UWP Coil winding app
Welcome to the UWP Coil winder software manual for the UWP Coil Winding Arm Controller MKII Software.
This documentation applies for use of the software on the following machines:
- CNC 200mm Coil Winder MK4 fitted with ARM Controller MKII
- Mini Coil Winder MK4 fitted with ARM Controller MKII
- Custom Coil Winders fitted with ARM Controller MKII
Contents
General Interface
On startup the software will present you with this page.
Connection
On the left side is your menu. Clicking the menu icon at the top 
will expand the pane as shown.
Here you have several options.
- Automated Winding – In this page we have 3 different winding modes.
- Bobbin Winding – Basic coils.Pickup Winding – More suited for guitar pickups.Mixed TPL Winding – Winds multiple winding routines for a single coil.
- Settings – The settings page is used to alter how the software interacts with your machine such as: Enabling addon kits, Setting Jog speeds, Reversing Motors and Increasing/Decreasing Motor Resolution.
- Tools – The tools page has 2 options.
- Diagnostics – Displays information for debugging purposes.
- Import Tools – Import backups of your saved windings from previous software.
- Hardware Reply – Displays replies from the ARM Controller Board.
- Connect – This button is used to establish communication from the software to the coil winder.When a connection has been made a prompt will appear displaying your current firmware and the type of coil winder that’s in use.Below shows the 2 status icons to determine whether a connection has been established.
Connected
Disconnected
Status and calculations
The Status and Calculations pane will auto calculate the nearest settings that are suitable for the machine you have connected and will display them here.
Based on the parameters entered in the Bobbin Winding or Pickup Winding Tab the calculations will display actual working values that get sent to the Coil Winding Machine.
For example, if the machine has a feeder resolution of 0.0025mm and the wire size entered is 0.063mm then that wiresize will reduce to 0.0625mm as 0.063 is not divisible by 0.0025.
At the Bottom of this pane there are 2 buttons “TPL Calculator” and “Tension Calculator”.
TPL Calculator
This calculator generates a TPL Winding based off of certain parameters you input.
Tension Calculator
This calculator is used as a guideline to setting your wire tension.
Automated winding tabs
In the Automated Winding page we have 3 different winding modes.
Bobbin Winding
For winding basic coils with multiple or single layers.
Pickup Winding
More suited for guitar pickups and stores relevant data such as all dimensions and resistance.
Mixed TPL Winding
Winds multiple winding routines for a single coil.
Using the tabs at the top you can switch between each winding mode.
When changing between different winding modes this frame will update to the currently selected mode.
Feedback bar
The Feedback bar shows realtime data of the coil winders current positions.
Winds Completed display
Displays the amount of winding that have been wound. Feeder Position display. Displays the position of the feeder arm on the machine.
RPM display
Displays the speed that the bobbin motor is running at.
Reset button
Pressing this button will reset the feeder position to zero.
Goto Zero button
Pressing this button will tell the feeder arm to return to its zero position.
Operator controls
Disengage Motors button
When clicked this will disengage the motors so they can be turned by hand. The motors will automatically re-engage when start or jog buttons are clicked. You will not be able to disengage the motors when paused, but if you need to move the motors at this point, then simply turn the power off to the motors via the switch. Do the adjustments and then turn the power back on before pressing resume in the software.
Start button
Clicking this button starts the winding routine.
Stop button
Clicking this button stops the winding routine.
Pause/Resume button
While winding is in progress and you wanted to pause the machine, then click this button. It will then turn to a Resume status and clicking it again will allow the machine to carry on from where it was paused. While paused you can cancel the winding routine by pressing the stop button. Also while paused the Left and Right button can be used to jog the feeder arm to a new position. This will not increment the feeder position and can be used for adjustments needed without having to restart the whole winding routine from the beginning.
Home button
This can only be used if there are limit/homing switches installed on the machine. Based on the variable set in the Homing Configuration will determine the distance that the feeder arm will travel away from the limit switch once it has been triggered.
Reverse button
This is a manual jog for the bobbin motor and when clicked the bobbin motor will move in the reverse direction.
Forward button
This is a manual jog for the bobbin motor and when clicked the bobbin motor will move in the forward direction.
