In a wire mill I worked in, air cylinders and reversing valves were used for
welding wire spooling.
This method resulted in fairly neat, flat layers.. although not as precise
as the close-wound method commonly used for rolls of solder (for example).

Larger spools (2 ft to 5 ft dia) were traversed by other methods.

An AC motor which is capable of nearly instant reversing is the PSC
permanent split capacitor type, which are often used with gear reduction
boxes, and are capable of variable, regulated speed control when used with
the proper controllers.

Without a method of introducing a slight arc/bend in the steel wire (to
ensure that it clings to the spool) before it wraps on the spool, when the
wire tension is released, the wire will tend to jump off the spool unwinding
itself rapidly until all that's left is a continuous backlashed mess.

Spooling steel wire properly is a balance of sustained arc/bend and tension.
Tension (or lack of it) is commonly maintained by a dancer, which you're
probably familiar with.

--
WB
..........


"Tom Gardner" Mars@Tacks wrote in message
news
I get flat wire on 20" x 6", 12" core wooden spools. Sometimes they are
wound poorly or I need lighter spools for a repair machine. I remember
reading a post years ago about a traverse for winding. I remember it had a
DC motor with a pot to adjust speed but that's about all. I don't need a
PLC to adjust for height on the core or perfect alignment of the wrap. I
found that a basket weave works great for tangle problems and eliminates
having to precision wind. Any ideas will be highly appreciated!