the wedge-shaped cutters. Thus, the wedge-shaped cutters abut not on unprepared wire material, but on the already pre-treated wire material, which has been hardened by the notching operation and is thereby separated more reliably and cleanly than un-shaped wire material, which is softer compared to the tapered wire cross section. This effect also contributes to a cleaner geometric definition of the wire ends.

[0038] In a further development, the notching tools are arranged or can be arranged opposite one another in a first direction and can be moved parallel to the first direction, and the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools are arranged or can be arranged opposite one another in a second direction and can be moved parallel to the second direction, with the first and second directions extending perpendicular to one another. Thus, the notching and cutting operations act on the wire material in directions perpendicular to one another. This allows the wire material to taper at the wire end in two perpendicular directions. The cut or fracture surface ultimately formed in the biting cutting operation is located within the envelope surface of the initial wire from all directions, so no burrs remain that extend beyond the outer periphery of this envelope surface. The perpendicular directions of action of the notching and cutting operations can be effectively utilized in all workpiece cross-sections, and therefore also for round wires. When the initial workpiece having a rectangular cross section is separated, the wire material can be oriented in a first and a second direction such that the first direction is oriented perpendicular to the flat sides of a first pair and the second direction is oriented perpendicular to the parallel sides of the other pair, thereby allowing the notching tools and subsequent cutting tools to each substantially simultaneously penetrate into the wire material over the entire width of the contact surface, thereby producing well-defined geometrical wire ends.

[0039] Typically, the narrow side is cut out first, and then multiple cutting tools engage the wide side, so that the notch geometry is largely maintained when cutting, but the reverse order (notch the wide side, cut across the narrow side) is also possible.

[0040] The notching tools can be located in a first plane oriented perpendicular to the wire passing direction, and the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools of the cutting device can be located in a second plane perpendicular to the wire passing direction, which second plane is displaced relative to the first plane in the wire passing direction. This arrangement allows for a degree of freedom in the design of the cutting and notching devices. Of course, the material transport between the two planes must be performed with high precision to ensure that the cutting occurs accurately and at the location of the pre-formed notch.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, the wire material is not moved forward in the wire longitudinal direction between the notching and cutting operations, so that the notching and cutting operations are performed in the same plane. Structurally, this can be achieved by arranging the notching tools of the notching device, or more precisely, their active tool-side ends, and the cutting edges of the cutting tools or cutters of the cutting device, in a common plane. In this embodiment, the notches and cuts can be performed at precisely predetermined separation positions regardless of the wire movement, so that no axial displacement occurs in the wire between the notches and the separation points. The shape of the wire end can be precisely determined by the tool shapes of the notching tools and the cutting tools.

[0042] There are various possibilities for the configuration of the notch cutting tools. In a preferred embodiment, the notch cutting tools are configured as roof-shaped notch cutting wedges with sharp or rounded tip regions, and thus also substantially wedge-shaped. It may also be sufficient if the wedge-shaped notch cutting tools are configured as symmetrical wedges. In this case, the term "symmetrical wedges" refers to wedges whose wedge faces or wedge flanks are inclined substantially symmetrically relative to the feed direction. This results in symmetrical material indentation on both sides when cutting out. Asymmetrical wedge shapes are also possible, for example, if wire ends of the molded part are to be formed differently.

[0043] The wedge angle, and therefore the angle formed by the two substantially flat wedge surfaces, can be selected to suit the application. In many embodiments, the wedge angle formed by the wedge surfaces is in the range of 90° to 140° and is therefore an obtuse angle. This geometry allows for precise formation of chamfers, for example, on the wire ends.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools can have a wedge angle in the range of 90° to 140°. In particular, the wedge angle of the notch cutter can substantially match the wedge angle of the wedge-shaped cutters. This allows, for example, the formation of uniformly inclined chamfers on all four sides of a wire material having a rectangular cross section. The wedge-shaped cutters can be formed symmetrically or asymmetrically with respect to the feed direction.

[0045] The notching tools and / or the wedge-shaped cutters can each have their own drive, which provides the feed movement. Preferably, however, the notching device has only one drive, which is coupled to the two notching tools for synchronous feeding. This is, on the one hand, a cost-effective solution, since it saves one drive. On the other hand, it allows the construction to ensure the counter-feed of the notching tools during notching.

[0046] Similarly, in the cutting and processing device, it may have only one drive unit, which drive unit is coupled to two wedge-shaped cutters for synchronous feeding.

[0047] In many embodiments, the drive of the notching machine drives a crankshaft which, via two connecting rods, drives two sliders which are linearly slidable in opposite directions and which each support a number of notching tools at their workpiece-facing ends. A similar solution can be provided in cutting machines.

[0048] In an alternative solution, only one drive is provided to control the movement of the notching tools of the notching device and the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting device. This drive can drive a cam disk with a control cam, which is designed so that when the cam disk rotates around its rotation axis in the correct direction and at the correct rate, it can alternately first advance and withdraw the notching tools toward the workpiece, and then advance and withdraw the cutting tools with the wedge-shaped cutters toward the workpiece. To adapt this variant to different wire geometries, the cam disk is interchangeable, so it can be replaced with a cam disk with a different control cam.

[0049] The separating and processing device or its components can be mechanically rigidly attached to the machine frame of the wire processing machine. In many embodiments, however, the separating and processing device is supported in a floating manner parallel to the wire passing direction or the wire passing axis. The separating and processing device can thus compensate for the forces occurring in the longitudinal direction of the wire during cutting and / or separation by floatingly moving parallel to the wire passing direction. This proves, in particular, to ensure that the wire geometry at the wire end corresponds particularly precisely to the setting and that the wire pieces are straight and not bent near the wire end. It is also possible for the separating and processing device to be actively moved parallel to the wire passing direction by a drive (e.g., servo motor).

[0050] Wire processing machines for forming pre-formed shaped parts in the form of bent parts are provided with a suitable bending device having one or more bending tools. This bending device is arranged and configured so that, after all predetermined bending operations are completed, a separation occurs between the bent shaped parts and the unbent wire portion being fed. Many structural possibilities exist for this purpose. The bending device can be arranged downstream of the separating device in the direction of material flow, so that there is an axial gap between them. It is also possible for the bending device or its tools to be located in the same plane as the separating device. The tools of the bending device can therefore operate in the separating plane. The finished shaped parts can be sorted into good and bad parts using, for example, a sorting device and then removed. The same is also possible with wire processing machines configured as rod mass production machines for forming straight wire rods with defined wire ends.

[0051] In contrast, many embodiments are characterized in that a transport gripper for gripping the wire portion to be separated before the notching and / or cutting is provided for transporting the separated wire portion to a downstream work station after the cutting operation is completed. The transport gripper is guided linearly and slidably parallel to the wire transport axis and can be switched to reduce forces and torques during the notching and / or cutting operation, so that the transport gripper can follow the length-correcting movements of the wire portion to be separated during the notching and / or cutting operation. This ensures that even in devices for further transporting pre-formed, shortened shaped parts, no counterforces act on the separation process if the shaped parts are already gripped.

[0052] Furthermore, to ensure that the separation process is not adversely affected by tensile forces acting parallel to the longitudinal axis of the wire, the conveying device is preferably designed in such a way that the conveying movement can begin only after the cutting process has been completed, and therefore only after the molded parts to be separated have actually been separated from the supplied wire, whereas access to the molded parts to be separated can already be achieved before the wire is completely severed.

