Abstract:
A method of winding a wire about a plurality of spools is provided. The method includes locating the plurality of spools on a winding shaft in a side-by-side fashion. An adaptor plate is located between adjacent spools. The adaptor plate includes a wire catch feature configured for catching the wire as a traveler feeding the wire to the spools moves from one spool to the next spool while the winding shaft rotates.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present specification generally relates to methods and apparatus for continuous winding of multiple spools and products made therefrom. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In a conventional spool winding process, a spool may be wound by placing it on a winding shaft of a winding machine. An operator may initiate the winding operation by inserting a bent starting end of the wire into an opening in a drum of the spool and start automatically rotating the winding shaft. A traveler may be used to guide the wire back and forth along the length of the spool until a predetermined amount of wire is wound onto the spool. Afterward, the winding rod slows and stops rotating and the wire may be cut thereby providing a terminal end for the wire of the spool and a starting end for a subsequent spool. The process may then be repeated for the subsequent spool. 
         [0003]    As may be appreciated, there may be stoppage time between the winding of each spool. Additionally, the winding shaft may increase in rotation speed at the beginning of the winding process then decrease rotation speed at the end of the winding process for each spool. Accordingly, a continuous winding process for a series of spools is desirable. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one embodiment, a method of winding a wire about a plurality of spools is provided. The method includes locating the plurality of spools on a winding shaft in a side-by-side fashion. An adaptor plate is located between adjacent spools. The adaptor plate includes a wire catch feature configured for catching the wire as a traveler feeding the wire to the spools moves from one spool to the next spool while the winding shaft rotates. 
         [0005]    In another embodiment, a wire winding assembly for winding wire onto a plurality of spools includes a first spool located on a winding shaft and a second spool located on the winding shaft. An adaptor plate is located between the first spool and the second spool. The adaptor plate includes a wire catch feature configured for catching the wire as a traveler feeding the wire to the first and second spools moves from the first spool to the second spool. 
         [0006]    In another embodiment, a metal welding wire product includes a spool including a core, a first spool flange at one end of the core and a second spool flange at an opposite end of the core. A metal welding wire is wound about the core forming windings. The metal welding wire includes a starting end and a terminating end. Both of the starting end and the terminating end of the welding wire are located outside the windings. 
         [0007]    These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wire winding apparatus according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a spool for use in the winding apparatus of  FIG. 1  according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a side view of an adaptor plate for use in the winding apparatus of  FIG. 1  according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is another perspective view of the wire winding apparatus of  FIG. 1  according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a spool wound with wire according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another spool wound with wire according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a spool wound with wire having one or more of ends of the wire affixed to the spool according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of another spool wound with wire having one or more of ends of the wire affixed to the spool according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of another spool wound with wire having one or more of ends of the wire affixed to the spool according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of another spool wound with wire having one or more of ends of the wire affixed to the spool according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  illustrates another embodiment of an adaptor plate. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Embodiments described herein relate generally to methods and apparatus for continuous winding of multiple spools with wire and products produced therefrom. A continuous process is provided for winding a series of spools where the wire automatically “jumps” from spool-to-spool without any need for stopping or even slowing down the winding process between adjacent spools. As will be appreciated, such a continuous winding process can reduce stoppage time and increase efficiency when winding multiple spools with wire. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a winding apparatus  10  generally includes a winding shaft  12 , a motor for use in rotating the winding shaft  12  about its elongated axis and a traveler  16  that is used to guide a continuous wire  18  to a plurality of spools  20 ,  22  and  24 . In some embodiments, the wire  18  may be a welding wire, such as a flux cored wire commercially available from Kiswel, Inc. A second motor may be provided for moving the traveler  16  horizontally (or some direction other than horizontal) along a length of a threaded guide rod  28 . Adaptor plates  30  and  32  are located between adjacent spools  20 ,  22  and  22 ,  24 . A clamping wheel  34  is used to clamp the assembly of the spools  20 ,  22  and  24  and adaptor plates  30  and  32  together on the winding shaft  12  so that the assembly rotates with the winding shaft  12  during a wire winding operation. As will be described in greater detail below, the adaptor plates  30  and  32  each include catch features that facilitate the jumping of the wire from one spool to the next spool. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the spool  20  includes a core  34  and a first spool flange  36  and a second spool flange  38  at opposite sides of the core  34 . A shaft receiving opening  44  extends through the spool  20  for receiving the winding shaft  12 . The first and second spool flanges  36  and  38  extend radially outwardly from the core  34  such that a width W 1  of the first and second spool flanges  36  and  38  is greater than a width W 2  of the core  34 . In some embodiments, an opening  40  is provided at the core  34 , for example, for receiving a starting end of the wire. Openings  42  may also be provided through the first and second spool flanges  36  and  38  to receive a terminating end of the wire once the wire is wound about the core  34 . In some embodiments, the spools  20 ,  22  and  24  are all substantially the same in their configuration, however, they may be different. 
         [0023]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the adaptor plate  30  includes a shaft receiving opening  46  for receiving the winding shaft  12 . Wire catching features in the form of notches  48  extend inwardly from an outer periphery  50  of the adaptor plate  30 . While the notches are illustrated as being U-shaped, they may be any suitable shape for catching the wire, such as V-shaped. The notches  48  are separated from each other by catch arms  52 . In some embodiments, the width W 3  of the adaptor plate  30  measured between ends of opposite catch arms  52  is greater than the width W 1  of the first and second spool flanges  36  and  38 . In some embodiments, W 3  is at least about five percent wider than W 1 , such as at least about eight percent wider than W 1 . In some embodiments, the adaptor plates  30  and  32  are both substantially the same in their configuration, however, they may be different. 
