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 The Beginning
Wafios, based in Reutlingen, Germany, make machines that do almost anything you can think of with wire. From making nails to steel mesh for reinforced concrete, recently they have even started making tube bending machines. Wafios' machinery usually sets the standard in terms of technological advancement, and have formed the backbone of bent wire production at William Hughes for a long time.
Nearly fifteen years ago William Hughes purchased their first Wafios machine, the FTU 5.3 (see right). Although not strictly a wire bending machine, more a coiling machine with bending capabilities, and lacking the GUI of later machines, this machine was still very advanced. The work that could be done on this machine had not been possible before, and it was definitely a sign of things to come.
 BM Series
In 1996, William Hughes purchased their next Wafios machine, the BM4 (shown left). With this machine, the wire could be fed in both directions and rotated and the tool could rotate, to allow the use of multiple radii bending tools. In all there are 6 axes of movement. This model can bend up to 4mm spring / 8mm mild steel. The operator uses a seperate PC to program the machine.
Since then, the size and capabilities of BM series machines has increased. The latest type owned by William Hughes is the BMU6, which has a total of 9 axes of movement, can bend up to 7mm spring / 13mm mild steel wire and has an inline, integrated 10 ton press.
 BMS Series
The idea behing the BMS series machines was simple. For large symmetrical parts, take two of the equivalent BM machines, join them together, then allow them to perform the same operation at either end of the wire at the same time. The result was the BMS4 (shown left), capable of bending the same range of wire as the BM4, and able to use wire up to 4m in length, per part.
Following the BMS4 came the BMS2, designed specifically for bending 2mm trim wires, something that features prolifically in the line of work done by William Hughes.
 FMU Series
The FMU series of machines are a progression of the FTU machine from the top of the page, but with a lot more emphasis on the bending capabilities it has. This makes the production of double torsion springs and springs with loops on either end easier than on traditional coiling machines. Add to this diameter correction built in to the operating system it all adds up to a versatile and competent piece of machinery
The latest incarnation of the FMU series is the FMU2.7 (shown above, right), not only can this do all the things that the standard FMU can do, but it can also move the tools so it can work off the wire line. This allows it produce parts more that are more complicated, such as forming around the wire line.
A Bespoke Service
Sometimes, as a manufacturer, you may need a little something extra from your machinery. We wanted a machine that could do the work of a BMS4 but faster, after 5 years of design collaboration with Wafios' engineers, the BT4 was created. Just as the BMS4 was the joining of two BM4's, the BT4 is the joining of two BMS4's, although in this case it quite literally is akin to two BMS4's joined back to back, sharing one coil of wire. So much so, that you could actually run two different jobs at once on it.
Then there was the LBT2, a multi-station frame machine for bending 2D, 2mm wire parts. Essentially was requested as a low cost alternative to a BMS2, for parts that do not need the wire rotating at any point.
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