[0053] Other developments combine the process steps of notching and subsequent shearing. Thus, the following problems can be addressed in particular:

[0054] To safely join the air pin (plug coil) into the stator sheet packet with grooved insulating paper, a chamfered end of the hairpin leg with as little burr as possible is preferred. When cutting by biting or pulling apart, a somewhat sharp pyramidal shape is created according to the wedge angles of the notch cutting tools and the cutting tools. After the hairpin is inserted and crossed into the stator sheet packet, the hairpin end is usually brought into contact by a welding process. Therefore, before the welding process, the sharp end of the hairpin leg is often re-cut to create a vertical surface that can be better welded to each other.

[0055] According to a development of the invention, the re-cutting process can be omitted without any loss of quality.

[0056] In this development, the splitting process is designed as a shearing process, in which the wire is held between two splitting tools formed as shearing tools, which are opposite each other on different axial sides at the separation position and are moved synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is severed at the separation position, whereby the wire is separated by a shearing process.

[0057] The cutting device is therefore designed as a shearing device, which in the ready-to-cut state is designed for shear cutting.

[0058] As is known in mechanics, shearing results from the action of a pair of offset forces. These forces are applied via a shearing tool, one acting in the longitudinal direction of the wire, ahead of the separation point on opposite sides of the wire axis, and the other acting longitudinally behind. These forces therefore act on the wire at axially displaced positions, with the separation point between them. When the process is properly guided, a relatively smooth shear surface is created at the free wire end, oriented perpendicular to the wire's longitudinal axis.

[0059] The shearing tool may have a non-cutting, planar working surface and may be supported on both axially and radially opposed sides of the wire so as to be planar and gentle on the material near the separation location, and when the shearing tool is fed in the opposite direction, may introduce a force at the separation location that causes shearing separation.

[0060] It is advantageous to use a shearing tool with a cutting edge, in other words the cutting can also be configured as a shear cutting.

[0061] In particular, for this application in the case of forming hairpins, briefly described above, a development with a shear cutting process is proposed, which allows for the simplification of the overall process and makes it possible to eliminate subsequent processes, such as post-processing of the leg ends.

[0062] In this variation, the separation following the notching is performed by shearing. According to DIN 8588, shear cutting or shearing is the separation of material by two cutters passing each other. Within the scope of this application, a modified definition applies: during shearing, the material is separated by two cutters, which can move past each other, but this is not necessarily the case. Unlike in the case of biting cutting, the cutters do not lie in a common plane, but in planes slightly displaced axially from each other. In the case of relatively soft materials, such as copper, the cutters usually need to pass each other to achieve separation. In the case of harder, more brittle materials, such as spring steel, the material may tear and thus complete separation before the cutters reach each other. Separation can be stopped.

[0063] For shear cutting, the shearing tool has cutting edges similar to scissors, which move in opposite directions in displaced planes during the shearing process and may even pass each other. The material is sheared by shear forces. The cutters move parallel to the intervening cutting plane, with a narrow shear gap between them. The cutting plane is positioned at the separation position. Due to the shear cutting process, the end face of the separated wire at the separation position can lie in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire. The terminal portion of the wire can have the shape of a pyramid truncated. A flat, microscopically flat end face can be particularly advantageous when the wire is to be joined in a planar abutment with another component in a subsequent processing step, for example by welding.

[0064] Therefore, in particular, a separation method is provided, which produces chamfered wire ends for easy joining into the stator sheet packet, and furthermore, the wire ends remain with straight faces required for process-safe welding. Therefore, the subsequent process of "finish cutting the hairpin ends" can be omitted, which reduces the production cost in stator manufacturing.

[0065] It has proven advantageous if, in preparation for shearing, in particular for shear cutting, the wire is notched in advance on four opposing sides in pairs. In the case of a wire with a rectangular cross section, the notches are preferably provided on all substantially flat sides. To this end, a corresponding embodiment of the notching device is configured as follows: in the notching prior to shearing, the wire is first notched on both sides facing in a first direction and then on both sides facing in a second direction, such that the first and second directions run perpendicular to each other.

[0066] For notching and splitting, different tools specifically designed for each operation can be used. However, this is not necessary. In many embodiments, combination tools are used on opposite sides of the wire for notching and splitting, respectively, with the combination tool having (at least) one integrated notching tool and one integrated splitting tool, and the combination tools are fed in two mutually perpendicular directions in synchronized pairs one after the other. The notching and splitting functions (e.g., by a serrated shear or by a shear shear) are integrated in a single tool. The tool-supporting components of the wire processing machine must have the required degrees of freedom of movement to allow feed movement in the orthogonal feed directions.

[0067] Combination tools can be designed for example for notching-biting cutting operations, while other combination tools can be designed for notching-notching-shear cutting operations.

[0068] In addition, in one example of a variant in which the dividing operation is performed by a shearing operation, in particular a shear cutting operation, many additional features and measures can be selected, as in one example of a variant in which the separation is performed by a bite cutting operation, including, in particular, the use of a single drive for the different working movements of the tool and / or the use of a transport gripper and / or the preferred dimensions of the notch depth, the notch angle and / or the rest of the wire during the cutting operation.

[0069] Other advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the claims and from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0070] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a wire processing machine designed as a rod mass production machine according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a conveying device arranged downstream of the separating processing device for individually conveying or delivering the separated wire rods to the next processing machine arranged downstream. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing components of the separation processing device in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the separation processing device of FIG. 1, showing the plane (separation plane) on which the plurality of notch processing tools and the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting processing device act. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing components of the cutting device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of the notching process. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically the cutting operation following the notching operation of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a side view of another embodiment of a wire processing machine in the form of a bending machine having a two-stage separate processing device. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows the bending machine of FIG. 8 in a perspective view. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 shows an enlarged detail of FIG. [Figure 11A] FIG. 11A shows the wire ends of the formed flat wire from the wide side (upper view) and the narrow side (lower view) after the first separation step by the bite-cutting process (left, FEM simulation; right, mirror image, photographic image). [Figure 11B] FIG. 11B, like FIG. 11A, shows the wire end of a flattened wire formed after a two-stage separation process (notching and subsequent biting and cutting) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 shows diagrammatically an alternative drive concept with a cam disc. [Figures 13A-13B] 13A and 13B diagrammatically show two tools each having two wedge-shaped cutters oriented at an angle relative to one another, illustrating that the tools can be used as both multiple notch cutting tools and multiple cut-off tools. [Figures 14A-14D] 14A-14D show diagrammatically an example of a method variation having a notching-notching-shearing sequence, showing a combination tool having three different functional parts that perform the functions of (i) notching in a first direction, (ii) notching in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and (iii) shear cutting, respectively, for all partial processing steps on opposite sides of the wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0071] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a wire processing machine 100, designed as a rod mass production machine in accordance with an embodiment. The wire processing machine is arranged to produce preformed parts in the form of straight wire rods. The wire processing machine has an orthogonal machine coordinate system MK, characterized by lowercase letters x, y, and z, with a vertical z-axis and horizontal x- and y-axes. In the illustrated example, the x-axis extends parallel to the direction of passage of the wire material. From the axes of the machine coordinate system, machine axes driven by closed-loop control are distinguished, and these machine axes are usually designated with capital letters (e.g., A-axis). A controller 110 for the wire processing machine controls and coordinates the operational movements of all machine axes.

