Thread spooling machine

(picture with courtesy of Anders Brahme)

Bob Moolhuizen in 1951

Ir. G.E.P. (Bob) Moolhuizen (1931 - 1996) worked from mid 1959 until the beginning of 1960 at the Vezelinstituut (Fibre Institute) of the Central Laboratory TNO in Delft where he developed the above pictured nylon spooling machine.

After 1960 Mr. Moolhuizen worked for the Lummus corporation (oilbrache).

This picture represents a nylon thread spooling machine, designed and built by ir. G. Moolhuizen around 1959-60. Mr. Moolhuizen was at that time employed at the Centraal Laboratorium TNO in Delft.

The machine was designed to study several kinds of nylon windings around a coil. It is assumed, that the machine could either make linear windings or a cross linear winding, which is the most common winding in present time for these purposes. An interesting detail is, that the basement of the model seems to be some kind of concrete like material in order to get a rigid structure.

TNO Delft had no less than 20 sets of FAC X-2. The cost of developing the spooling machine was estimated at fl5000,- (fl5000,- in 1960 was approx. €12.600,- in 2006), of which the FAC parts were only about 10%. Developing the machine in the traditional way was estimated at fl55000,-.

Please contact the author of this article if you can provide more info to this machine.

(picture with courtesy of Dirk Ernstsen)

(picture with courtesy of Anders Brahme)