Left button
This is a manual jog for the feeder arm and when clicked the feeder arm will move to the left.
Right button
This is a manual jog for the feeder arm and when clicked the feeder arm will move to the right.
Feeder Travel per click variable
Sets the travel in millimetres that the feeder arm will move if either the Left or Right buttons are clicked.
Bobbin Travel per click variable
Sets the amount of revolutions that the bobbin motor will move if either the Forward or Reverse buttons are clicked.
Increment Jog Counter
Increments the winds completed or feeder position by each jog movement.
Bobbin Winding
Setup Bobbin Winding
Bobbin Width
Enter the width of your bobbin is the actual length of the bobbin you wish to wind wire across.
Total Windings
Enter Total Windings for the coil you wish to make.
Wire Size
Enter the wire Size you wish to wind but also allow for the coating. Typically this can be 10%-15% of the size of the wire.
Convert AWG>mm
The Convert awg>mm button will display a popup where a value can be entered in the box and convert from awg to millimetres. This is a handy tool for people used to dealing with awg wire sizes.
After you have set these parameters, then the software will auto calculate the nearest settings that are suitable for the machine you have connected and will display them in the Status and Calculations panel.
RPM
Here you can enter the desired speed of your coil winder, when hovering over the textbox an RPM dial appears which you can use to alter the speed as well.
We use stepper motors on our machines to get them to higher speeds, we need to ramp up the motor speed gradually. You have two variables you can set to get the desired curve as such.
Ramp step
The Steps variable is the divider of the target frequency that we want the bobbin motor to run at. So if the software calculated that the bobbin motor should run at 1000kHz and the steps box is set to 100 then we can see that the steps would be 1000/100 = 10 Hz increments.
Ramp pause
The pause variable is the time between each increment.
Ramping each layer checkbox
If this box is left unchecked then the machine will ramp up at the beginning of the winding routine and at the end only. When the feeder gets to the end of the layer it will simply change direction. If the box is checked then the bobbin motor and feeder motor will ramp up at the start of each later and ramp down at the end of each layer.
Pause at the end each Layer checkbox
Checking this box will pause the machine after each layer has been wound. This option can only be used if Ramping each layer is also checked
Here we can set the direction the machine will use when winding a coil.
Wire Direction toggle switch
Sets the direction for the feeder arm when winding starts.
Bobbin Direction toggle switch
Sets the direction for the bobbin when winding starts.
Miscellaneous variables
Please note: The Homing options are only available for machines with the homing/limit switches installed.
Enable Homing on start Checkbox
By ticking the Use Homing Offset on Start option will cause the machine to home when the Start button has been clicked. The machine will then home before the winding starts.
Homing offset value
Sets the offset distance that the feeder arm will move away from the limit switch when the Home button is clicked. For example if it is set to 10mm then when the Home button is clicked the feeder arm will move to the left until it gets to the limit switch on the machine. It will then move to the right 10mm.
Return to Zero checkbox
If this is checked then when the machine has finished its winding routine the feeder arm will automatically move back to the zero position.
Manual Speed Override checkbox
If checked then when the Start button is clicked the software will pass control over to the manual speed controller on your controller box. The manual controller dial needs to be fully turned to the left before it will start to wind and the speed of the bobbin motor and feeder arm will increase or decrease depending on the position of the dial.
Creating and storing bobbin winding routines
The Load/Save Bobbin panel allows you to save, overwrite and remove bobbins.
Bobbins store all the information within the bobbin frame. All bobbins get saved within your local storage area.
For each bobbin you can input a description.
List of bobbins
Clicking the combobox will reveal a list of your saved bobbins.
Loading a bobbin
Selecting a bobbin from the list will close the combobox and populate the bobbin frame with the selected bobbins data.
Loading a bobbin
Here we can see “bobbin2” has been selected and populated the frame with different values. Comparing the image on the left to the image above all highlighted areas have changed in value.
Removing a bobbin
To remove a stored bobbin you must select a bobbin from the combobox and click remove.
Saving a bobbin
When saving a bobbin this prompt will appear asking for a bobbin name. Entering a name and clicking Ok will now store that bobbin.
