Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing elongated lengths of material from a supply thereof, such as insulated wire mounted on spools or reels, into lengths, such as into electrical leads of predetermined lengths. The wire is drawn off continuously from the reel and is fed intermittently into the apparatus wherein it is cut off to lengths and gripped in the apparatus with the ends of the cut-off lengths a fixed distance apart and exposed. When the wire is thus cut off and gripped, it is moved at right angles to the length thereof along the apparatus while work operations are performed on at least one end of the lead, the work operations consisting of stripping insulation from the end of the lead and applying a terminal thereto. When the leads have been completely processed, the apparatus straightens the leads out in the direction of the length thereof and delivers them to a receiving station, and wherein the leads are counted and removed from the receiving station in batches of a predetermined number.

Abstract: A machine for attaching terminals to electrical conductors is disclosed wherein the bed and ram of an applicator are relatively movable together and apart and each carries a cooperating one of a pair of crimping dies to crimp a terminal onto a conductor when the ram and bed are moved together. A terminal feeding device supplies terminals to be crimped by the dies seriatim and in synchronism with relative movement between the ram and bed and a unidirectional coupling such as a chain connects the terminal feeding device to the ram so that the feeding device is actuated to supply a terminal when the ram retracts from the bed. A spring biasing device opposes operation of the unidirectional coupling to restore the feeding device for subsequent actuation. The cooperating dies and terminal feeding device are independently removably attached to the machine allowing independent replacement to accommodate specific conductor-terminal combinations.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing elongated lengths of material from a supply thereof, such as insulated wire mounted on spools or reels, into lengths, such as into electrical leads of predetermined lengths. The wire is drawn off continuously from the reel and is fed intermittently into the apparatus wherein it is cut off to lengths and gripped in the apparatus with the ends of the cut-off lengths a fixed distance apart and exposed. When the wire is thus cut off and gripped, it is moved at right angles to the length thereof along the apparatus while work operations are performed on at least one end of the lead, the work operations consisting of stripping insulation from the end of the lead and applying a terminal thereto. When the leads have been completely processed, the apparatus straightens the leads out in the direction of the length thereof and delivers them to a receiving station, and wherein the leads are counted and removed from the receiving station in batches of a predetermined number.