If you’re making a lot of wiring harnesses, wrapping them can become a bit of a drag. [Well Done Tips] wanted to make this process easier and built a wiring harness wrapping machine.

The “C” shape of this wrapping machine means that you can wrap wires that are still attached at one or both ends, as you don’t have to pull the wires all the way through the machine. The plastic “C” rotates inside a series of pulleys with three of them driven by a belt attached to an electric motor. A foot pedal actuates the motor and speed is controlled by a rotary dial on the motor controller board.

Since this is battery powered, you could wrap wires virtually anywhere without needing to be near a wall outlet. This little machine seems like it would be really great if you need to wrap a ton of wire and shouldn’t be too complicated to build. Those are some of our favorite hacks.

If you’re wanting more wire harness fun, try this simple online wiring harness tool or see how the automotive industry handles harnesses.

Love the idea, and I love the video, it has a timelapsy feel to it. Also, neat trick of using a compass tracing the inside of a circle.

Watched it based on your comment, and wasn’t disappointed. First time I’ve seen this style of editing, and I like it!

Neat idea, could also be used for windind large toroids.

Nice build. I’d say he should add some tension on that tape/wrap.

Just a quick note on the linked “simple online wiring harness tool” (Wirely):

Since it is based on the open-source WireViz project, but does not currently include any attribution as per GPL (as of this writing), I think it would be fair to mention the original WireViz project in this article as well :-)

https://github.com/formatc1702/WireViz

I think I’d have added a leaf switch or used a light sensor to detect the position of the inner C shaped section, holding the power on until it’s aligned. A bit like auto homing windscreen wipers on cars. That way you wouldn’t need to be so precise when you stop it rotating.

Is avoiding adjusting the position carefully by hand really bad enough that the added complexity is worth it? I know hand turning an electric motor can generate small power spikes, but as I understand it as long as you do it slowly simple circuits like this are unlikely to be at risk.

I realize this is probably a heavily opinion/usage based question, if someone has everything they need laying around & has done similar circuits so it’s second nature or if you’re planning to use a rig like this on like a car or airplane’s worth of wiring bundles then avoiding the tiny bit of manual work might totally make sense

once watched them use a tool just like this on the fiber optic cable bundle strung up between two telephone poles in front of my house. they just drove the bucket truck along under the wire and the guy in the bucket dragged this tool along the wire. i’m not sure but i think it was actually powered by the dragging motion…the tension on the wrapping wire somehow caused it to rotate. always kind of a trip to see a truck moving with the bucket extended!

Easier to use split loom tubing. 100% more serviceability friendly (vs. trying to remove gunked up tape!)

To each his own. It’s getting harder to find local suppliers, and shipping gets prohibitive, especially in the sticks where i live. Tape is cheap and easily obtainable; I buy it in 10 packs at Harbor Freight, at obscenely low prices.

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

By using our website and services, you expressly agree to the placement of our performance, functionality and advertising cookies. Learn more