attachment to the machine frame. These
include the Coil assembly, the armature bar / spring assembly and the 2 binding
post assemblies. Below are: lists of parts needed for each assembly,
instructions and illustrations on assembly procedures.
Parts / tools
needed for coil assembly:
*
2 coils
*
heat gun / heat shrink
*
2 solderless ring terminals
*
2 flat tab terminals (optional)
*
1 axial capacitor (see
suggested capacitance measurements in capacitor section)
*
2 coil securing screws 8-32 1/2”
- 3/4” in length (prefer button head style)
*
soldering iron/flux (optional)
1)
Scrape the red insulation off
of the ends of the wires to be joined to any terminals or to other wires. Do
this to both the coil wires and the capacitor wires.
2)
Heat shrink exposed wire,
leaving ends of wires to be joined to terminals or to other wires un-insulated.
Do this to both the capacitor and the coil wires.
3)
Heat shrink capacitor cylinder
and / or coil bobbins.
If you are putting the capacitor on
separately, this is the time to solder the capacitor’s wire ends to the flat
tab terminals NOT solderless ring terminals.
If you are putting the capacitor and
the coil wires together on the same terminals, attach both, the capacitor wire
end and the coil wire end to the same “solderless ring terminal” by pinching
the wires into the receiving the of the terminal, this means one coil wire end
and one capacitor wire end per terminal. Making sure that the arrow on the
capacitor cylinder is pointing from the lower wires (which attach to the lower
binding post) to the upper binding post.
Slide a
piece of heat shrink on to of the terminals, DO NOT put any on the ring area,
this area must touch the binding post directly and completely. Just insulate
the receiving end of the terminal where the wires are inserted and slightly
overlap the heat shrink on to the wire(s).
Assembling the armature bar / spring assembly
This part of the operation should be
done after the springs have been cut and bent, making sure that the distances
are perfect from the frame’s spring saddle to the nub on the armature bar,
where the needle bar sits, making sure the needle bar would run perfectly
vertically through the tube vice hole in the frame, or slightly behind center
(when looking at the machine from the side).
1)
Put a piece of Trans-pore tape
under the armature bar, where it would make contact with the front coil.
2)
Put the 8-32 Allen screw
through the #8 washer and then screw the 8-32 allen screw with washer, into the
threaded hole at the back of the armature bar. Place the rear spring slot on to
the armature bar followed by the front spring slot (directly on top of the rear
spring). When using a larger screw, for example 10-24, make sure you use the
accompanying washer, a #10 washer.
3)
Snuggly tighten the screw /
washer on to the springs, they should be able to move when pushing on them.
This is the time to align the springs.
4)
Place o-ring under the front
spring and over the Allen screw which holds
the springs in place. There are 2 ways
to place the o-rings. There are 2 ways to place the o-rings (See illustration).
An imaginary straight line should run
from the tip of the front spring through the center of the Allen screw and
through the center of the rear spring, from front to back of the armature bar /
spring assembly. You may add an o-ring.
Once aligned, secure the springs by
tightening screw / washer, so that the springs DO NOT move and cannot shift
during machine operation.
Placement
of O-rings.
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Assembly
of a one piece spring system.
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This illustration depicts how the
stroke can change as the armature bar is placed away from the rear spring
saddle to accommodate a large distance from the spring saddle to the tube vice
hole. The greater the distance from the spring saddle to the tip of the armature
bar, the less strength the rear spring will have to move this displaced weight
at an acceptable rate and force, so a spring stiff enough to bare the tension
required to move the weight of the displaced armature bar and all it’s
components is required.
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Assembly of binding posts
Parts
needed for upper binding post assembly:
*
binding post
*
contact screw
*
acrylic ball or piece of o-ring
(acrylic ball or piece of o-ring must be used to protect the threads on the
contact screw. )
*
contact screw securing
screw-can be plastic or nylon, if metal is the choice, a nylon or plastic flat
washers-used insulate frame from the binding post and to shim the binding post
if necessary.
