2025/02/18 19:07




Attaching the pins to the cylinder drum used to be done by hand, but production speed was slow and it was difficult to maintain accuracy and quality.
Today, precision machines are used to drill holes in the cylinders and accurately insert the needles, which has improved the accuracy of reproduction of the original music.
The speed is adjusted by controlling the cylinder's rotational speed by the frictional force when the rotating disc touches the rubber.
As the rotation speed is determined by the magnitude of the frictional force, the playback speed can be increased or decreased by adjusting the position of the contact.
To speed up, the frictional force is reduced and the distance between the rotating plate and the contacting parts is increased, while to slow down, the distance is narrowed to increase the frictional force.
As speed control by the rotary plate is a matter of personal preference, Nidec's rule of thumb is to adjust the speed to a more generally acceptable rotational speed (30-45 seconds per cylinder revolution). 2-3 second change can make a big difference to the sound.
If there are special requests, it is possible to adjust the speed to each customer's preference, but if it is faster, the load on the gears and the strain on the mechanism increases, and if it is slower, the rotary disc itself wears more, which can easily lead to breakdowns.
Cylinder music boxes, which look as if they are changing keys to suit the tune, are often presented as an automatic performance device rather than a musical instrument.
The comb teeth are not all neatly aligned in pitch like a keyboard instrument, and the necessary sounds are built into the comb teeth in accordance with the tune and its arrangement.
Therefore, when repairing, the sound cannot be played even if only the cylinder is replaced.
A cylinder music box is only viable when the diaphragm and drum are as a set.