UK: Where to buy laminations/bobbins

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ruffrecords

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
16,152
Location
Norfolk - UK
Suppose I want to make myself a small number of audio transformers. Where would I go to buy small quantities of laminations and bobbins?  Google doesn't have a clue.

Cheers

Ian
 
Hi Ian!

Edcor have laminations and bobbins, you can order direct from them but shipping is expensive!!!

Don-Audio has Edcor parts, bobbins and laminations!

 
I'm interested to know a source too for diy quantities, anywhere.

Edcor seems good but only seems to sell m6 steel laminations.

A good source of Nickel alloys lams for input transformer would be cool.

I only found a guy on ebay from korea selling nickel lams and bobbins kits but not cheap!
 
Maybe the best way for small scale is to find a stock of suitable cores from used/surplus transformer sellers on ebay , then strip the lams and core back  and start fresh . The low profile four bobbin UI type transformers  can sometimes be found in lots , was it the 6va core you were looking at ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magnetek-Transformer-FP12-475/173126118068?hash=item284f1eeab4:g:b6wAAOSw3q5abfL3


Seems to be a few manufacturers used the 'Flathead' or 'FP' style including
Triad, Magnetek ,Tamura .


 
totoxraymond said:
I know Farnell have some cores in stock, you could try there.

Thomas

I checked Farnell but all I could find were ferrite cores. I know RS used to do a transformer kit years ago but that too seems to have disappeared.

Cheers

Ian
 
Asco components, Bordesley Green, Birmingham. They have a web site that doesn't seem to be updated much, but i was there in april so it's still going.
 
..agree with mikeyB, just ask your regular transformer mfgr. They usually have surprisingly little intention of hiding what, how and with what they do..

Jakob E.
 
gyraf said:
..agree with mikeyB, just ask your regular transformer mfgr. They usually have surprisingly little intention of hiding what, how and with what they do..

Jakob E.

That is exactly how I started but the laminations and bobbins I wanted to use were not ones they stock (I want to make a UI transformer not an EI type). However, they came through today and have purchased some lams and bobbins for me.

Cheers

Ian
 
Hi Ian ,
How did the price per transformer core and bobbin work out in small volume ?




 
I mistakenly started another thread recently here with pretty much the same title, oops! Well if any of you here are interested, particularly those of you in Europe, after much research and emailing I now have a very well priced source for both M6 and NGO SiFe lams. It is from a company in Portugal called duarteneves (www.duarteneves.pt). A big thanks to Whoops on here for the recommendation!

They sell a minimum of 50cm stack of lams, but for example EI48 M6 is just €8,50 per kg plus they stock bobbins at about €0,30 each. So for me to order their MOQ plus enough bobbins, it works out at a mere €2.36 per trafo! Yes, I need to add copper to that of course, but still!

I am going to place an order very soon and start winding. It looks like I will source my wire from www.wires.co.uk as the wire I already bought from them for winding power trafos is well priced and worked very well.

No nickel lams there unfortunately, bar one German supplier with an MOQ of 20kg which is many €k of nickel! So the search is still on for those. Closest thing I found was the korean ebay kits and in fareness their price is ok compared to the german supplier.
 
Hi Vinny,
Nice find ,
Those prices could make output transformers for hifi or guitar amplification a possibility ,
Is it a Neve style  output  you plan to wind  ?

https://www.hongertech.com/ui-type-mu-metal-lamination-core-for-transformer_p50.html

those guys seem to do small mu metal lams and offer samples.

 
Ah yes I had already contacted that company but heard nothing back. This was also the case with any other Asian lamination companies. I would assume that most of the Western sellers of nickel lams are sourcing theirs from companies like this. Some datasheets I was provided with made this clear. I have sent Honger another message now and also mentioned samples, so hopefully they come back to me.

As for what I am hoping to wind, it is mostly high ratio trafos for tube circuits. With Neve output etc I think it is just not worth it when you can buy a very good one ready-made from AML at a good price. Where I see the worth in spending the time is in the trafos that are expensive from the likes of Lundahl or Sowter  ;D. I'm also looking forward to learning a hell of a lot about winding.
 

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