New Machine Build- +Newbie, CNC string winder build

[brownebasses]

Hi All,

I'm pretty new to cnc machines and have been lurking around the site for a little while and have to say that this place is awesome!!! You guys are amazing with the machines you build and mod, Very cool stuff.

I'm a luthier originally from NY now in NC and I build Bass guitars. I have a shopbot cnc router and an IM service cnc sherline lathe, which both work great. It took me a little while to get my head wrapped around the lathe and desk cnc and g code after working with the shopbot, but now that I've got the hang of the lathe I've been working on some plans to build a string winder to make my own bass guitar strings.

Here's a YouTube link so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

YouTube - D'Addario Strings - How It's Made

YouTube - D'Addario Strings - How It's Made

Here is my idea. I was thinking about going with some type of spindle motor with a rotary encoder on the spindle mount and a cross shaft to turn the other side of the core wire, with a servo or stepper motor running the Z traverse in sync with the encoder while using the threading G code command to keep the wrap wire in time with the core rotation.

Here's my problem. There's just so much information on here that I just can't seem to sort through it all to find the solution that I'm looking for. I'm trying to find out what com components I'll need to connect the PC the Z motor driver and the spindle encoder and spindle speed and direction control to, to make it all come together. Also any component suggestions would be greatly appreciated as far as motors encoders and hardware. I'd like to be able to program this machine using Mach3 and g code so I can create a user friendly environment. My wife will be running it on the weekends, LOL.

Any help would be much appreciated and thank you all for all the great information you all post on here. I'm going to post progress of this build for sure!

Thanks again,
Mike Browne
www.brownebasses.com

[Al_The_Man]

If this is a dedicated machine, I would think you may be better off making the spindle a controlled axis, IOW a true C axis.
Al.

[Mike Nash]

That D'Addario video was a nicely done and highlights some very pricey custom machinery. So I've got to ask, are you wanting to make your own strings so your custom guitars are fully custom? I have a hard time believing you could make money on strings unless you get to charge a really good premium.

[brownebasses]

Hi Al,

This is going to be a dedicated machine for string winding only. My first thoughts were to use a rotational axis instead of a spindle but my worries with the axis instead of the spindle is rotational speed limitations (I'm also not sure yet how fast I want it to spin) as the stepper motors generally don't run at high rpms ( I could over drive with pulleys) and also to start the wrap wind on the core wire I would need the rotation to freewheel so I can spin it by hand to get the first couple of wraps started and the kick the spindle on to complete the file.

So I'm still on the fence about which way to go. One thing I saw that really interested me was on you tube, it was an emco m25 and the spindle went from being a spindle for turning and a C axis for milling. Are they doing this with one motor or are there 2 separate motors and some kind of drive selector? I know I don't need anything quite as complex, but my thoughts were if they are doing this with the spindle motor I'd want to find out how. I like that it can stop on a dime and reverse direction just as quickly. That's another thing I need to consider, I need this thing to stop the rotation at a given point at the end of the wind without any over run.

I suppose I could use an overdriven C axis with an MPG dial to start the wrap winding instead of rotating the spindle by hand. I don't know would that work?

Sorry for the long response, just thinking out loud.

Hi Mike,

There really isn't much info on string making out there and the vid I posted was the best example I could come up with. I'm wanting to make my own strings because string makers can be very hard to deal with sometimes. I build a lot of 36" scale basses and there are very limited options for strings on the market that fit those basses. I have had custom strings made in the passed and for the most part the string makers don't really like to deal with that sort of thing unless your buying by the gross. And for that amount of money I can build a machine and make my own strings to whatever specs I require. There is also a market for specialty bass strings as most people would love a set of custom strings for there instruments for different playing situations. Another nice thing about strings are they're disposable so it generates return customers. I'm mostly doing it to fill in the gaps financially between the bass builds, they take so long to build that my income fluctuates quite a bit and this will sort of even that out.

Thanks,
Mike

[Al_The_Man]

It sounds like you need a servo motor as a C axis, you should get all the requirements you listed that way.
Al.

[brownebasses]

Cool, Thanks Al. Now I know which direction I need to head to get this thing together.