Patent ID: 6925705

Claim:
An apparatus for making a cage having a plurality of peripheral and elongate components, and a wrapping component, said apparatus including: an elongate support frame having a longitudinal axis; means for rotating the cage; means for dispensing the wrapping component onto the cage; a first carrier means mounted on the frame for holding at least one peripheral component; a second carrier means mounted on the frame for holding at least one peripheral component including means for adjusting the position of the second carrier means on the frame relative to the position of the first carrier means; and a gripping device for engaging one or more of the peripheral components, wherein the gripping device is mounted for rotation in one of the first and the second carrier means, and includes an array of support members arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support frame so that the support members are extendable to engage one or more of the peripheral components and are retractable to disengage one or more of the peripheral components, and an actuator arranged for extending and retracting the array of support members substantially simultaneously.