         [0024]    Referring back to  FIG. 1 , in operation, an operator bends a starting end of the wire  18  and inserts the starting end into the opening  40  at the core  34  of spool  20  ( FIG. 2 ). The winding apparatus  10  is activated and a controller is programmed to begin rotating the winding shaft  12  and assembly of spools  20 ,  22 ,  24  and adaptor plates  30 ,  32 . As the winding shaft  12  rotates, the traveler  16  moves horizontally back and forth in the direction of arrow  54  along the length of the core  34  of the spool  20  so that the wire  18  is wound evenly about the core  34  of the spool  20 . Once a predetermined amount of wire  18  is wound about the spool  20 , the traveler  16  moves horizontally to spool  22 . As the traveler  16  moves, the wire  18  gets caught in one of the notches  48  of the adaptor plate  30 , which causes the wire  18  to begin winding about the core  34  of the next spool  22 . As the winding shaft  12  rotates, the traveler  16  moves horizontally back and forth in the direction of arrow  58  along the length of the core  34  of the spool  22  so that the wire  18  is wound evenly about the core  34  of the spool  22 . Once a predetermined amount of wire  18  is wound about the spool  22 , the traveler  16  moves horizontally to spool  24 . Referring now to  FIG. 4 , as the traveler  16  moves, the wire  18  gets caught in one of the notches  48  of the adaptor plate  32 , which causes the wire  18  to begin winding about the core  34  of the next spool  24 . As the winding shaft  12  rotates, the traveler  16  moves horizontally back and forth in the direction of arrow  59  along the length of the core  34  of the spool  24  so that the wire  18  is wound evenly about the core  34  of the spool  24 . Once a predetermined amount of wire  18  is wound about the spool  24 , the winding shaft  12  stops rotating. As can be seen by  FIG. 4 , portions  18   a  and  18   b  of the wire  18  jump from one spool to an adjacent spool through notches  48  of the adapter plates  30  and  32 . 
         [0025]    Once the winding shaft  12  stops rotating, the wire  18  may be cut at the portions  18   a  and  18   b  thereby forming a starting end for the spools  22  and  24  and a terminating end for the spools  20  and  22 .  FIG. 5  illustrates spool  20  and  FIG. 6  illustrates spool  22  once separated from the winding shaft  12 . As can be seen by  FIG. 5 , the starting end of the wire  18  of spool  20  is hidden beneath the wire coils since the starting end was inserted in the opening  40  at the core  34  of the spool  20 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the starting end  60  and the terminating end  62  of the spool  22  are both exposed beyond the outermost windings of the wire  18 . In some embodiments, the wire  18  leading to the terminating end  62  extends along the spool flange  36  surface  64 , between the spool flange surface  64  and an outermost winding  66 . 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the controller of the winding apparatus  10  may be programmed to control the rotational speed and acceleration of the winding shaft  12  during the winding operation. For example, at the beginning of the winding process when winding the spool  20 , the winding shaft  12  may rotate at a relatively low speed and then accelerate at a selected rate to a relatively high speed. In some embodiments, once a predetermined amount of wire  18  is wound about the spool  20 , the controller may cause the winding shaft to decelerate to a relatively low speed to complete winding wire about the spool  20 , and continue at the low speed as the traveler  16  moves over to the next spool  22 . Then, the controller may again accelerate the winding shaft  12  to the relatively high rotational speed as the wire is wound about the spool  22 . In another embodiment, winding shaft  12  may maintain its relatively high rotational speed as the traveler moves from the spool  20  to the spool  22 . The acceleration process may be repeated for any subsequent spools. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIGS. 7-10 , it may be desirable to affix the free terminating end  62  and/or the free starting end  60  at a location on the spool  20 ,  22 ,  24 . In some embodiments, the free starting end  60  is affixed to the spool flange  36  at a location outside of the windings. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the starting end  60  of the wire  18  is illustrated wrapped around an outer edge  68  of the first spool flange  36  and inserted within the opening  42 . Referring to  FIG. 8 , the starting end  60  of the wire  18  is illustrated adhered to an outer surface  70  of the first spool flange  36  with the wire extending over the outer edge  68 . An adhesive label  72  may be used to adhere the starting end  60  of the wire  18  at the illustrated location. In some embodiments, a groove  75  may be formed in the periphery of the first spool flange  36  and/or the second spool flange  38  into which the wire  18  may be inserted, for example, such that the wire  18  is seated lower than the periphery of the first spool flange  36  and/or the second spool flange. The groove  75  may be any suitable shape, such as U-shaped, V-shaped, etc. Referring to  FIG. 9 , in another embodiment, the starting end  60  and/or terminating end  62  may be mechanically affixed to the first and/or second spool flange  36 ,  38  such as by punching. Referring to  FIG. 10 , in another embodiment, the starting end  60  and/or terminating end  62  may be affixed to the first and/or second spool flange  36 ,  38  by electric heat. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , an alternative adaptor plate  80  is illustrated with wire catch features  82  and  84  extending outwardly from an edge  86  of the adaptor plate  80 . 
         [0029]    The above-described winding process and apparatus provides continuous winding of a series of spools on the same winding shaft where the wire automatically jumps from spool-to-spool without any need for stopping or even slowing down the winding process between adjacent spools. Such a continuous winding process can reduce stoppage time and increase efficiency when winding multiple spools with wire. In some embodiments, the continuous winding can provide an increase of about 30 to 40 percent in productivity over other winding processes where stoppage time is needed between spools. 
         [0030]    While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.