| Eric |
I've been searching for a while and haven't found what I am looking for. Do any of you know of an inexpensive device that I could use to wind my own air core inductors (for speaker crossovers).
I've seen a few on e-bay for close to $100, but the seller has less than great feedback on these. Any options that I might be overlooking?
I'm looking to use 14-15ga wire and wind anything from 0.2mH to 8.0mH.
Thanks,
Eric |
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| sandstorm33 |
I wound many coils using an old type stanely manual hand drill chucked into a vise. Then I would have a form made from one inch dowel one long with end pieces made from masonite or thin plywood . then I would put a 1/4 inch x 2 or 3 inch bolt thru a hole drilled in the 1 inch dowel and chuck that in the drill chuck. The wire would be fed thru a small hole drilled in the form side near the one dowel . Then with an extra set of hands to turn the crank start winding . The only real task is keeping accurate count of the turns.
Also 14 gauge wire isnt optimun and certainly isnt needed on anything 1mh and below. Gets the DCR up there and that aint good. |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by sandstorm33
The only real task is keeping accurate count of the turns. |
You can rip a counter out of an old cassette deck. |
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| jackinnj |
| forfend you don't lose any fingers in the process |
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| flg |
I've seen a few, but they are not made for 14-15Ga wire??? A lathe works good, but you gotta want one for other reasons$$$
Making due with a slow speed drill and a vise, as sandstorm33 suggests, is better than by hand... Don't be too dissapointed, I want to wind some 150mH from 12 or 14Ga :D |
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| BWRX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric
Do any of you know of an inexpensive device that I could use to wind my own air core inductors (for speaker crossovers). |
You can use PVC piping as the round former. It obviously comes in various sizes. Wooden dowels work well too. Your hands work pretty well when it actually comes to winding the wire around the former ;) |
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| Eric |
Some good ideas here, thanks!
PinkMouse: thanks for the suggestion of a cassette player - hadn't thought of that one!
Magura: thanks for the link - I was looking at those photos yesterday. It seems that you have access to some very nice equipment or generous friends!
BWRX: I was thinking of PVC, someone else mentioned copper pipes, etc for a sturdy mechanism.
Sandstorm: I have not looked into the formulas, etc. just yet. I would assume using 14g wire will lead to lower DCR figures, so I would be better off with this than 16g wire. Is this not the case?
Lots of ideas- thanks for the input!
Eric |
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| frank1 |
Try a sewing machine.....many advantages
Frank |
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| Magura |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric
Magura: thanks for the link - I was looking at those photos yesterday. It seems that you have access to some very nice equipment or generous friends!
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You don't need all that much to make something based on the pricipials you saw in my gallery. The basic trick is to bolt things together. That allows you to remove and re-use the spool, and to wrap the inductor with either cotton or mylar....which in turns makes the inductor dead silent.
If you really wanna go all the way you can impregnate the inductor with polyester for an even more dead silent and more durable finish. That way you will end up with something like this :
http://www.briangt.com/gallery/magu...uctors/PICT0058
Magura :) |
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| Eric |
Thanks for the tips, Magura! Should be handy when I wind some power supply inductors!
Eric |
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| Eric |
After poking around here and searching the web, I have found a number of useful links that I wanted to share with everyone.
First is a nice site that allows you to input the value of the inductor that you want to create, and it spits out a table the provide the necessary dimensions for a wide range of wire gauges. No math is required, you just need to know the value of the inductor! Shavano Music
Next is a nice site that is decidely more math intensive. You need to input the cross over frequency, resistance, inner diameter of the coil, and the wire gauge. Coil Calculator
But, buy far the most interesting thing I've found is an easy to build device for winding your own coils: DIY Coil Winder
Thanks for the help, everyone! |
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