Overwriting a bobbin
If a stored bobbin already has the same name as the one that’s being saved then a prompt will appear confirming that proceeding will overwrite that bobbin.
Pickup Winding
Setup Pickup Winding
Here we have the pickup winding tab. This tab has all the same options as the Bobbin winding tab and a couple extra such as:
- Pickup Length, Pickup Width and Resistance Values
- Save/Edit Mixed TPL Button
You’ll also notice Bobbin width has been replaced by Pickup Height.
For more information regarding the other parameters refer to Bobbin Winding Tab
Here we have Pickup Length, Pickup Width and Resistance.
These boxes are colour coded yellow to symbolise they’re purely informational values that do not alter the machines winding pattern.
Creating and storing Mixed TPL winding routines
Save/Edit Mixed TPL
To create a winding pattern for mixed tpl fill in your pickup parameters on the left and clicking the Save/Edit Mixed TPL button will display a flyout menu.
Save button
This will come up with a prompt where you can save a new TPL pattern or overwrite an existing TPL pattern. This procedure is the same as the bobbin save routine for more information refer to Creating and storing bobbin winding routines
Remove button
This will remove the selected Mixed TPL pattern from the combobox.
Loading a Mixed TPL pattern is a different process than pickups or bobbins.
After selecting the Mixed TPL pattern from the combobox you must click the Populate Button to load your pattern.
Now that “MTPL2” has been populated comparing the image on the right to the image above all highlighted areas have changed in value.
Mixed TPL Winding
What is Mixed TPL Winding?
A lot of our customers that are winding Guitar Pickups are creating some Mixed Turns Per Layer(TPL) to build up their coil shapes into various shapes and also to try and get close to a Scatter Wind effect.
A quick couple of paragraphs on Scatter Winding first.
What is scatter winding?
When wire is wound into coils on a pickup, the most basic definition of scatter-wound means “non-uniform.”
Imagine a spool of thread that doesn’t have thread on it yet that you’re going to wrap thread around.
If you were to wrap that thread in a uniform way, you would start the wrap on one side, with each consecutive wrap following the other until you reach the other side, then start wrapping in the other direction and crisscross until you were finished.
If you were to wrap the same thread in a non-uniform way where you wrap a few times on one side, then go straight to the other side and get a few wraps there, then to the middle and “fill” the spool in a non-uniform way, that’s a scatter-wind.
Does scatter winding have a “standard?”
No. Scatter-winding is particular to manufacturer. Seymour Duncan will scatter-wind differently than Lindy Fralin and differently than other pickup makers and so on. In addition, there are also pickup makers who scatter-wind by hand, and still others who will use a machine. There is no single “right way” to scatter-wind.
What pickup makers do is experiment with different scatter-wind techniques until they find one they think works well, and go with that.
Now the big question or observation I get is that in the Automated Tab, you can setup all the parameters of the pickup you wish to wind, click on the start button and away the machine will go, without it having to ramp up and down each layer.
The main reason we can do this is because the feeder (with small wire) is never running faster than the bobbin motor and the speed it is running at 99% of the time means we can change direction of the feeder without ramping.
So we calculate total windings, along with the turns per layer and send this as one command to the firmware. You will still get a ramp at the beginning and also a ramp at the end of the winding. But no ramping in-between layers as the firmware simply changes direction of the feeder when it hits it desired TPL.
You will still need to ramp up and down for each set, but depending on how many windings are in a set and how many total winds you need to do, it will reduce the ramping per layer a lot.
Main rules to stick to are to make sure each winding set you create has at least two layers and that total layers are a whole number (Integer).
The reason for this is so you do not lose your zero point in-between the winding sets. If you try to send say 10 windings at a 1.0mm pitch for the first layer and then send 5 windings at 1.0mm for the next layer, then obviously the starting point for the next command is not at zero point and it would actually be 5.0mm.
Mixed TPL Winding Interface
The Mixed TPL Winding tab is to be used with saved Mixed TPL Patterns.
Unlike the bobbin and pickup winding tabs the user does not enter any parameters.
To get started use the Load mixed TPL configuration combobox to select a TPL winding pattern.
This will load all the parameters of the stored TPL pattern in these entry boxes.
