Woohoo! It's works! Machine modification

[WolfeMacleod]

I don't know why I never thought of doing this before. Modifying one of my machines to become a dual-station coil winder.

Belt drive. Noisier than I had hoped.

I'm getting a tiny bit of wobble now from the main drive spindle - the circular winding face attached to the spindle spun perfectly smooth before. I'm hoping it's just a matter of rotating it to it's original position, and not due to the pulley mounted on the spindle, or the belt tension...

But, it's working well to start with. Now to extend the guide...

[allaircooled]

Cool, I'm just not smart enough to know what I just watched.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by allaircooled

Cool, I'm just not smart enough to know what I just watched.

It's a German made coil winding machine that I use for work. The tailstock used to face the other way, and keep winding bobbins from flairing under wire tension.
By reversing the tailstock and setting up a belt drive to drive it's spindle, I have given myself an easy way to increase my winding production and cutting my own time drastically. By turning into a two-station machine, I can now wind two coils at the same time... once I get the guide extended far enough to reach.

[LWJ]

Sweet. 2x production!

[sc_rufctr]

OK... Coil winder. What type of coils?

Looks Cool.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

OK... Coil winder. What type of coils?

Looks Cool.

Guitar pickups.

[sc_rufctr]

Thanks. I just "liked" your Facebook page.

[304065]

Nice!

Now keep going to power the rest of the shop. Of course you will need a handlebar moustache!

[asphaltgambler]

Just an opinion.................... the noise may be that your cogged belts are too tight. Cogged belts do not need to be tight like a banjo string to operate effectively. The design traps air between the 'teeth' and when wrapping around the pulley with load creates the whining sound. By over adjusting them it greatly accentuates the whine...............which is then even more accentuated as the belt heats up.

I would back off the tension slightly until the slack side of the belt just starts to 'flop'. That is the sweet spot. You should immediately notice a reduction in the whine.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Thanks. I just "liked" your Facebook page.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Just an opinion.................... the noise may be that your cogged belts are too tight. Cogged belts do not need to be tight like a banjo string to operate effectively. The design traps air between the 'teeth' and when wrapping around the pulley with load creates the whining sound. By over adjusting them it greatly accentuates the whine...............which is then even more accentuated as the belt heats up.

I would back off the tension slightly until the slack side of the belt just starts to 'flop'. That is the sweet spot. You should immediately notice a reduction in the whine.

I've played a bit with the belt tension, and it's noisy no matter what. I've had them flappin' pretty good. It's not really whining, more like a rumble. The "whine" you hear is the normal sound of the machine spinning.
I'm thinking lube the heck out of the pillow blocks and driveshaft. I think those bearings are not greased at all.

[Scott Douglas]

Very nice setup Wolfe. I was wondering how you'd do this when I saw you asking about cogged belts.

If it were me doing this, I think the next step would be to mount everything solidly on one piece for the base. It looks like you've got the tail stock hanging out in mid-air on that adjustable leg.
I could be wrong on this, but it's based on the pic I could grab of your setup at the end of the video.



Getting it all squared up and running parallel would help the bearings do their job.
Have you tried weighting the tail stock down so it can't vibrate on the base?

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Very nice setup Wolfe. I was wondering how you'd do this when I saw you asking about cogged belts.

If it were me doing this, I think the next step would be to mount everything solidly on one piece for the base. It looks like you've got the tail stock hanging out in mid-air on that adjustable leg.
I could be wrong on this, but it's based on the pic I could grab of your setup at the end of the video.

...

Getting it all squared up and running parallel would help the bearings do their job.
Have you tried weighting the tail stock down so it can't vibrate on the base?

Good point. Lost that "foot" a while back and never bothered to replace it...that tailstock is pretty secure without it. Those bars don't flex much, if at all.

I just borrowed an identical foot from another one of my machines. Makes no difference. Oddly, that machine had only one foot too. It was lost during or before it shipped to me.

Tailstock weighs at least ten pounds. Probably closer to 15.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

can you please post a video of winding two coils please? thanks- ron

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

can you please post a video of winding two coils please? thanks- ron

Yep, will do when it's completed. I need to extend the mounting bar for the wire guide about 19 inches or so. This way, I can put guide holders on both ends. Hopefully, it'll be stiff enough that it doesn't sag. If it does, I'l' have to make a support structure for it.

At the beginning, you can see a horizontal flat bar, attached to a push-rod and block that rides on the upper horizontal bars. That bar is what need duplicating in a longer 2-ended version. Then, the vertical blocks holding the D-profile bar and round handle and wire guides are attached at both ends of the extended bar...

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by WolfeMacleod

Good point. Lost that "foot" a while back and never bothered to replace it...that tailstock is pretty secure without it. Those bars don't flex much, if at all.

I just borrowed an identical foot from another one of my machines. Makes no difference. Oddly, that machine had only one foot too. It was lost during or before it shipped to me.

Tailstock weighs at least ten pounds. Probably closer to 15.

I'd still tie the tailstock down to the base, if just with an 'L' bracket. Sitting the way it is, it's a potential source of vibration that effects the whole system.