Cone winder for CSM

This is my original design for the contest of the Fall into knitting

Origin

The inspiration for this hand-crank yarn winder came from my wife. She often uses a Circular Sock Machine (CSM) to knit socks, and before she can begin, she needs to rewind the yarn into a cone-shaped spool to ensure smooth and stable feeding. Traditional yarn winders usually produce round or cylindrical balls, which are not ideal for the cone structure required by CSMs. That motivated me to design a dedicated yarn winder that can distribute yarn evenly across a cone-shaped surface, specifically for CSM users.
 

Design Concept

For this design, my ideal was to create a fully 3D-printable hand-crank yarn winder :
- No metal screws, bearings or shafts, 
- Every component is designed to be printed in PLA or PETG
- Easy assembly . 

The sliding mechanism is based on the concept of a Scotch yoke, adapted for smooth reciprocating motion. To simplify assembly, I try to integrate the bearing structure and thread directly into the main gear as a single printable part. This reduces the total part count and keeps the winding motion smooth even without traditional bearings..
 

Beside hand-crank version, this design also supports a motorized winding mode.I reserved space to mount a DC-motor. In my previous test, It should work in low speed (around 150 RPM) . If you would like to install the motor, you will need to buy some metal screws and a flange coupler. See assembly instructions for details.