Winding Inductors

[noodle_snacks]

How hard is it to wind inductors with appropraiate wire? Does anyone have any links to tutorials or want to give me a run down on how to do it?

I would also appreciate if anyone knows where to get appropriate wire in australia

[soongsc]

1. Calculate inductance. http://www.oz.net/~coilgun/mark2/ind...im.htm#trouble

2. Make a bobbin.

3. Wind a little more than necessary, measure and cut wire.

[noodle_snacks]

I don't mean to sound dumb, but what sort of wire should i use, and any suggestions where to get it?

[soongsc]

Originally posted by noodle_snacks
I don't mean to sound dumb, but what sort of wire should i use, and any suggestions where to get it?

Clear coated solid core wire that just looks like bare wire. Here we just go to electronics parts stores to get it. Some people like litz wire, which is supposed to be better, but I have not tried it.

[Jennice]

Originally posted by noodle_snacks
I don't mean to sound dumb, but what sort of wire should i use, and any suggestions where to get it?

Hi Noodle Snacks,

Don't worry. There is no such thing as a dumb question. Just occasional dumb answers from over-smart people.
If everyone was supposed to know everything from the beginning, there would not be a way to ask, and the forum wouldn't be what it is.
We all start somewhere, and we're here to learn and share knowledge.
(Hey, isn't that what life is all about...? )


Cheers,
Jennice

[Centauri]

Originally posted by noodle_snacks
I don't mean to sound dumb, but what sort of wire should i use, and any suggestions where to get it?

Go to your local electric motor rewinders, and ask them to run off a little winding wire onto a spool - cheapest way to get it, as they buy it in LARGE quantities. This wire is solid copper with enamel coating. For reasonably high power handling and low resistance, 1mm or 1.25mm wire is good for series inductors, and you can go down to 0.8mm for shunt inductors.

Cheers
Graeme

[wintermute]

Hmmmm I was searching for this today myself, found two sources here in Sydney searching yellow pages with "magnet wire" but hobart (or tasmania for that matter) draws a blank, as does motor rewinders....

if you are doing really small value coils you could get away with some enamelled copper wire from jaycar or DSE, but the length they sell it in is too short for bigger coils.

Tony.

[soongsc]

Must be some really big coils. Motor windings are quite long.

[wintermute]

Jacar and DSE sell in 100g sizes only. This is about 14M for 1.00mm wire. A 1 mH choke needs around 23M of wire at 1.00mm diameter hence the comment Indeed it would have to be a big coil to need more wire than a motor winding

Tony.

[Centauri]

The local motor rewinders here buy the wire in 10 or 20kg reels. I have a couple of small reels and just ask them to "fill it up", which they do on their lathe - they charge based on the weight, which ends up MUCH cheaper than the Dick Smith / Jaycar option.

For Hobart, a Yellow Pages search brought up Star Electric, 13 Sunderland St, Derwent Park 7009

Cheers
Graeme