[0072] The wire-shaped initial material W is in the form of a wound material stock (coil), which in the example is wound on a reel 105. The initial material is in the form of an electrically insulating flat material having an electrically conductive support material covered with an electrically insulating insulating layer. The term "flat material" here generally refers to a workpiece in which the electrically conductive support material has paired parallel-oriented side faces. The support material can have, for example, a rectangular cross section with relatively sharp, slightly, or completely rounded and / or chamfered edges. Flat material in the form of an insulated copper or aluminum wire with a rectangular cross section can be used, for example, to form coil elements of an electric motor or to form bus bars.

[0073] After leaving the reel 105, the flat material enters a downstream subassembly, more or less coaxial with the pass axis 155. This comprises, in the following order along the workpiece pass axis 155, a straightening device 120, a length measuring device 130, a stripping device 200, a brushing device 160 arranged downstream of the stripping device, a drawing device 140 arranged downstream of the brushing device, and a separating processing device 300 arranged downstream of the drawing device.

[0074] The straightening device 120 has two straightening tools with straightening rollers arranged one after the other, which process and straighten the workpiece passing through them in two directions perpendicular to each other.

[0075] The optional length measuring device 130 has a measuring wheel and an opposing running wheel and allows accurate measurement of the length of the workpiece being conveyed to the subsequent unit.

[0076] The integrated stripping device 200 is used to strip insulated sections of flat material before separating molded parts from the supplied flat material. The milling device 200 has two displaced subunits: a first subunit 200-1 located immediately downstream of the length measuring device 130 and a second subunit 200-2 located axially spaced behind the first subunit. Each subunit is designed to strip two opposing lateral surfaces of the flat material simultaneously in one milling operation by peripheral milling. Each subunit has two milling units whose milling spindles are axially parallel and displaced relative to each other, i.e., the rotation axes of the milling spindles are displaced parallel to each other, and the milling tools housed in the milling spindles can rotate about rotation axes displaced parallel to each other. In the first subunit 200-1, the rotation axes of the two milling units are oriented vertically, i.e., parallel to the z-direction of the machine coordinate system, so that both opposing sides of the flat material in a horizontal plane can be stripped simultaneously. In the following second subunit 200-2, the rotation axes of the milling units are oriented horizontally, i.e., parallel to the y-axis of the machine coordinate system, so that the vertically overlapping upper and lower sides of the passing flat material are stripped simultaneously. Therefore, the milling units of the subunits arranged one behind the other with a gap are mounted offset by 90° from each other.

[0077] In other embodiments, the stripping device operates according to other principles, for example by means of laser processing or by means of peeling with a blade having a straight cutting edge, which in its working position is positioned near the side of the carrier material to be exposed in such a way that the part of the insulating layer captured by the blade is removed from the carrier material when the flat material advances against the blade (DE 102017200745 A1).

[0078] The stripping device can also be omitted if, for example, the initial material to be processed is bare and therefore not covered with an insulating material. The same applies to the brush device 160.

[0079] The feed movement is effected by means of a pull-out device 140 arranged behind the stripping device 120, which pulls the workpieces through the upstream device in a pull-out profile that can be predefined via a control device and conveys them to the downstream separating and processing device 300. The feed force in the pull-out direction (x-direction) is generated by friction between the pull-out rollers or pull-out belts of the pull-out device and the flat material. Alternatively, a tongue pull-out can also be provided, for example.

[0080] The separating device 300 is located immediately downstream of the drawing device 140 and separates straight shaped pieces, and thus wire rods, of a predeterminable length from the supplied insulated flat material, since no bending of the flat material takes place within the stripping device 120. Examples of separating devices and their variations are described in more detail below.

[0081] After separating the supplied wire material, the wire rods can be collected, for example, in a collecting device (not shown) and supplied for further processing. In this embodiment, a conveying device 400 is arranged downstream of the separating / processing device 300, and is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2. This conveying device is used to individually further transport or transfer the separated wire rods to a further downstream processing machine, and is also referred to herein as a "rod transfer device" or simply "rod conveying device." The conveying device 400 has a horizontal linear guide 410 supported by a console 405, in which a conveying gripper 420 is linearly movably guided. The gripping mechanism of the conveying gripper is attached to a carriage 430 equipped with a servo motor, and the carriage can move along the linear guide 410.

[0082] In FIG. 2, the suspended transport gripper grips the wire rod W1 to be separated from above before the start of the transport operation, holds it in a horizontal orientation during the separation process, transports the separated wire rod to the left for delivery after the separation process is completed, and then travels horizontally back to the rear of the transport device to grip a new wire rod.

[0083] In the illustrated configuration, the transport gripper 420 is switched to reduce forces and moments during the separation process, so that the transport gripper 420 can follow the length-compensating movements of the wire portion to be separated horizontally in a floating manner during the separation process.

[0084] Next, the structure and function of the separation processing device 300 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the components of the separation processing device 300. Figure 4 shows a vertical cross section of the separation processing device 300 in a plane (separation plane) on which the multiple notch processing tools and the multiple wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting processing device act, and Figure 5 shows a partial view of the components of the cutting processing device.

[0085] The separating device 300 is used to separate predefined wire lengths of shaped parts from a supply of wire material at separation locations that can be provided for separation. The term "separation location" describes a defined position along the wire, and thus a predetermined point along the wire. The separating device 300 includes a notching device 320 (some components of which are shown in FIG. 4) and a separating device in the form of a cutting device 340, which can be coordinated with the notching device and whose components are further shown in isolation in FIG. 5.

[0086] The components of the separation processing device 300 are supported in a floating manner in the horizontal direction parallel to the wire passage axis 155. To this end, the components are mounted on a base plate 310, which is slidably guided on a linear guide 312 in the form of a roller orbital guide. A servo motor 314 is mounted on the side facing the straightening unit 140 and is capable of axially moving a pulling rod linked to the base plate. Thus, the separation processing device 300 as a whole can be powered back forward after the floating movement. The servo motor can also be used to actively move the separation processing device during the separation processing process if the floating support is insufficient to compensate for longitudinal forces. Therefore, the servo motor can also be used to axially position the entire separation processing device 300 in the x-direction (parallel to the passage axis 155).

[0087] The notching device 320 (whose components can be seen in vertical section in FIG. 4 ) is structured so that the wire material can be notched at the desired separation locations by two opposing notches on both sides with a plurality of notching tools 325-1, 325-2, thereby forming the wire material without material removal. The notching is controlled so that a thinned wire cross section remains at the separation point between the opposing notches. For this purpose, the notching tools are fed antiparallel along a vertical first direction (parallel to the z-axis) and symmetrically aligned with respect to the pass axis 155. For this purpose, the notching device has a servomotor drive 322, which, via a transmission 323, rotates a crankshaft 324 journaled on a horizontal axis. On the crankshaft, a first connecting rod 326-1 and a second connecting rod 326-2 are rotatably supported on corresponding eccentric portions of the crankshaft. The first connecting rod is connected to a first slider 327-1, which can be linearly slid up and down in a first vertical direction via the connecting rod by a crankshaft. The end face of the first slider 327-1 facing the workpiece has a receptacle for a first notch machining tool 325-1, which therefore enters the workpiece from above. The second connecting rod 326-2 drives a second L-shaped slider 327-2, which can also be slid up and down parallel to the first direction and has a tool receptacle for a second notch machining tool 325-2 at its front end. Thus, two notch machining tools can be simultaneously moved in opposite directions toward and away from the workpiece via the servo drive 322. The stroke of the connecting rod or slider is adjusted so that the notching tools form notches in the workpiece without completely cutting through the workpiece at the separation location, rather leaving a notch on each side and a "web" of wire material therebetween with a tapered wire cross section.

