The nonlinear bending of thin wires is a challenging topic in several applications where the final geometry of the wire after bending and springback has to be known. Typical examples are tyre manufacturing, helical spring design, spectacles frames. Analytical models able to provide the designer with suitable bending parameters to get a required final shape of the wire, considering both material behaviour (during the loading and unloading phases with springback effect) and geometrical nonlinearity, have been developed. The models allow to predict with high accuracy the final shape of wires having generic cross-sections after nonlinear bending. Moreover, FE analyses and experimental tests were performed and the results were compared with the ones from the models. The research plan includes the development of further and more accurate analytical models, numerical modelling of both wire drawing and bending considering the material work hardening and residual stresses too.