These boxes are all read only and for visual purposes, if the user needed to ammend a TPL pattern this would be done in the pickup winding tab.
For more information refer to Creating and storing Mixed TPL winding routines
Add to List Button
This button adds the currently selected TPL to the list box highlighted
Total Windings
Displays the Total windings of all TPL patterns currently in the list
TPL List
This list stores each pattern and processes them in order.
Removing a TPL pattern from the list
To remove a TPL pattern from the list simply click on the entry and a remove button will appear.
Now the TPL winding pattern has been removed the total windings has updated.
Clear Window Button
Clears the list of TPL winding patterns.
Save Button
Opens the file browser and saves the mixed TPL winding routine as a TPL config file *cls.
Load Button
Opens the file browser and loads the mixed TPL winding routine from the TPL config file *cls.
Settings
The settings page is represented by a gear icon on the left hand menu, this page has a mixture of settings to configure your machines functionality.
Below we will go through the settings that can be changed to suit your machine and any add-ons you use.
Configurations
Current Config display
This displays what configuration has been detected when the machine is plugged into your computer or displays what has been manually set.
Preset Configurations
This combobox presents 3 options that will load when selected. The options are:
- 200mm Coil Winder – Sets the correct variables needed for the 200mm Coil Winding Machine.
- Mini Coil Winder – Sets the correct variables needed for the Mini Coil Winding Machine.
- Custom – This option is for custom Coil Winders and can be ignored for 200mm and Mini Coil Winding Machine users.
Auto Detect button
Automatically communicates with the Coil Winding Machine attached to the machine to detect what model it is and sets the correct variables needed.
Machine Options
Limit Switches installed toggleswitch
If you have installed the limit/homing and emergency stop kit onto your 200mm Coil Winder then you need to toggle this option to let the software know. It will then enable the homing features of the software.
Emergency Stop installed toggleswitch
If you have installed the limit/homing and emergency stop kit onto your 200mm Coil Winder then you need to toggle this option to let the software know. It will then enable the extra features of the software.
Reverse Bobbin Motor toggleswitch
Will reverse the direction of the bobbin motor to suit motor attached to your machine.
Reverse Feeder Motor toggleswitch
Will reverse the direction of the feeder motor to suit motor attached to your machine.
Motor Parameters
Bobbin Motor
Frequency display
This value is automatically calculated on the value of the SPBR variable.
SPBR variable
This variable sets the Steps Per Bobbin Revolution needed to suit the Coil Winding Machine attached to your computer.
Jog Speed
Sets the speed of the bobbin motor when using the Jog buttons. This is set in RPM.
Feeder Motor
Resolution display
Displays the resolution of the feeder arm. This value is automatically calculated on the value of the SPFR variable and BSP variable.
SPFR variable
This variable sets the Steps Per Feeder Revolution needed to suit the Coil Winding Machine attached to your computer.
BSP variable
This variable sets the Ballscrew Set Pitch needed to suit the Coil Winding Machine attached to your computer.
Jog Speed
Sets the speed of the feeder arm motor when using the Jog buttons. This is set in frequency, rather than RPM.
Miscellaneous Options
Pause Boundary
If the pause button is used near the start of each layer and at the end of each layer then it can throw either the position read off or not complete the pause.
This is because when the Pause key is clicked when winding and there is not enough travel left in the winding for a ramp down and then a ramp up after pause.
By the default the Pause boundary is 1.0mm into the wind and the width of bobbin minus 1.0mm.
Enable Timeout Toggle
Enables the command timeout value for communications. If no reply has come back to the software from the controller in the value entered, then it will cause an alert box to be displayed.
Timeout Value
Sets the Timeout in seconds
Tools
The tools page is represented by a spanner icon on the left hand menu, this page has 2 tabs.
Diagnostics
This tab is for debugging purposes and only used for information purposes when diagnosing any issues
Import Tools
The import tools tab allows you to import stored bobbins, pickups and TPL patterns from previous software.
Import Tools
Clicking the Import button will open the file browser, where you can select your backup registry file *reg.
This will then import all bobbin, pickup and TPL patterns from the registry file.
Once the progress bar is full a prompt will appear confirming a successful import or if any errors occurred.