[0088] The cutting device 340, which functions as a dividing device, is constructed in a similar manner. It has a cutting drive 342 in the form of a servomotor, which drives via a transmission a crankshaft supported by a horizontal axis. The crankshaft drives via two connecting rods a first slider 347-1 that can slide linearly in the horizontal direction and a second slider 347-2 that can slide linearly parallel to it in opposite feed directions. Each of these sliders supports a tool holder at its end, in which a first cutting tool 345-1 with a wedge-shaped cutter is mounted, and a second cutting tool 345-2 with a wedge-shaped cutter is mounted on the opposite second slider. Through the driving of the driving unit 342, the two wedge-shaped cutters can be moved toward or away from each other symmetrically with respect to the pass axis 155 and parallel to the second direction (y direction) to perform the cutting process. By using a cutting tool having a plurality of wedge-shaped cutters, the wedge-shaped cutters are moved toward each other by a distance such that the wire material is cut at the separation position, and the cut wire material can be separated by a bite cutting process within the region of the tapered wire cross section at the separation position.

[0089] The cutters of the notching tools that engage towards the workpiece (wire) and the cutting edges of the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools are arranged in the same plane (separation plane, drawing plane in FIG. 4 ) oriented perpendicular to the passing direction. The working movements of the notching tools and the cutting tools are coordinated via the wire processing machine control device 110 using the associated drives 322, 342 so that the notching tools can only engage in the workpiece when the cutting tools are retracted outwards to their retracted position, thereby eliminating collisions between the notching tools and the cutting tools. For cutting, the notching tools are moved away from the workpiece to their retracted position, after which the cutting tools cut the wire material of the workpiece by cutting in the area of ​​the tapered wire cross section.

[0090] 6 and 7 show schematic diagrams of notching (FIG. 6) and cutting (FIG. 7). In notching (FIG. 6), several notching tools 325-1, 325-2 are used in the form of roof-shaped notching wedges with sharp or slightly rounded tip regions. The wedge angle KWK between the wedge faces is obtuse and, in some cases, slightly greater than 100°, e.g., 120°. Notching is a purely shaping process without any material removal. When the notching tools penetrate the wire material antiparallel, the material is essentially forced in the longitudinal direction of the wire, and no material removal occurs. However, this axial force does not result in bending of the wire material, since the separating device 300 is supported in a floating manner and can perform axial compensation movements. In the areas between these notches, a tapered wire cross section WD remains in which the wire material has been hardened as a result of notching compared to the unshaped wire material.

[0091] After the notching tools are withdrawn, the cutting tools 345-1, 345-2 are fed synchronously in the direction of the already cut-out material, thus at the opposing notches KB, parallel to the second direction, thus perpendicular to the direction of action of the notching tools. In the situation shown in FIG. 7, the facing cutting edges of the cutting tools, which lie in one plane, come into contact or nearly come into contact so that the wire material is cut by a bite-cutting process at the separation position TP, which lies in the separation plane. It is clear that the bite-cutting process in the already cut-out area at the separation position takes place where the wire material has already been significantly hardened by the previous notching process. This results in a very smooth and well-defined fracture surface during the cutting process.

[0092] Furthermore, the wedge surfaces of the notching tools and the wedge surfaces of the cutting tools each produce a clearly defined chamfer in the form of an oblique, somewhat trapezoidal plane at the wire end of the resulting molded part. The wedge angle KWKS between the wedge surfaces of the cutting tools corresponds in many variations to the wedge angle KWK of the notching tools, so that both the bevel on the wide side of the flat material (which in some cases is formed by the notching tools) and the chamfer or plane on the narrow side of the flat material (which in some cases is formed by the cutting tools) are inclined by the same angle relative to the initial orientation of the side. It is also possible for the wedge angles of the cutting tools and the notching tools to be different.

[0093] Unlike the illustrated configuration, the relative positions of the notch processing device and the cutting processing device can be reversed, so for example, Figure 4 shows the components of the cutting processing device (for vertical cutting) and Figure 5 shows the components of the notch processing device (for horizontal notching).

[0094] 8-10, another embodiment of a wire processing machine with a two-stage separation process (notching and cutting) is described. The wire processing machine 800 is a bending machine 800 for forming preformed bent parts, and thus preformed shaped parts, which have one or more bends between the wire ends. In this example, the bending machine 800 is constructed and programmed so that the preformed bent part FT can be bent into a U-shaped coil element, a so-called hairpin, in order to build an electric motor (see FIG. 10).

[0095] The bending machine has a machine frame with a vertical front wall 810, in which a wire guide 820 is formed, which guides the supplied wire along a passing axis 855. In an enclosed area behind the machine front wall 810, there are, inter alia, a straightening unit and a drawing device, by means of which the wire is drawn from the endless stock and straightened and fed through the wire guide 820. The wire guide and the upstream devices (drawing device and straightening unit) connected to it in a non-rotatable manner can be controlled to rotate about the passing axis 85. Arranged in a vertical plane behind the wire guide are the components of a separate processing device 900. On the outlet side of the separate processing device, facing away from the machine wall, there is provided a bending unit 850 (not shown in detail here) with one or more bending tools for forming predetermined bends in the wire material. During the manufacturing process, the wire material is conveyed forward toward the bending unit 850 where it is bent one or more times in one or more mutually displaced bending planes to obtain the desired bending geometry of the formed part. The resulting formed part is then separated from the supplied wire stock using a separating device 900.

[0096] The separating device 900 is supported in a floating manner parallel to the x-direction of the machine coordinate system as a whole, or parallel to the pass axis 855, thereby allowing, if necessary, compensation for longitudinal elongation of the finished molded part during the notching and cutting operations. A servo motor can also be coupled, which (similar to servo motor 314 in FIG. 2) can be used to actively move the separating device 900 parallel to the pass axis 855 during the separating process if the floating support is not sufficient to compensate for the forces exerted in the longitudinal direction.

[0097] The separation processing device 900 includes a notching device 920 and a cutting device 940, which together form a cross-shaped arrangement with four subunits. The notching device 920 has a linearly slidably supported first slider 927-1, which can be moved forward and backward in a first direction radial to the workpiece pass axis 855 by a flanged servomotor via an intermediately arranged transmission with a ball screw drive. A tool receiving section is provided at the tool-side end of the slider for receiving the first notching tool 925-1. A diametrically opposite second slider 927-2 is mounted, which can feed the second notching tool 925-2 toward the workpiece antiparallel to the first notching tool or in the opposite direction (parallel to the first direction) via a dedicated servo drive. The first direction is in the yz plane perpendicular to the pass axis and is oblique by 45° to the y and z directions.

