CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => DIY => Topic started by: cspirou on September 24, 2015, 01:08:23 PM
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I want to start winding my own transformers. Finding copper wire isn't an issue but finding bobbins and steel laminations in anything less then an industrial quantity is really difficult to find. Anyone know where I can get laminations and/or bobbins in small quantities? Should I just scavenge for old transformers and take them apart?
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power transformers or audio transformers ?
For what kind of power levels ?
Making audio transformers that perform well is closer to an art form than a mere 'technical' thing.
With merely a technical thing I mean ... take some 'core' laminates, grab some wire and wind it around a bobbin and presto... 'a transformer'.
That most likely won't ever yield a fine audio transformer.
Likewise with mains transformers.
You need to know more than just the ratio, but also know about saturation, magnetic field strenghts, properties the trafo needs to have, power losses, wire distances, winding techniques and what not.
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power transformers or audio transformers ?
For what kind of power levels ?
Making audio transformers that perform well is closer to an art form than a mere 'technical' thing.
With merely a technical thing I mean ... take some 'core' laminates, grab some wire and wind it around a bobbin and presto... 'a transformer'.
That most likely won't ever yield a fine audio transformer.
Likewise with mains transformers.
You need to know more than just the ratio, but also know about saturation, magnetic field strenghts, properties the trafo needs to have, power losses, wire distances, winding techniques and what not.
First power then output transformers. Power transformers will be between 50VA to 100VA while audio will have an output of about 10w. I've read a fair amount about transformer windings patterns and studied up on as much of the other relevant information as I can. However I can theorize all I want but eventually I need to start winding to see what works and what doesn't.
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However I can theorize all I want but eventually I need to start winding to see what works and what doesn't.
That will basically be it.
The ultimate question is whether or not it would be more economical to simply buy standard tranformers unless you need non standard voltages/currents or multiple windings in non standard configurations.
It will be very hard (impossible ?) to beat the performance of the better and specialised audio transformers already on the market.
No harm in trying though and educational at the least.
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We need to encourage him. All the old-school guys are dying off.
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Yea, as long as Sennheiser keeps coming up with dynamics we need transformers!
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Yea, as long as Sennheiser keeps coming up with dynamics we need transformers!
And I need transformer parts!!
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EI cores for you:
http://www.magnet-tech.com/core/MnZn/mnzn_power_ferrite/EI.htm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nickel-Permalloy-EI-35-Core-and-Bobbin-for-Transformer-/230646735924
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Plus I believe you'll need different tooling for either EI or C/Double-C cores.
Learn to make a good R-core too.
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We need to encourage him. All the old-school guys are dying off.
Agreed.
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Plus I believe you'll need different tooling for either EI or C/Double-C cores.
Learn to make a good R-core too.
EI and C-core are actually really similar when it comes to winding and would not need much different tooling.
R-cores however are really different since you wind it while the bobbin is on the core. I have some ideas on how to wind R-cores without buying a specialized machine but that's later. Plus there aren't really ungaped r-core transformers that I know of so I wouldn't be able to make a single ended transformer with them, unless its parafeed.
Really the only one I won't attempt are toroidal since I either need really expensive specialized machinery or I become a masochist and do it by hand.
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Really the only one I won't attempt are toroidal since I either need really expensive specialized machinery or I become a masochist and do it by hand.
I hear there's a really good market in boutique audiophile components, and the transformer segment is very small... :)p8
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Edcor has a good selection of M6 lams and bobbins, but shipping can be a bit much if you're not in the US. Link (https://www.edcorusa.com/parts). Make us some autoformers. :)