Don't let the beautiful wood
construction fool you into thinking that this is just another "pretty
face" product. The HDBW is a solidly engineered product. One man
year of very talented
engineering effort went into this machine. We used the positive
characteristics offered by the combination of hardwoods, steel, and
plastic materials to arrive at a design that combines beauty,
durability, and power. Most parts have been over designed for their
intended application. We knew that shop owners needed a machine that
would not fail like the plastic ones that have been used and abused for
many years. We even considered the development of a variety of add-on products that we plan
to make available in the future.
Upcoming products
(by mid-2008) What other ball winder Mfr offers add-on
products???? (hint: none)
Tensioner - a new
integrated yarn tensioner will be part of all production from May 2008
onward (existing users may purchase an upgrade kit for a nominal fee)
Motor Option - our Power Base™ product will power
the HDBW and will include both safety and functional features. It will
even power our upcoming Skein Winder and bobbin winder. A single motor
unit to power all of our fiber tools.
2 LB Yarn Ball Accessory - will enable the winding
of 2 LB yarn balls
Small Diameter spindles for users who want to make
smaller balls.
Custom Ball Handle to allow you to sit comfortably
in front of the winder to wind balls (ergonomically designed in both
small and large handle sizes).
Electronic Yarn Meter - will measure both yards and
meters and will enable user to enter a predetermined qty to measure.
Unit will then sound a tone indicating that the qty has been reached or
(if used with our motorized HDBW), shut the ball winder down.
Best of all, every Ball Winder that we have
ever sold will be able to use these options.
- Pricing:
- The Retail price for our Heavy Duty Ball
Winder is
$199.99
-
The price includes 2 heavy duty table clamps and a sample set of our
Yarn Ball Cores™, and spare O-Rings for both the Flange Friction
Drive and the Spindle (see below).
-
Purchase a Ball
Winder here:
Click on the link below to order a Heavy Duty Ball Winder. We can
typically ship from stock or within 10 days from the date of
your order. We will notify you after receiving your order as to the
projected ship date.
Retail
Price $199.99
Price does not include a $10 credit to
offset your freight charge.
Spare Parts and Options for HDBW
-
Spare friction drive
O-Rings $4.00 (pack of 2)
- (these will not be needed for a
long time after initial use). We now include an extra O-Ring
with each unit as well.
-
-
Spindle O-Rings
- are mounted on top of spindle to keep your yarn ball from
flying off (if you wound it too loosely) Most users do not need
these. We include one with the unit.
- Pack of 2 for
$3.00
-
-
-
Spare Bolt, Clamp,
Nut
assy $5.50
-
- These are for
anyone who lost a clamp and bolt
-
-
-
Add your
name to our HDBW Mailing List here
-
-
-
Ball Winder design
engineered by:
-
Solutions by Demand
- Principal
Engineering
-
-
Bob Shroyer - NKK
- Design
Assistance
Ball Winder Status Update
Noise Level Test Results
In order to provide noise level information
to our customers, we conducted a noise level test of the HDBW and the 3
other competitive products.
Test conditions:
all measurements were taken with the meter positioned 12" from the
spindle center in the back of the ball winder (away from the user). The
"A Weighting" method was used to measure the noise level by means of a
Radio Shack Digital SLM (Model 33-2055). The test environment was
a residential room approx. 12' x 12' with a carpeted floor.
The units were cranked at 120 RPM (2
rotations of the handle per second). Noise levels in parenthesis were
obtained at 180 RPM (3 rotations per second) on the Jumbo Royal and HDBW
only.
The test reports 2 separate numbers: (1) the average
noise level (decibels) over a 20 second period and (2) the maximum noise
level (db) during such period.
Note: lower numbers are
better than higher numbers. Lower numbers mean that the device generates
less noise.
- Standard Royal Winder
- 64 db Average
- 72 db Maximum *
- Moderate pitch
-
- Jumbo Royal
- 71 db Average (74)
- 75 db Maximum (78)
- Higher pitch
-
- Heavy Duty Ball Winder by NKK (our
unit)
- 67 db Average (68)
- 71 db Maximum (72)
- Lower pitch
-
- Strauch
- Inaccurate reading caused by squeaking handle. This unit was the
quietest of all of the units, however, because it uses belts
instead of gears.
* - The Standard Royal winder had a problem caused by noisy gears
(possibly broken or headed in that direction). This caused the maximum
noise level to be higher than it should have been.
_____________________
Typically a noise level
difference of 2-3 db is quite noticeable to the listener. However, the
pitch (frequency) of the noise is also important and can make the noise
either more or less pleasant. Higher pitched sounds are generally more
annoying.
The size and number of the
gear teeth and the material used in the ball winder housing seem to make
a difference in how sound is generated and abated by the unit. The
torque of the unit also tends to increase the level of noise which means
that the larger units will typically generate more noise than the
smaller capacity winders (categorized by drive type - gear or belt).
The larger units wound more yarn, however. Belt/O-ring units will always be less noisy than gear models.
Update - we have noticed on some early production units that
2 of the shafts were making contact and creating a squeak. This squeak
has nothing to do with gears. If you own an early production unit
(serial number has a -1 at end of number) and the unit squeaks, please
contact us for repair info. We now
provide a recommended lubrication procedure with every unit.
-
Changes (corrections and
refinements)
- since Video was made:
We make the critical spindle arm from one piece of hardwood.
We have modified the handle by further strengthening it, especially
in the shaft connector area.
We have modified the spindle by adding 3 screws to make the
flange and spindle connection more secure.
We now lubricate all components in the gear train as well as shafts
and other moving parts and more importantly, have eliminated a fit
problem in which two shafts were making contact thus causing a squeak.
We have corrected the fit of the Yarn Guide arm and peg to ensure
that the arm can, indeed, be turned 180 degrees.
We have either already completed or are still in the process of
upgrading the first 100 units shipped to users which may require some of
these changes at no charge to the user.
