Automated Wire Winder and Cutter

The sponsor’s instrumentation team spends a lot of time manually spooling the lengths of wire it needs to run tests on large mining machines. Tests require multiple quantities of wire, from 15 to 150 feet in length, which must be measured, cut, wound, bound and dropped into a bin for collection. The automated system designed is housed in a vertical metal frame with a protective screen to shield the user from the operating mechanism. The system uses a standard spool of wire, which is loaded into the top of the device. The wire is threaded through a measuring device and cutting mechanism and attached to a winding drum. A touch screen allows the operator to input the desired length and quantity of the wire sections needed. The device automatically measures and spools the wire to within once inch accuracy. It cuts the wire, binds it with tape, and drops the fully prepared wire into a bin for collection at the bottom of the frame. This process repeats autonomously until the desired quantity of each wire length is achieved. If the wire supply runs out, the system stops and provides a message on the touch screen telling the operator to load additional wire. Once the wire is loaded, the system completes the interrupted job.