Flyer winding machines and needle winding machines are both automatic winding equipment for motor stator coils.They differ greatly in applicable stator structure,winding method,wire specification and production cycle.During the mass production selection of brushless motor stators,the process adaptability of the two types of equipment shall be comprehensively judged combined with the inner/outer winding structure of the stator,slot shape,wire diameter and slot fill rate requirements.
The flyer winding machine adopts theouter winding process.A high-speed rotating flyer arm drives the enameled wire to perform circular wire-throwing motion.The wire is fed into the outward-facing slots of the stator from the outer side of the stator.The needle winding machine applies theinner winding process.A slender winding needle passes through the inner hole of the stator,feeding the wire from the inner side into the slots facing the inner hole.This is the core structural difference between them,which also determines the applicable stator types respectively.
In terms of applicable stators,flyer winding machines are mainly used for stators of outer-rotor brushless motors with outward slot openings,commonly seen in fan motors,model aircraft motors,balance vehicle motors and small water pump motors.Needle winding machines fit inner-rotor stators whose slots face the inner hole of the iron core.They are widely used in servo motors,electric vehicle motors,vacuum cleaner motors and household appliance inner-rotor motors.Some special iron core structures can only be matched with the corresponding type of machine and cannot be substituted for each other.
There are obvious differences in wire material and parallel winding capacity.The routing channel of the flyer structure has larger space,supporting parallel winding of multiple strands.It can run 2,4 or even more enameled wires at the same time and has prominent advantages in processing thick wires.However,thin wires are prone to wire throwing and jumping during high-speed winding,which places high requirements on tension control.The aperture of the winding needle of a needle winding machine is limited,so the quantity of wires for parallel winding is restricted.It is more suitable for single-strand or a small number of thin wires.When the wire diameter is too large,the winding needle lacks sufficient strength and is easy to bend or break.
As for production tact,under the condition of stators of the same specification,the overall speed of the flyer winding machine is faster.The flyer rotates continuously to throw wires with simple actions.Dual-station models can perform material loading/unloading and winding at the same time for high mass production efficiency.The winding needle of a needle winding machine needs to shuttle back and forth repeatedly.Every turn of wire requires needle feeding,hooking and needle retraction.The mechanical stroke is long and the tact of a single machine is relatively slow.Nevertheless,the needle winding machine can control the wire arrangement more precisely.
Slot fill rate and coil quality control have their own merits.For flyer winding,the wire is thrown into slots by the flyer.The wire arrangement is affected by flyer speed,tension and wire feeding angle.Improper parameter commissioning easily causes overlapping wires and cross-slot wiring,with a moderate upper limit of slot fill rate.The winding needle of the needle winding machine can accurately control the position of each turn of wire.The wires are arranged neatly,and the consistency of coils is better.It is easier to achieve a high slot fill rate and reduce the risk of inter-phase short circuit,making it more friendly to high-voltage motors requiring high voltage resistance.
Tooling and model change costs are different.The tooling of the flyer winding machine is mainly the stator positioning fixture with a simple structure.The mold change time is short when replacing iron cores of different specifications,suitable for rapid production change of multiple varieties.In addition to the positioning fixture,the needle winding machine also needs customized winding needles and guides.The winding needle requires high machining precision,making commissioning for model change complicated and the mold cost higher.The cost of small-batch sampling is relatively high.
The types of defective products are different.Common defects of flyer winding include wire breakage,paint film scratch,wire jumping and disorder,and loose wire ends,mostly caused by high-speed wire throwing and friction at the wire guide wheel and the wire outlet of the flyer.Frequent defects of needle winding are bent needles,broken needles,paint skin scratched by the needle tip and wire jamming.The winding needle is under repeated stress for a long time and prone to fatigue,serving as a quick-wear part with a higher frequency of replacement and maintenance.
In terms of maintenance threshold,the mechanism of the flyer model is relatively simple,and the maintenance is mainly focused on the flyer spindle and tension components.The needle winding machine has many precision parts.Winding needles and guide sheets are precise consumables with strict requirements for assembly accuracy and coaxiality,so daily maintenance and commissioning are more difficult.
Neither type is absolutely superior;they follow different process routes.Outer-wound outer-rotor stators with high output demand and parallel winding of multiple thick wires are preferably processed by flyer winding machines.Inner-rotor stators,thin wires,high slot fill rate and high voltage resistance requirements are suitable for needle winding machines.Many motor factories are equipped with both types of machines to correspond to different product lines.
