This Arduino-Controlled Machine Winds Custom Solenoids

A solenoid is an electromagnet that formed by winding a coil of wire into a helix shape. When electric current is passed through the coil, a magnetic field is generated. Solenoids are extremely common in electromechanical systems, and it is completely normal for solenoids to have literally thousands of turns. As you can imagine, it would be a monotonous and time consuming job to wind a solenoid by hand. That’s why YouTuber Mr Innovative built this DIY machine to wind solenoids automatically according to the parameters supplied by the user.

When the device is switched on, the user can select the length of the solenoid and how many wire turns it requires. Wire will then be fed from a spool and wound around the solenoid core. As the solenoid is being wound, it is led back and forth down the length of the core to ensure a nice consistent and tight winding. It will simple continue to run until it has completed the requested number of turns, and then it will stop. The user can then clip the wire and start another solenoid with completely different parameters if they want.

At the heart of the machine is an Arduino Nano, which controls two motors via an A4988 motors: a 12V DC motor and a small stepper motor. The DC motor spins the solenoid as it’s being wound, and the stepper motor adjusts the location of the feed guide. An IR sensor pointed at specially painted disc keeps track of the number of revolutions, which is how the number of wire turns is counted. The user can set the parameters using a rotary encoder, and the settings are shown on a small LCD display. Some of the mechanical parts are made from wood, and some were even custom machined. If you need to wind some solenoids, this is an expensive and effective way to accomplish it.