*
nylon or plastic t-washers- to
keep threads on binding post securing screw from touching the machine frame.
See illustration.
Assembly
order from coontact screw securing screw to the frame (left to right) and the
final screw:
Securing
screw, acrylic ball or piece of o-ring, contact screw/binding post, coil / capacitor
terminal, plastic washer, machine frame, plastic “t-washer” (or tape, plastic
flat washer), securing screw. This binding post assembly is now ready to be
secured to the frame.
Nylon,
plastic or
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Parts
needed for Lower binding post assembly:
*
binding post
*
securing screw 8-32 3/8” (Phillips,
button head, Allen head)
*
plastic, nylon or neoprene #8
flat washers
*
plastic or nylon t-washers See illustration.
Assemble the similar parts in the same
order as in the directions for assembling and attaching the upper binding post
to the frame.
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Once you have the coils
assembled, the armature bar / spring assembly and the binding posts ready, it
is time to put all these components on to the machine frame.
Assembling the machine
This is the recommended order for
machine assembly. There are details in this section which may be overlooked, it
is important to re-read anything which you may not understand.
1)
Attach coils (and yoke, depending
what material the frame is made from) to the machine by tightening the coil
securing screws snuggly.
Remember, these screws are the only
attachment screws which DO NOT need to be insulated.
2)
Place the armature bar / spring
assembly onto the spring saddle, tighten the spring securing screw, making sure
that there is no vertical play in the rear spring. It should sit solidly on the
saddle.
3)
Pull down the armature bar
assembly by the nub on which the needle bar sits (see illustration next page).
Check for parallelism- this means that the armature bar is parallel
to the yoke or the base of the frame when the armature bar is making full
contact with the front coil. The armature bar should NEVER touch the
rear coil, there should always be a very small space between the armature bar
and the rear coil, the smaller the better.
Any parallelism issues should be handled NOW before moving on.This
means-- SHIMS. Shims may be made from washers, or better yet, feeler gauges. As
we mentioned earlier, a hole punch and some tin snips can make any feeler
gauge into a shim. The large selection of feeler gauges in a set can produce a
variety of more precise shims than any washer selection ever could. And because
you are making them yourself, shape and size of these shims is changeable. |
When moving the armature bar assembly
manually, ALWAYS pull it down by the armature bar. NEVER by the front spring
because this will change the tension on that spring.
Shims may be necessary under the front
coil to make the armature bar parallel. It may be necessary to shim the rear
coil if the small space is too big. This space should be paper thin. Shimming
the spring saddle slightly to raise the armature bar / spring assembly may help
to make the armature bar parallel to the yoke or the base of the frame. A round
washer should NOT be used for this purpose.This shim should be flat on one side
(p. 54), the shim must sit perfectly flat to the inner edge of the spring
saddle closest to the rear coil. Once you have achieved parallelism, you may
move on. Filing off the top of the rear coil to make a paper thin space is also
recommended only if it is absolutely necessary.
Attach the lower binding post to the frame and to the coil / capacitor assembly
by doing the following.
Place securing screw through plastic
t-washer, put screw and t-washer through the hole drilled into the lower rear
of the frame, place plastic, nylon or neoprene washer onto the protruding
screw, place terminal on to the plastic washer and over the protruding securing
screw, attach the binding post. The binding post should be tightened snuggly.
Remember to check for any grounding
after attaching and tightening the rear binding post. No exposed wire should
touch the frame or the yoke .
Attach
the upper binding post by following the same procedure
indicated in “attach the lower binding post...” The contact screw should be in
place as should the acrylic ball or piece of o-ring to protect the contact
screw’s threads, as well as the contact screw’s securing screw.
Check “vertical lines” by placing a
needle bar onto the nub on the armature bar. You may connect a needle and tube
set up.This is to verify that the needle bar is running down the center of the
tube, or just slightly behind the center point.
Look at the machine from the front.
The needle bar must run down the center of the tube. Imagine a straight line
from the contact screw down through the tube and out the tip of the tube (p. 67
& 68 photos). This means that if the contact screw is slightly off, to the
left or to the right, the binding post must be shimmed with plastic, nylon or
neoprene washers between the frame and the terminal NOT between the terminal
and the binding post.