[0098] The two subunits of the cutting device 940 are arranged 90° circumferentially offset from the corresponding units of the notch processing device. A first slider 947-1 of the cutting device 940 supports a cutting tool 945-1 having a wedge-shaped cutter, and an opposing second slider 947-2 supports a cutting tool 945-2 having a wedge-shaped cutter. The arrangement of these tools can be seen particularly well in Figure 10.

[0099] The sliders are each mounted on a plate-shaped support which can move parallel to the z-direction and parallel to the y-direction, so that the tool supported by the slider and the working direction of the tool can be adapted to the respective workpiece geometry.

[0100] In this embodiment, a dedicated servo drive is provided for each of the tools (each of the two notching tools and each of the two cutting tools), which is adjusted via the control unit of the wire processing machine in such a way that, in the same plane (separation plane) where the wire separation position is located, the notching tools are first fed antiparallel to form opposing notches, then the notching tools are retracted in the system direction, and then the cutting tools with wedge-shaped cutters are fed radially inward in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction until the wire material is cut by a bite cutting process in the area of ​​the narrowed material web.

[0101] There are also embodiments different from that shown in Figure 8, in which the components of the separating device and the components of the bending unit used to form the bends are located in a common plane. In Figure 9, the sliders and tools of the bending unit can be located, for example, in the circumferential direction between the notching device 920 and the cutting device 940, which are inclined at 45° to the horizontal. They can form a cross-shaped arrangement with the horizontally and vertically oriented units.

[0102] Numerous trials have shown that in the production of preformed shaped parts, a two-stage separation process with a preceding notch by forming and a subsequent bite-cutting process in the tapered wire section results in very well-defined geometrical wire ends. To illustrate, comparative experiments were carried out in which, on the one hand, the separation process was carried out in a two-stage method according to the invention, and, on the other hand, for comparison, a separation process was carried out with a single bite-cutting process without a preceding notch.

[0103] For illustrative purposes, Figure 11A shows the wire end of a flat wire with a rectangular cross section from the wide side (upper partial view) on the one hand and the narrow side (lower partial view) on the other hand. On the left, the results of a finite element method (FEM) simulation are shown, and on the right, in mirror image, a photograph of the experimental wire end is shown. A large number of experiments were performed. Based on the good agreement between the simulations and the experiments, the results are assumed to be representative and significant.

[0104] In the case of a bite-cutting process without prior notching (FIG. 11A), when notches are formed on the opposite wide sides of the material, a significant cross-sectional widening occurs on the narrow side in the form of an outwardly directed material bend WB. Within this region, material is forced outward by material displacement beyond the envelope contour of the original unprocessed wire material. Apart from that, the resulting geometry corresponds to the desired geometry with a substantially flat, beveled chamfer on the wide side of the wire end.

[0105] 11B shows the result when a cutting process is carried out with a prior notch. As can be seen from the two lower partial views, a pronounced cross-sectional taper also occurs on the narrow side of the wire material in the form of a slightly inwardly curved, more or less flat chamfer FS. The wire end thus formed has an inwardly directed chamfer FS on both the wide and narrow sides, so that in the termination area the material does not extend beyond the envelope contour of the initial material.

[0106] The drive concepts of the embodiments shown above are merely examples: other possibilities exist for driving multiple notching tools and multiple cutting tools.

[0107] Schematic Figure 12 shows an example of the components of a drive concept in which a single drive manages several notching tools and several cutting tools. A drive (not shown) drives a cam disc 1210, which is rotatable by the drive about an axis of rotation extending parallel to or coaxial with the pass axis 155. The cam disc 1210 is formed with a cam track, which may be formed, for example, in the form of a circumferential groove 1212 or may be provided on the outside or inside of the cam disc. The course of the cam track is followed by rollers 1214, which in this example are attached to first vertically slidable sliders 1227-1, 1227-2 and to second horizontally slidable sliders 1047-1, 1047-2. The slider, which is guided radially and linearly slidably relative to the pass axis 155, supports, as in the first embodiment, tool holders for multiple notch cutting tools or multiple cutting tools on its inner side facing the workpiece.

[0108] Depending on the design, the slider movement can be returned either by force via the geometry of the groove 1212 or by the return force of a spring, which presses the roller or a component connected to the roller into the cam track. In this concept, both the vertical notching and the horizontal cutting movements are controlled by a single cam disc 1210. The cam disc can be replaced to achieve other kinematics. Extremely large forces can be generated via the cam geometry, which is particularly effective for notching, but also for interlocking cutting. In this example, the cam disc does not rotate infinitely but is reversibly moved within a range of up to 90° (see double arrow). The notch depth is adjusted via the rotation angle of the cam disc. The more of the maximum 90° of rotation is utilized, the deeper the notches are formed. The cam disc concept is a compact solution, allowing two movements (for multiple notching tools and multiple cutting tools) to be realized in a small space. When using cams of different slopes, a good and variable force transmission is obtained.

[0109] An embodiment is also possible in which only two servo drives are provided with wedge-shaped tools that are used for both notching and cutting, for example to rotate the wire by 90° between notching and cutting.

[0110] It is also possible to form or configure a wedge-shaped tool so that, on the one hand, it can notch the wire W by corresponding movements in the z and y directions, and on the other hand—in the same plane—perpendicularly to them. FIG. 13A illustrates notching with two tools 1330-1, 1330-2, each triangular at its free end, each having two wedge-shaped cutters that extend at 90° to each other. The notches are formed on two flat sides of a rectangular wire cross-section that face each other in the y direction. FIG. 13B illustrates cutting with the same tool, but with triangular free ends, using multiple wedge-shaped cutters that extend at 90°. The feed direction for cutting runs parallel to the z direction. The tool thus functions both as a multiple notch cutting tool and as a multiple cutting tool. They have, for each of the processes, a number of wedge-shaped cutters whose cutting edges extend perpendicularly to one another.

[0111] The separating device of this embodiment has a notch processing device and a cutting device that can process after the notch processing device, and since they share the same components, the notch processing device can also be used as the cutting device. Therefore, the notch processing device and the cutting device do not need to be separate devices, but can be integrated.

[0112] The multiple tools 1330-1, 1330-2 in Figure 13A are an example of a combination tool having an integrated notching tool with straight cutting edges extending perpendicular to one another and an integrated bite cutting tool, with the notching tool in Figure 13A and the cutting tool having multiple symmetrical wedge-shaped cutters in Figure 13B synchronously engaging the workpiece.

[0113] 14A to 14D, other examples of machining process variations are described, in which other combination tools 1430-1, 1430-2 are used, which combine a first notch machining tool 1425-1 and a second notch machining tool 1425-2 with mutually orthogonal wedges and a cutting tool 1435-1 designed as a shear cutter.

[0114] In this process, a workpiece W in the form of a wire with a rectangular cross section is severed or separated at the separation position. To do this, the wire W is first notched simultaneously on its flat sides facing in the y direction (FIG. 14A). Then, at the same axial position, the wire is notched on its flat inner sides facing in the z direction by the same combination tools 1430-1 and 1430-2 (see FIG. 14B). The workpiece is thus notched on all four sides in a two-stage notch process (or by two notches), resulting in a V-shaped notch. The notch root KG, shown by a dashed line in FIG. 14C, defines the narrowed wire cross section at the separation position.

