Building a low cost Pickup Winding Machine

[ElectroWinder]

I indeed was thinking about something like this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2987762
First thing first is the accuracy and the minimum step distance travelled.

"Slop" in the mechanism could be beneficial - more randomness built into the scatter winding

For more precision, there are steel rack and pinion parts on aliexpress - steel would be about £4.50 for the rack and pinion - molded plastic is also available, and would be more precision than 3D printed

The other option is standard lead screw and nut with motor coupling - even cheaper would be threaded rod as used in cheap 3D printers

[hozone]

I indeed was thinking about something like this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2987762
First thing first is the accuracy and the minimum step distance travelled.

[ElectroWinder]

I like this one - he says it needs a continuous rotation servo, but for a short push, I think a normal one will do

STL files are here: https://github.com/tscha70/3DPrinter...arts_STL-Files

[ElectroWinder]

Cheapest I could find at £13.60, has a 12mm push, but supplies seem limited: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33021496157.html

[ElectroWinder]

You might want to look on ebay for a commercial grade linear actuator like this. A 1" stroke for $35.

The first one is doable, as is the 150mm version of this at £25 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001092100923.html - but it would be the most expensive part in the machine

I still say a simple 3 wire servo will do the job: e.g. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3170748 or an even simpler one: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2038205

A few more ideas here: https://www.yeggi.com/q/linear+actuator/

Costs can soon run away, and I was never thinking of a commercial quality machine - just something for hobbyists on a budget

[kayakerca]

You might want to look on ebay for a commercial grade linear actuator like this. A 1" stroke for $35.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Haydon-Kerk...MAAOSwubdd0wn4

Better yet, a combination linear actuator/rotary stepper motor. Both actions required in a single unit. Not sure of the stroke distance on this unit, but they are cool!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Haydon-LR35...AAAOSwiyBc5Fuk

I used one similar to the first one above as my linear actuator on my CNC winder. Works great!

[ElectroWinder]

I think they've got the right idea with the 3D printer type traverse - the parts are all on aliexpress for about £12 total including the slide rail and block, if you 3D print the parts they machined out of aluminium

I look at the mini CNC it and think to myself, tail stock not required, face plate, not required, cost to build about £100

[ElectroWinder]

Thank you ElectroWinder for the suggestion, I was indeed looking at a 3d printed actuator. As for the code, I think I will go for a straight avrgcc code. I will keep you updated here! And also keep you updated about your project if you can

I just found an even cheaper one at about £15 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001166517245.html - they are designed as window opener/closers

They should be fast enough?

I am not considering 3D printed parts, except for non moving parts such as mounting brackets

I've more or less settled on the manual design - the right motor was the biggest problem, as I'm unsure about using the high frequency bodge with nema motors as used in the £650 CNC mini to make them go fast, and I have gone off the idea of gearing up using pulleys or gears - I like nema motors but they are really slow - got a good DC motor sussed instead, but will have a play with nema early in the new year when I will be buying stuff in - got no nema motors at the moment, unless I rob one from a 3D printer

Researching those stewmac winders, I discovered they have a $3.50 motor - a wonder the things wind at all as the motor is so weak

The coding for auto winding different coils could be a problem, but I haven't yet studied the mini CNC code which I downloaded - it is for a 32 bit board, and I was thinking arduino is going to be good enough

[hozone]

Thank you ElectroWinder for the suggestion, I was indeed looking at a 3d printed actuator. As for the code, I think I will go for a straight avrgcc code. I will keep you updated here! And also keep you updated about your project if you can

[ElectroWinder]

[QUOTE=I'm looking for a 3d printed way to make the stepper act as a linear actuator. But i'm way behind a good design, time devoted to this project unluckily is not much.[/QUOTE]

Not sure 3d printed moving parts will be long lived, but here you go:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:806529
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2783959


These two are metal and have DC motors, not steppers, but still controllable:
I've seen a lot of the parts used in this one for sale individually on aliexpress, except for the slotted arm and mounting plate: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001219794581.html (nice video of it working)
This one is cheaper: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000070562472.html

You could always 3D print the bits if you are good at design


I like this one for about £20 - another nice video: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000079971200.html

[skydog71]

There seems to be a huge demand for the cnc mini pickup winder.

[ElectroWinder]

I'm looking for ideas for controlling servos with code here: https://www.youtube.com/c/MakerTutor...ch?query=servo

[ElectroWinder]

For the auto wire feature I was thinking of a simple 3 wire servo, as only cw and ccw back and forth movement is required

RC component suppliers have lots, but so do amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=rc+servos

[hozone]

Indeed I'm using for winding a DC motor with an hall sensor, for the traverse mechanism a stepper motor, I'm looking for a 3d printed way to make the stepper act as a linear actuator. But i'm way behind a good design, time devoted to this project unluckily is not much.

[ElectroWinder]

I'm leaning towards a nema 17 motor due to low cost and availability, but stepped up with large pulley on motor, and small pulley to rotate the pickup - maybe 3x will be enough to stop the nema from screaming flat out

For linear or scatter/wave winding, for simplicity I'm thinking of an "arm" that simply swings backwards and forwards in an arc - the motor would be mounted with shaft pointing upwards or downwards

I'm thinking CNC type open frame design using ready available aluminium profiles to hold everything together