Find the spot on the front spring
where the contact screw will make contact, a good place to start is on the
front spring, directly above where the needle bar holding nub meets the
rectangular armature bar. When tightening the binding post securing screw, hold
the contact screw in place with one of your fingers so that it doesn’t pivot
away from your selected contact area on the front spring (see illustration).
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Hold the contact screw securely with
one of your fingers when tightening the binding post. This prevents the contact
screw from moving back on the spring.
Set the
stroke. This means open or close the contact screw to the distance you would
like the armature bar to travel in conjunction with the bend in the rear
spring. Pull down on the armature bar and let it up til it makes contact with
the contact screw. Set the space between the contact screw and the front
spring. This should be done without the needle / tube set up. The following
pages will help you to fine tune the stroke setting and to understand
compensation between the contact screw, the flex of the front spring and the
tension of the rear spring. Don’t worry, it will become clear, read the next
few pages and have your machine handy.
Do the spring tension test (p.60) to establish
the following:
*
Stroke.
*
Test for adequate spring
tension on both springs (flex on front spring and tension on the rear spring).
*
Where is the best place for the
contact screw to make contact with the front spring.
You may have to add tension or take
away tension on the rear spring. Remember, pull down on the armature bar,
release the downward pull slowly until the front spring stops on the contact
screw. The armature bar should continue to travel very slightly. This ensures
that there is a flex on the front spring which will handle the amount of resistance
the skin will provide but it also shows that the rear spring tension is capable
of supporting the weight of a needle bar, needles, grommet or paper towel,
O-ring, rubber band tension, friction of the needles rubbing against the back
of the tip and finally, the resistance the skin will provide. Generally, if the
machine exhibits these qualities, once plugged in, the fine tuning should be
minimal.
Once the area of contact is
established on the front spring, and the spring tension seems acceptable, trim
off the excess spring stock in front of the contact screw. This “tightens up”
the performance of the machine and eliminates any extra un-necessary additional
vibration which will come from the excess spring stock in front of the contact
screw. This should be done with an o-ring already in place. O-rings smooth out
vibration, minimize sound and slightly increase tension. We recommend o-rings
for this reason. O- rings come in different diameters and thicknesses so choose
wisely.
With the Dremmel, or a good file, cut an angle on the tip of the
contact screw making sure that it is identical to the angle of the front spring
so that the flat spot on the contact screw makes a 100% connection with the
angle of the front spring. A secondary bend on the front spring may also be
used. (see illustrations). |
An extra bend in front spring to match the angle cut into the end of
the contact screw, will ensure solid contact between the two.
An angle
cut into the tip of the contact screw matches the angle bent into the front
spring so there is solid contact between the two.
Plug the machine in and
run it without the needle bar / tube assembly connected, turning the dial on
the power supply slowly up and down. Follow the “ball system” (p.61) to
re-check the spring tension and to make sure the machine can shade as well as
color. The balls should not get closer in the turned down black and gray mode.
Feel the movement of the armature bar with the soft finger print on the thumb
(see Illustration below). The balls getting closer to each other when turning
down the dial on the power supply means, there is too much tension on the rear
spring whereas the balls staying the same distance apart means there is
versatility in function. When touching the armature bar while running the
machine and the armature bar comes to a complete stop (at a “coloring”
setting), means that there is excessive tension on the rear spring.
Contact from the
contact screw on the front spring is important. The stroke should not be
compromised. Bend rear spring to create tension or or un-bend the spring to
take away tension, do this in conjunction with opening or closing the contact
screw until the spring’s flex is correct. It is all about compensation.
Once the machine runs
smoothly, double check the tuning with the needle bar / tube set up on the
machine. It should exhibit the same qualities. It will have to be running a little
higher on the power supply dial but it should exhibit the exact same qualities
described in detail in the “ball system” section as well as in the “spring
tension test” section on page 59.
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