Methods and an apparatus for bending orthodontic wires are provided. An apparatus for bending an orthodontic wire can determine an optimal shape of a portion of an archwire to include a pair of nominal bends, apply an actual bend to the archwire at a location coinciding with the location of one of the pair of nominal bends, measure the actual bend applied, compare the actual bend to the nominal bend to determine an amount of deviation from that desired, determine corrective movements to substantially eliminate the deviation, iteratively reexecute such steps until the deviation is within a predefined tolerance, and recalculate a value of the other of the pair of nominal bends to compensate for any remaining deviation.