[0115] After notching on all sides, the wire is completely severed at the separation position in a shear cutting operation, i.e., by shear cutting. For this purpose, cutting tools 1435-1, 1435-2 designed for shear cutting are integrated into the combination tools 1430-1, 1430-2, respectively, where one of the cutting tools, e.g., cutting tool 1435-1, functions as the upper cutter of the cutting device, and the other cutting tool, e.g., cutting tool 1435-2, functions as the lower cutter. The cutting tools 1435-1, 1435-2 can also be referred to as shear cutting tools or shear cutting cutters.

[0116] The side view of Figure 14D clearly shows the shape of the multiple cutting tools (multiple shear cutting tools). Each of the multiple cutting tools 1435-1, 1435-2 has a cutting edge 1436-1, 1436-2 that extends linearly parallel to the y direction when the tool is fixed in a tool holder of an associated machine shaft and properly aligned. The cutting edge is formed into an asymmetric cutting wedge, with the defining surface (exposed surface) 1437-1, 1437-2 located near the separation position oriented approximately parallel to the zy plane, and the other defining surface (pressure surface) 1438-1, 1438-2 forming a wedge angle KW of less than 90° with the cutting edge 1436-1, 1436-2 and therefore extending obliquely to the y and z directions. The wedge angle KW is approximately half the size of the wedge angle KWK of the multiple notching tools that performed the preceding notching steps.

[0117] To perform the shear cutting process, the wire W is stationary and therefore not advanced, and the combination tool is moved by the associated machine axes so that the cutting edges 1436-1, 1436-2 are substantially in the separation position or plane of the stationary wire.

[0118] This requires an axial movement parallel to the z-axis and an opposite movement of the two cutting tools parallel to the x-direction, starting from the last preceding notch. Between the exposed surfaces of the cutter wedges, which correspond to the separation positions TP, there is an approximately narrow cutting gap, the size of which can be, for example, in the region of a hundredth of a millimeter or less.

[0119] Starting from the relative position shown in FIG. 14D, multiple shear cutting tools are then fed synchronously in opposite directions parallel to the z direction (arrows). The cutting edges 1436-1, 1436-2 first contact the bottoms of the opposing notches more or less simultaneously (ideally simultaneously) and then slide further into the wire material. As the cutting wedges advance further, the wedge surfaces 1436-1, 1436-2 act as pressure surfaces, pushing the material outward from the separation point in the opposite direction. During the cutting phase, the cutting edges 1436-1, 1436-2 approach each other symmetrically about the wire longitudinal axis (wire center) MA until the intermediate wire cross section becomes so thin that, once the maximum shear stress is overcome, the material breaks during the tearing phase. If the wire breaks, the reverse feed can be stopped before the cutting edges meet each other. This can be the case with relatively hard or brittle materials, such as spring steel, for example. It is also possible that in the final stages of the shear cutting process, the cutting edges pass each other, as is regularly the case with copper or other relatively soft materials.

[0120] If the processing parameters are properly adjusted, it is possible to use shear cutting to generate microscopically flat end faces at the separated wire ends that are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire. The terminal portion of the wire has the shape of a rectangular pyramid truncated with a flat end face and is particularly suitable for large-area contact, for example by a welding process.

[0121] Therefore, the completely cutting-free separation process of the example of FIG. 14 consists of three processing steps, which can be described as follows:

[0122] The first processing step. Two wedge cutters, positioned at a distance and perpendicular to the wire, move symmetrically towards the wire centre. This movement is stopped after a defined feed of the tool, so that only the material is pushed away and no cutting / separation takes place. After this process, the material is notched on both sides.

[0123] The second processing step. Two other wedge cutters, positioned at a distance perpendicular to the wire (but positioned perpendicular to the other two), also move symmetrically in the direction of the wire center. This movement is also stopped after a defined feed of the tool, so that the material is "only" pushed away and no cutting / separation process is performed. After this process, the material is notched on all four sides.

[0124] The third processing step. Two shearing cutters, positioned at a distance perpendicular to the wire, move symmetrically toward the center of the wire. The two blade cutters move toward the center of the wire until the wire is sheared.

[0125] The three processing steps for the four side notches and subsequent separation by shear cutting are carried out in one plane. In rectangular pieces, the wire ends have the shape of a pyramid after the processing steps.

