Abstract: A wire bonding apparatus and method incorporating a pattern recognition system wherein there is stored, in a teach mode, signatures representing a pre-determined point on a chip to be bonded, the signatures being obtained at respective 90.degree. locations of the pedestal which carries the chip. Automatic re-calibration provides for rotating the pedestal to each of four 90.degree. apart spaced angles and finding the respective recorded signatures and the corresponding positions, and calculating the true center of rotation as a function of the four positions thus found. A specialized algorithm is used for correcting error which may be introduced if the chip is not rotated at precisely 90.degree. intervals during the process of finding the respective signatures. The system carries out re-calibration automatically every N packages bonded.