Smitty Two wrote in message
news
In article ,
"N_Cook" wrote:

Smitty Two wrote in message
I can take some pics of our machine or some copies from the
relevant operator's manual pages in the next day or two if you like,
with further observations.

That would be very helpful.

http://members.cox.net/prestwich/winder001.jpg
http://members.cox.net/prestwich/winder003.jpg
http://members.cox.net/prestwich/winder008.jpg
http://members.cox.net/prestwich/winder011.jpg

This is a motorized winder, obviously, so take whatever is applicable
for your machine. We found that the tiniest details are important. For
example:

Dereeling counterclockwise, on our machine, makes a significant
difference.

Spool diameter is important. Too large, and the wire gets tossed around
too much on its way from curved to straight.

It's tempting to wind with the minimum possible tension, but the result
will be loose coils, which may or may not be an issue in your
application. Our dancer arm is set to the minimum, but the wire also
goes through three felt pinchers.

Placement of felt tensioning pads is widely adjustable, and we only
found the best positioning after much experimentation. We have one near
the dereeler and two close to the bobbin.

The bobbin should be dead smooth, obviously. No burrs allowed, and it
has to run true.

Many thanks for that.
Seems more black arts than science. I assume the black fibrous block under
the arm in pic 008 is someone's retrofit damper like the Millenium Bridge in
London.
http://www.taylordevices.com/papers/damper/damper.html

I think I would make the sprung arm out of lighter materials as I would only
need it for 40AWG/45SWG type gauges and so less inertia there.
Do you find a problem with dirt or grime on the felt pads causing
irregularity problems at these light tensions ?

I was wondering if a servo system for spool unloading to zero tension is a
way to go. Inductively or optically, somehow monitoring the sag in an
unsupported section of the supply wire. When in optimal band then spool rate
say 5 second average speed. More sag then proportional down to zero speed
and too little sag then proportional up to some system limit.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/