Aumann winder experience

[retailer]

I was gifted an Aumann winder (1950's vintage) a some months ago - it was fitted with a cam operated wave winder traverse system - I was preparing to convert it to a stepper motor operated linear traverse when an Aumann winder came up on Ebay UK, from what I can gather Aumann winding equipment was a mix and match affair, the various wire traverse mechanisms could be fitted to a variety on motor/bases, so I reasoned that it could be fitted to my winder, the seller and I came to an agreement and he shipped over the essentials I needed to complete it, minus the base and motor to keep shipping cost down. One of the traverse stops was missing so I managed to machine a matching one up plus a couple of replacement knobs for those that were broken or missing, also while I was at it I also made up a new wire feeder.

Aumann wire traverse systems were driven from the spindle by a 5mm V belt, and came with either a single range, or 2 over-lapping ranges - my Ebay purchase had one range .05mm - 0.55mm - to fit a second range I machined up a new pulley that I piggybacked onto the existing pulley with 6mm screws - the second range was 0.15mm - 1.5mm, which is the old single range times 3 - changing ranges is a simple matter of slipping the belt onto another set of pulleys. Not having the original mounts to fit the traverse onto my motor/spindle base I machined up a pair and ordered a 5mm belt through a local supplier who had it shipped from Germany, this turned out cheaper than ordering it direct online.

I'm still getting to know it - it's all a bit of trial and error - there is precious little info on the internet about it and how to set up the wire traverse - in particular the adjustment that sets the balance between the left and right wire traverse pitch (ie the wire traverse needs to travel the same distance for the same number of turns in both the left and right directions) - the finer the wire to more important this becomes - mine which is an early version, is set by an eccentric ring which only needs a fraction of a turn to throw it out of kilter, I managed to get to 2 turns in 200 averaged over 5 or 6 test runs so for now I'll not touch it until I come across an official Aumann manual which details how to set it up.

[kalee20]

They're good machines generally, built to last...

For any manuals, spares, you could try:

ACE COMPANY LTD.
29 Crown Woods Way
London SE9 2NL
UNITED KINGDOM
Т +44 20 8294 0386
F +44 20 8294 0284
М +44 7850605502
E johnjohnson.acelimited@btinternet.com

and ask for Johnny Johnson.

[David G4EBT]

You don't say which model on Auman winder you have.

There were many models, and the only manual I'm aware of is the 91-page one that covers the WU and WG models, which was mentioned in post #4 in this 2011 thread by forum member Colin, 'Retired' in which he stated: 'The information I have covers models WU + WG and is very comprehensive':

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=75785

That is the manual I referred to in your earlier thread at posts #12 and and #16 here, which I have, and which I emailed to you:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=193275

That particular manual is dated 12/69 and the operating instructions refer to them being for: 'Aumann Layer Winding Gears With Magnetic Reverse'. Frankly, when I read the manual I was dismayed at how mechanically and electrically complex it was, many of the pages having detailed drawings of the many parts of the machine, and the (long since obsolete) electronics. Only a few pages are dedicated to the operating instructions, and from what I can glean, the winder seems to be limited to winding multi-layered solenoid coils such as transformers, rather than say wave-wound RF coils.

There have been other thread on Aumann winder such as this one by Sean Williams Nov 2018, who wrote:

'A lucky find on Gumtree has netted me a benchtop Aumann Coil Winder. I have a manual with it'. Whether Sean ever got it all back together and working and managed to wind any coils on it remains to be seen, but you might like to send him a PM to ask if he still has the manual, and if he does, is it for your model?

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=151496

Aumann are still very much in business, and have several locations:

https://www.aumann.com/en/services/m...ng-technology/

Your winder was most like made in the factory at Espelkamp, a small town in Western Germany:

Aumann Espelkamp GmbH
In der Tütenbeke 37,
32339 Espelkamp, Deutschland,
Fon: +49 5772 566-0
Mail: info.esp@aumann.com

You could try emailing them to see if they have a manual for your particular model, quoting the model and serial number. Some companies are proud of their heritage and happy to help as a goodwill gesture. Others are rather more hard-nosed and take a view that they can't create a future by living in the past.

Pic 1 is the address from the instruction manual which shows Espelkamp as the location.
Pic 2 is from the electronics section of the manual, just for interest to show that Aumann are very much more complex than AVO-Douglas winders, which are largely mechanical.

It seems to me that there are three categories of equipment that many of us - myself included - find especially fascinating and alluring, to which we are drawn like a moth to a flame. Namely, coil winders, valve testers, and lathes. Then when we get our hands on one, rejoicing in our 'lucky find', we soon discover that they become a hobby in themselves, can take us down rabbit holes, can be the thief of time and money pits, quite out of proportion to their actual benefit.

We can't help it, and it's nonetheless enjoyable.

Good luck in your quest, and with the winder(s).

[retailer]

Thanks for the replies and links I think I have tried most of them with not a great deal of luck.
My winder is a WGM spindle unit that originally had a cam operated wave winder attached - I made a post about here
https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=193275

It is the early pre-electronic foot pedal variac speed control, and the all mechanical wire traverse system - however the base/spindle unit looks to be wired to take either a foot pedal electronic speed control or the older foot pedal variac - it also has sockets for the 'magnetic reverse' and a switch on the control panel that can activate the magnetic reverse on the wire traverse unit at any time during the winding cycle. While mine is all mechanical it does differ from the Avo-Douglas winder in that the wire traverse is infinitely variable, this sounds good but I've found in practice one doesn't have to be spot on with the pitch setting for the wire traverse, but it does get more critical as the wire gets thinner, I have seen videos of perfect layer winding all done by hand guiding the wire.

I did get a manual from a forum member - I can't recall who exactly it was - even though it was for the electronic speed control setup, it was great help and I've been able to work how the winder operates and the purpose of each buttons/control - I do like the fact that it will wind heavier wire, I just finished up a transformer that has 1.4mm wire for the 3amp filament windings - the spindle motor has plenty of power to do this, I think it is around 1/2HP.

I plan to make a 5 or 10min video on it's operation once I finish up my current project - an adjustable bobbin mandrel - I have a collection wooden mandrels none of which seem to fit any new transformer I come across - they need to be made with reasonable accuracy so the bobbin runs true - the adjustable mandrel is similar to a 4 jaw chuck, but with a narrower range of adjustment which means I need to make 7 sets of 4 internal jaws of various sizes to accommodate transformer core widths from 15mm to 55mm.

[Diabolical Artificer]

I have a collection wooden mandrels none of which seem to fit any new transformer I come across - they need to be made with reasonable accuracy so the bobbin runs true

Same. Every time I need to wind a bobbin here we go again 2, 3, 4. Find a bit of wood about the right size, cut and plane it till it's right then drill a 12mm hole in the center & another one @ 90 degrees to it for a giant grub screw. Oh the joys of tfmr winding. Toroids are loads easier, find a bit of wood a foot long, job done. Well, not quite, I now have a vast collection of 12" bit's of wood with odds and ends of wire on them, sigh.

Looks a nice winder, have fun, Andy.