[0126] The type of machining process described here can be used to geometrically shape wire ends in copper components such as hairpins, bus bars, contact pins, etc. Notching and cutting of chain links can also be performed accordingly. According to aspect (1), there is provided a method for forming a pre-formed shaped part from a wire, the method comprising: A wire (W) is drawn from a wire stock and fed to a wire processing machine (100, 800); the wire is straightened in the wire processing machine (100, 800) and a formed part of a predetermined wire length is separated from the straightened wire, to separate the molded part from the supplied wire; First, at a separation position (TP) defined for separation, the wire (W) is notched with at least one notch from opposite sides using a plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) so that a tapered wire cross section remains between the opposing notches (KB) at the separation position; Thereafter, in a splitting process, the notched wire is separated at the separation position (TP) within the region of the tapered wire cross section by engaging two splitting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1435-1, 1435-2) on opposite sides of the wire and feeding the two splitting tools synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP). According to aspect (2), the notch processing is performed as a molding process, and the notch is formed only by material molding without material removal. According to aspect (3), the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are controlled such that the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are synchronously fed in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis, and / or such that the penetration depth of the plurality of notch machining tools is at least 10%, particularly in the range of 20% to 50%, of the unnotched wire in a first direction, and / or such that the residual width, in the tapered wire cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the wire, is in the range of not more than 90%, particularly in the range of 50% to 80%, of the original wire diameter in the first direction. According to aspect (4), the wire (W) is separated at the separation point (TP) after the notching by a cutting process, in particular by a biting cutting process or a shear cutting process. According to aspect (5), in the cutting process, the wire is separated at the separation position (TP) by a bite cutting process, and the wire is held between two separation processing tools configured as a plurality of cutting processing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) which are wedge-shaped cutters, and the wedge-shaped cutters move closer to each other until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP), and the cutting edges formed on the wedge-shaped cutters are located in a common plane. According to aspect (6), the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) face each other in a first direction and are fed in a direction parallel to the first direction; the plurality of cutting tools having the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters face each other in a second direction and are fed in a direction parallel to the second direction; The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. According to aspect (7), the dividing process is performed as a shearing process, and the wire is divided by the shearing process at the dividing position (TP), and the wire is held between two dividing tools configured as a plurality of shearing tools (1435-1, 1435-2), and the plurality of shearing tools engage on both sides of the dividing position (TP) in different axial directions and feed synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is divided at the dividing position (TP). According to aspect (8), the shear cutting process is performed as a shear cutting process, wherein the wire is separated by a shear cutting process at the separation position (TP), the wire is held between a shear cutting tool formed as an upper blade and a shear cutting tool formed as a lower blade, and the cutters of the shear cutting tools move towards each other in opposite directions relative to each other in axially offset planes, in particular passing through each other until the wire is separated at the separation position (TP). According to aspect (9), in the notching process prior to the shearing process, the wire is first notched on both sides facing a first direction, and then on both sides facing a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. According to aspect (10), the wire is not fed in the longitudinal direction of the wire between the notching and the dividing, and the notching and the dividing are performed in the same plane (TE). According to aspect (11), combination tools (1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-14, 1430-2) are used for the notching and the dividing on opposite sides of the wire (W), respectively, and the combination tools have at least one integrated notching tool and one integrated dividing tool, and the combination tools are paired one after the other in time and move in synchronized feed in two mutually perpendicular directions. According to aspect (12), before the notching and / or the dividing process, the wire portion to be separated is gripped by a transport gripper (420), and after the dividing process, the separated molded part is transported to a downstream work station by the transport gripper. According to aspect (13), the transport gripper (420) is linearly guided parallel to the wire transport axis and is switched to reduce forces and torques during the notching and / or dividing processes, and the transport gripper can follow in a floating manner the length correction movements of the wire portions to be separated during the notching and / or dividing processes. According to aspect (14), the wire (W) having a rectangular cross section is characterized in that it is processed in the form of a flat material having two wide sides parallel to each other and two narrow sides oriented perpendicular to the wide sides. According to aspect (15), after straightening, the predetermined length of straight wire rod is separated from the straightened wire, or after straightening but before separation, one or more bends are formed in the straightened wire, and the formed part becomes a bent part. According to a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a wire processing machine (100, 800) for forming a preformed shaped part from a wire (W), comprising: a drawing device that draws out wire from the wire stock; a straightening unit for straightening the wire; a separation processing device (300, 900) for severing the molded part from the wire at a separation position (TP) defined for separation; The separating processing device (300, 900) has a notch processing device (320, 920) and a dividing processing device (340, 940) that can be driven after the notch processing device, the notching device (320, 920) is configured to cut the wire with at least one notch from opposite sides at a separation position (TP) defined for separation using a plurality of notching tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2), thereby leaving a tapered wire cross section between the opposing notches at the separation position; The divided processing device (340, 940) has, in a set-up state, two divided processing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2), and a wire (W) can pass between the two divided processing tools; The two divided machining tools are synchronously movable in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis; the dividing device is configured so that the cut wire is divided at the dividing point (TP) in the region of the tapered wire cross section; The two dividing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2) are wire processing machines that are fed synchronously in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis during dividing until the wire material is cut at a separation position (TP). According to aspect (17), the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are provided as forming tools, and the notches can be formed solely by material shaping without material removal, and / or the notch machining device is configured to control feed movements of the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2), whereby the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are fed synchronously in opposite feed movement directions perpendicular to the wire axis. According to an aspect (18), the dividing device is configured as a cutting device, and the two dividing tools are configured as a plurality of cutting tools. According to aspect (19), the cutting device is configured in the form of a bite cutting device, and the bite cutting device has, in a set-up state, a plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) having a plurality of wedge-shaped cutters, the wire (W) can pass through between the plurality of cutting tools, and the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters can be moved toward each other to perform cutting. The cutting device is characterized in that the cut wire is separated at the separation position (TP) by a bite cutting process in the area of ​​the tapered wire cross-section, and the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) are configured to move towards each other in a common plane during the cutting process until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP). According to aspect (20), the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2) are arranged or can be arranged to face each other in a first direction and can be fed and moved parallel to the first direction; The plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2) having the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters are arranged or can be arranged opposite each other in a second direction and can be fed and moved parallel to the second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. According to aspect (21), the splitting device is configured as a shearing device, and the shearing device is configured so that the wire is separated by shearing at the separation position (TP), and the wire is held between two splitting tools configured as shearing tools (1435-1, 1435-2), and the two splitting tools are engaged on both sides of different axial directions at the separation position (TP) and can be fed synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is cut at the separation position (TP). According to aspect (22), the notching device is configured such that, in the notching process prior to the shearing process, the wire is first notched on both sides facing each other in a first direction, and then on both sides facing each other in a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. According to aspect (23), the separation processing device has combination tools (1330-2, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2) on opposite sides of the wire, each of which has at least one integrated notch processing tool and an integrated dividing processing tool, and the machine axis of the wire processing machine is configured so that the combination tools can be fed and moved synchronously in pairs one after the other in two directions perpendicular to each other. According to aspect (24), the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are configured as roof-shaped notch processing wedges having sharp or rounded apex regions, and the wedge angle (KWK) enclosed by the wedge faces is preferably within a range of 90° to 140°, and / or the wedge-shaped cutters of the plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2) have a wedge angle (KWK) within a range of 90° to 140°. According to aspect (25), the wedge-shaped cutters of the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1452-2) of the notch processing device and the plurality of cutting processing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1435-1, 1435-2) of the cutting processing device are arranged in a common plane. According to aspect (26), the notch processing device (320, 820) has a single drive unit (322) which is preferably coupled to two notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2) for synchronous feed movement, and / or the dividing processing device (340, 840) has a single drive unit (342) which is preferably coupled to two dividing processing tools (345-1, 345-2) for synchronous feed movement. According to aspect (27), the dividing processing device (300, 900) is supported in a floating manner parallel to the passing direction of the wire (W), or the dividing processing device can be actively moved parallel to the passing direction of the wire (W) by a drive unit. According to aspect (28), a transport gripper (420) is provided for gripping the wire portion to be separated before the notching and / or the dividing process and for transporting the separated wire portion to a downstream work station after the dividing process is completed, the transport gripper (420) is preferably guided so as to be linearly movable parallel to the wire transport axis and can be switched to reduce forces and torques during the notching and / or dividing process, and the transport gripper can follow in a floating manner the length correction movements of the wire portion to be separated during the notching and / or the dividing process.

Claims

1. 1. A method of forming a pre-formed shaped part from wire, comprising: A wire (W) is drawn from a wire stock and fed to a wire processing machine (100, 800); the wire is straightened in the wire processing machine (100, 800) and a formed part of a predetermined wire length is separated from the straightened wire, to separate the molded part from the supplied wire; First, at a separation position (TP) defined for separation, the wire (W) is notched with at least one notch from opposite sides using a plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) so that a tapered wire cross section remains between the opposing notches (KB) at the separation position; Thereafter, in a splitting operation, the notched wire is separated at the separation position (TP) in the region of the tapered wire cross-section by engaging two splitting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1435-1, 1435-2) on opposite sides of the wire and feeding the two splitting tools synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP).

2. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein notching is performed as a molding operation, the notch being formed solely by material shaping without material removal.

3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of notching tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are synchronously fed in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis, and / or the notching tools are controlled such that a penetration depth of the plurality of notching tools is at least 10% of the unnotched wire in a first direction and / or a residual width is within a range of up to 90% of the original wire diameter in the first direction in the tapered wire cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the wire.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wire (W) is separated at the separation point (TP) after the notching process by a cutting process of a bite cutting process or by a shear cutting process.

5. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein in the cutting process, the wire is separated at the separating position (TP) by a bite cutting process, the wire being held between the two dividing tools configured as a plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) which are wedge-shaped cutters, the wedge-shaped cutters moving towards each other until the wire material is severed at the separating position (TP), the cutting edges formed on the wedge-shaped cutters being located in a common plane.

