CNC coil winder project?

[12afael]

for a long time I have been thinking about build a CNC coil winder. I have some printers for parts for a prototipe...
I found this machine it look good but I bet it could be built cheaper.
http://www.ukcnc.info/forums/coilwinder.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX2iCRdSFmI

I don`t have experience working with step motors but I can design parts in rhino, I don`t have a CNC but I have a couple of friends with CNCs, I can do the electronics but I`m very bad programing.
if there are people interested in a project like this I think we could discuss about it and share the work.

best regards
Rafael

 

[gemini86]

I've been wanting to do this as well. I've come to the conclusion that arduino is the most cost effective option for this. I stumbled across an open source code for a self contained CNC winder but I don't know anything about arduino language yet.

 

[12afael]

My brother is an EE student and he know a lot of arduino and raspberry PI. do you have the link to that code?
what would be better a self contained CNC winder or a PC controlled? I`m inclined for the PC controlled. maybe it could have more options to save projects, etc.

 

[gemini86]

I think pc controlled is fine. The code is here: https://code.google.com/p/ardwinder-bumblebee-lab/

It's a dead project that was supposed to be open source, but it looks like the company (or person) "bumblebee labs" is no more.

May be worth salvaging some of it for our purposes.

 

[12afael]

http://www.bumblebeelab.com/coilwinder/index.html not bad for 199US but no news since 2011...

I sent the code to my brother.

 

[gemini86]

Yeah I tried emailing them but the domain is dead.

What I would really like is something with a user friendly GUI. Doesn't have to be that complicated, just bobbin size, wire size, turns per layer, number of turns total, etc. The only thing on the market that achieves this is over 2200 USD... screw that, man.

 

[Marik]

Yeah I tried emailing them but the domain is dead.

What I would really like is something with a user friendly GUI. Doesn't have to be that complicated, just bobbin size, wire size, turns per layer, number of turns total, etc. The only thing on the market that achieves this is over 2200 USD... screw that, man.

You could do all of that in Mach3...

Best, M

 

[12afael]

interesting

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,50.0.html

 

[gemini86]

Would be nice to set number of turns per layer.

I really need to get my head around coding. I used to make little BASIC programs as a kid, but obviously nothing complex enough to be useful.

 

[mitsos]

Interested to see where this goes.  Always wanted a cnc winder.  Why arduino? Would that make it better/easier/cheaper?

 

[gemini86]

Well I didn't realize that there were coil winding abilities within Mach3, and the ability to have a free-standing unit is also appealing so I don't have to have a pc running by my workbench all the time.

 

[12afael]

how work a tipical CNC??? PC ->software -> usb to parallel -> H bridge -> stepper motors????? if it work like that then we should be able to do every thing at Mach3.

with arduino o raspberry pi you can do an standalone version. with raspberry you can also use a keyboard and a computer screen and is a lot cheaper than a computer.

I will try to visit a friend that work with mach3 this week.

 

[gemini86]

I'm thinking about trying out the mach3 route. CNC controllers are so cheap now that I could switch to arduino afterwards if I felt the need.

 

[12afael]

I`m thinking the same, my brother is already doing some test with arduino  and braspberry pi.

 

[mitsos]

well, I don't know either too well, but know less about arduino for sure!  One (huge) CNC router I saw didn't even have USB, the guys had an old PC with a parallel port, running some old version of windows.  It's really just linear travel that you're controlling, the way you control it could be anything, (it could even be mechanical I guess? Not that we'd want that). 

 

[Marik]

...(it could even be mechanical I guess? Not that we'd want that).

What's wrong with that? Many great commercial classic transformers were made that way. I have hard time justifying CNC winder, unless you are a manufacturer and need high volume/high efficiency/high repeatability from unit to unit winding. For any DIY purposes a cheap mechanical winder with traverse will be more than enough to make great iron in some 50-100 units quantities. After all, it is all about optimized design of the transformer and its winding topology.

Heck! If you need just a few transformers you could do great job even with cordless drill and random hand winding using a small magnet, reed relay, and old $.50 calculator from thrift store as a counter if you are too lazy to count live...

Best, M

 

[12afael]

I have been using a drill and the calculator for a time, but it`s time consuming. it take me almost a day to finish a power transformer for a guitar amp.  I don`t want to think how much it could take to wind an output transformer.  it would be nice to press start and do other thing at the same time.

I would love to have a mechanical winder too. but are not easy to find here.

 

[gemini86]

I've been trying to wind a V72 choke by hand for the last week or so... it's taken an ENORMOUS amount of time, even with a very nice, accurate digital counter. I agree that we don't need CNC, but to get the same precision to wind #44 wire in flat layers (which is what I would like to be able to do), it would take a very long time and a lot of fabricating a lot of small components just for the traverse mechanism alone. With CNC kits being so cheap due to popularity and mass production, it's much more cost efficient to just make it computerized. So, it's not out of necessity, it's not laziness, it's the better way to spend what little free time I have to accomplish a goal. I don't want to be a commercial transformer winder. Otherwise I would buy the $2K unit and be done with it. I jusy want to be able to quickly and accurately re-create some of these CJ dissections that I've been drooling over for years.

 

[mitsos]

...(it could even be mechanical I guess? Not that we'd want that).

What's wrong with that?
Best, M

nothing at all wrong, when I wrote that I did not mean a mechanical (hand?) winder. I was thinking of a mechanical limit to the traverse travel.  Hit right limit, go back the other way, hit left limit, go back the other way. Doesn't make sense when stepper motors and CNC parts are so cheap on ebay.  That's all.

 

[MicDaddy]

FWIW I have the winder linked to above.  Not sure I can be much help but I can sure try. 

Regarding Sean's winder, it is a beast, if you can spring for it is well worth the $$.  The work put into the software goes above and beyond my requirements and is allowing me to venture into areas that I otherwise wouldn't be able.  Sean has been superb with implementing revision improvements from feedback, suggestions are acknowledged, discussed/implemented very promptly.  Think RME service.  I have no regrets, and believe I could not build/program something for less/close to the amount I paid for the unit, which at the time was a tad less than what they go for now.