Arrangement in an automatic cable winding machine

In a winding machine for winding and unwinding a cable on or from a flanged drum, said machine having a support frame, two gripping pins, each vertically displaceable in the support frame and arranged to co-axially grip one flange of the drum, power means for vertically displacing the gripping pins between a lower gripping position and a fixed upper winding position to lift the drum off of a floor plane, said lower position varying in accordance with the diameter of the flange of the drum, and rotating means supported by the support frame for rotating the drum, said rotating means comprising a rotatable and displaceable drive wheel, adjusting means for moving the drive wheel to an operating position against the flange of the drum and pressure means for pressing the drive wheel against the flange of the drum;

• the improvement comprising, a detecting device for determining the vertical distance of at least one of the gripping pins from the floor plane when it is in its lower gripping position for axially gripping the drum as an indication of the diameter of the flange of the drum and control means responsive to said distance determined by the detecting device for activating, based on the diameter of the drum's flange, both the adjusting means of the drive wheel to move the drive wheel to an appropriate operating position against the flange of the drum, and the pressure means to regulate the pressure of the drive wheel against the flange of the drum with a force related to the diameter of the drum's flange.