At the beginning of this life-phase of making things I attempted to make a CNC 3D wire bender. It would eventually make pre-bent landing gear for my simple model airplane project.

At the time I had no tools, current micro-controller knowledge and knew little about materials and suppliers.

The project opened a door for me though. I discovered the Ottawa Robotics Enthusiasts Community, ArtEngine. Not just the door to people but the a door to making which I had previously closed.

I discovered plastics and places to get it. I purchased rudimentary tools, RC servos, discovered Arduino and got my hands dirty a little.

Cutting parts using hand tools was pretty labor intensive and time consuming. Accuracy required a lot of finesse and retrying.

Knowing I had become interested in making things I started to explore techniques of making in general. As I dug deeper I discovered CNC milling, CNC Laser and other cool prototyping technologies.

I actually got some machines which has made it much easier to make things.

My initial CNC bender was unsuccessful but I ‘m ready to try again. I’m down to just a couple of problems to solve. This machine will take a little dedication. In my mind I can already see it working.

Here are a few pictures of the one that didn’t work.

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