CPu Fan as winder

[Tonebucket]

Hi everyone I am new to the forum.

I was wondering what you guys think of a CPu Fan being used as a winder.

I have trialled the basic idea and used a 9 volt battery to spin the 12 v 1.56watt fan.

The problem I have encounted is trying to control the speed of the fan with a guitar pot.

Has anyone an idea of any better components to control the fan speed??

[Tom Phillips]

My first impression is that a CPU fan motor is not a good choice for a winder since it is designed for low torque / high speed.
A better choice would be a motor from an old sewing machine (complete with foot pedal speed control) or a variable speed drill motor.
Regards,
Tom

[Satamax]

There was an article long time on stew mac's catalog on how to make one witha cordless drill

[David Schwab]

The problem I have encounted is trying to control the speed of the fan with a guitar pot.

Has anyone an idea of any better components to control the fan speed??

You need a motor speed control, which is a solid state circuit. I doubt a CPU fan has enough power to use as a winder.

A better choice is to find a used sewing machine at a yard sale or thrift store, and use that motor. They even have a pedal for controlling the speed.

My first winder was made from a sewing machine motor.

Some winders here used a small lathe as a winder.

[mkat]

I found the sewing machine motor and foot pedal to be a great option, and the cheapest. You can find most of the parts at garage sales or flea markets. I'm also working on another machine using a 12V DC motor with a kit motor controller only as a comparison. I finished assembling the kit and it works quite well, the only thing I need to sort out now for this winder is the mechanical stuff.

[Tonebucket]

Can anyone advise me if there are any specfic sewing machine motors better than others Also, what type of bearings and rods should I use to build a winder??

I have found out that cpu fans are not able to spin slowly enough.

[Satamax]

If you're not in a hurry, old turntables can do the trick too Or you can get their motors, forget about direct drive, get puley or tangential ones I'd say sewing machine is still the best option, and any machine should do as long as you can get to the motor. Ones with a flat flywheel at the back are easier to work with , i've even seen people double stick tape bobins directly to theses

[Joe Gwinn]

Sewing machines are best, but really want to spin too fast for winding. A pulley and shaft arrangement with a 4:1 speed ratio (bobbin shaft turns slower than motor shaft) works well.

[Stan H]

I used a variac with my first winder (sewing machine motor) to decrease the voltage to about 40 volts. You can find them on eBay for $40-50 new. Worked great! Other winders have put a bolt in the foot pedal for use as an adjustable "governor" by threading it in deeper or further out. I use a mini lathe now but I sure do miss that foot pedal speed control.

-Stan

[Llanonite]

My Design

Made this from a $10 paper shredder, $5 dimmer switch, $1 plastic bushings from Home Depot. The shredder had a micro switch I use to count rotations on the gear work and wired to a cheap calculator I had laying around. It also had a switch for forward and reverse. At full speed in forward I can get almost 800 rpm. However the calculator can only keep up with about 400 rpm or less.
This is my first attempt at winding. I practiced with an on old POS pickup I had laying around. I found that I will need to make some sort of tensioner to keep a constant tension on the wire.
Any recommendations?

[David Schwab]

I found that I will need to make some sort of tensioner to keep a constant tension on the wire.
Any recommendations?

Try this...

[Llanonite]

Try this...

Yeah, good idea. But it kept sticking to my fingers and sometimes broke the wire. I thought I'd read somewhere about a sort of felt tensioner.

[David Schwab]

Yeah, good idea. But it kept sticking to my fingers and sometimes broke the wire. I thought I'd read somewhere about a sort of felt tensioner.

Put a little baby powder or corn starch on your finger tips.

Yes some winders use a felt tensioner. I use my fingers.

[parentheticalfact]

I've got two winders I've used and both are just vintage recycled items.
The first was adapted from an old movie projector and the second uses many parts from a sony reel to reel recorder.
I imagine you could use a remote control car speed control from a hobby store. Electronic ones usually have a great speed range and have a motor braking function that works by shorting the motor coil.
It just seems that a motor like this should be geared down to have a greater power/lower speed, but even really light gears might be too much for one of these.
Great motors come from sewing machines, large tape recorders, windshield wiper motors, etc.

[parentheticalfact]

I imagine you could use a remote control car speed control from a hobby store. Electronic ones usually have a great speed range and have a motor braking function that works by shorting the motor coil.

This, of course would only work on a DC motor like the kind from a remote controlled car or a dust buster, by the way.