6. the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) face each other in a first direction and are fed in a direction parallel to the first direction; the plurality of cutting tools having the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters face each other in a second direction and are fed in a direction parallel to the second direction; 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

7. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dividing operation is performed as a shearing operation, and the wire is divided at the dividing position (TP) by the shearing operation, and the wire is held between the two dividing tools configured as a plurality of shearing tools (1435-1, 1435-2), which are engaged on opposite sides of the dividing position (TP) in different axial directions and feed synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is divided at the dividing position (TP).

8. 8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the shearing process is performed as a shear cutting process, and the wire is separated at the separation position (TP) by a shear cutting process, the wire being held between a shear cutting process tool formed as an upper blade and a shear cutting process tool formed as a lower blade, and the cutters of the shear cutting process tools move towards each other in opposite directions relative to each other in axially offset planes and pass each other until the wire is separated at the separation position (TP).

9. 9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein in the notching prior to the shearing, the wire is first notched on opposite sides in a first direction and then on opposite sides in a second direction, the first direction and the second direction being perpendicular to each other.

10. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wire is not fed longitudinally between the notching and the splitting, and the notching and the splitting are performed in the same plane (TE).

11. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein combination tools (1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-14, 1430-2) are used for the notching and the splitting on opposite sides of the wire (W), respectively, the combination tools having at least one integrated notching tool and one integrated splitting tool, the combination tools being paired one after the other in time and having synchronized feed movements in two mutually perpendicular directions.

12. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, before the notching and / or the dividing operation, the wire portion to be separated is gripped by a transport gripper (420), and after the dividing operation, the separated molded part is transported to a downstream work station by the transport gripper.

13. 13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the transport gripper (420) is linearly guided parallel to the wire transport axis and is switched during the notching and / or the dividing operation in a force- and torque-reducing manner, and the transport gripper can follow in a floating manner length-compensating movements of the wire portions to be separated during the notching and / or the dividing operation.

14. 14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the wire (W) having a rectangular cross section is processed in the form of a flat material having two wide sides parallel to each other and two narrow sides oriented perpendicular to the wide sides.

15. 15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that after straightening, a length of straight wire rod is separated from the straightened wire or, after straightening but before separation, one or more bends are formed in the straightened wire, and the formed part becomes a bent part.

16. A wire processing machine (100, 800) for forming pre-formed shaped parts from a wire (W), comprising: a drawing device that draws out wire from the wire stock; a straightening unit for straightening the wire; a separation processing device (300, 900) for severing the molded part from the wire at a separation position (TP) defined for separation, The separation processing device (300, 900) has a notch processing device (320, 920) and a dividing processing device (340, 940) that can be driven later in time than the notch processing device, the notching device (320, 920) is configured to cut out the wire with at least one notch from opposite sides using a plurality of notching tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) at the separation position (TP) defined for separation, thereby leaving a tapered wire cross section between the opposing notches at the separation position; The split processing device (340, 940) has, in a set-up state, two split processing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2), and a wire (W) can pass between the two split processing tools; The two divided machining tools are synchronously movable in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis; the dividing device is configured so that the cut wire is divided at the dividing point (TP) in the region of the tapered wire cross section, The two dividing tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2) are fed synchronously in opposite directions perpendicular to the wire axis during dividing until the wire material is cut at the separation position (TP).

17. 17. A wire processing machine according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are provided as forming tools, and the notches can be formed solely by material shaping without material removal, and / or the notching device is configured to control a feed movement of the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2), whereby the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) feed in synchronously opposite feed movement directions perpendicular to the wire axis.

18. 18. The wire processing machine according to claim 16, wherein the dividing device is configured as a cutting device, and the two dividing tools are configured as a plurality of cutting tools.

19. the cutting device is configured in the form of a bite cutting device, and the bite cutting device has, in a set-up state, a plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) each having a plurality of wedge-shaped cutters, the wire (W) can pass through between the plurality of cutting tools, and the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters can be moved toward each other to perform cutting; 19. The wire processing machine according to claim 18, wherein the cutting device is configured such that the cut wire is separated at the separation position (TP) by a bite cutting operation in the region of the tapered wire cross-section, and the wedge-shaped cutters of the cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2) move towards each other in a common plane during the cutting operation until the wire material is severed at the separation position (TP).

20. the plurality of notch machining tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2) are arranged or can be arranged opposite each other in a first direction and can be fed and moved parallel to the first direction; 20. The wire processing machine of claim 19, wherein the plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2) having the plurality of wedge-shaped cutters are arranged or can be arranged opposite each other in a second direction and can be fed and moved parallel to the second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

21. A wire processing machine as described in any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the dividing processing device is configured as a shearing processing device, which is configured so that the wire is divided by a shearing process at the dividing position (TP), and the wire is held between the two dividing processing tools which are configured as shearing processing tools (1435-1, 1435-2), and the two dividing processing tools are engaged on both sides of different axial directions at the dividing position (TP) and can be fed synchronously in opposite feed directions perpendicular to the wire axis until the wire material is divided at the dividing position (TP).

22. 22. The wire processing machine of claim 21, wherein the notching device is configured such that, in the notching prior to the shearing, the wire is first notched on opposite sides in a first direction and then on opposite sides in a second direction, the first direction and the second direction being perpendicular to each other.

23. A wire processing machine as described in any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that the separating processing device has combination tools (1330-2, 1330-2, 1430-1, 1430-2) on opposite sides of the wire, each combination tool having at least one integrated notch processing tool and an integrated dividing processing tool, and the machine axis of the wire processing machine is configured so that the combination tools can be fed and moved synchronously in pairs one after the other in two directions perpendicular to each other.

24. 21. A wire processing machine according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the plurality of notching tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1425-2) are configured as roof-shaped notching wedges with sharp or rounded apex regions, and a wedge angle (KWK) encompassed by the wedge faces is in the range of 90° to 140°, and / or the wedge-shaped cutters of the plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2) have a wedge angle (KWK) in the range of 90° to 140°.

25. 21. The wire processing machine according to claim 19, wherein the wedge-shaped cutters of the plurality of notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2, 925-1, 925-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1425-1, 1452-2) of the notch processing device and the plurality of cutting tools (345-1, 345-2, 945-1, 945-2, 1330-1, 1330-2, 1435-1, 1435-2) of the cutting processing device are arranged in a common plane.

26. 26. A wire processing machine according to claim 16, wherein the notch processing device (320, 820) has a single drive unit (322) coupled to two notch processing tools (325-1, 325-2) for synchronous feed movement, and / or the dividing processing device (340, 940) has a single drive unit (342) coupled to the two dividing processing tools (345-1, 345-2) for synchronous feed movement.

27. A wire processing machine as described in any one of claims 16 to 26, characterized in that the dividing processing device (340, 940) is supported in a floating manner parallel to the passing direction of the wire (W), or the separating processing device is movable parallel to the passing direction of the wire (W) by a drive unit.

28. 28. The wire processing machine according to claim 16, further comprising a transport gripper (420) for gripping the wire portions to be separated before the notching and / or the dividing operation and for transporting the separated wire portions to a downstream work station after the dividing operation is completed, the transport gripper (420) being guided so as to be linearly movable parallel to the wire transport axis and being switchable to reduce forces and torques during the notching and / or dividing operation, and the transport gripper being able to follow in a floating manner length-correcting movements of the wire portions to be separated during the notching and / or the dividing operation.

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