Resistance-No Resistance wire welder

[gsa]

This was recently posted by someone in one of the forums, I had contacted the member who was in the video and he was going to send some more info, now it looks like the member has been banned. Not speaking Greek I really have no way to contact the person and I am just too impatient to wait any longer.

Again, since I don't speak Greek, I don't even understand the narrative or know if this was going to be a for sale product or if he had plans to post the instructions on how to build it.

Regardless, from the looks of it, it appears to be a mini dc arc welder. Its not plugged into the wall so It has to be battery powered. Left button looks like power, right button looks like "charge". My guess is that is charging a capacitor and that dip switch selects which capacitor to charge. I assume there are a couple diodes in-between the the dip switch and the caps. Possibly some other components?

I would love the help of the community here to help reverse engineer this thing, I would be willing to run a coop on parts for the final build if there is interest for that. I dont know if this is going to be complicated enough to get a pcb made for it, but I do have those resources available if we go down that road, I am sure that many here can help with that too. I have an engineering firm who could likely figure this out, but I am not really wanting to foot that bill for a new toy and figured there are probably some EE's on our board who might have some interest in owning one of these devices. I have zero interest in profiting from this project, my carpel tunnel and love of atty's that require r-nr is my only motivation.

Thoughts?

Update 1-22-13 Here is the link to bill of materials and schematic: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...no-resistance-wire-welder-32.html#post8382692


I put together a step by step illustrated guide for building the welder: http://www.instructables.com/id/Small-Welder-for-joining-Nichrome-and-Nickel-Wires/

 

[Scottinboca]

It said on the youtube page, "Contact user "Diver" in forum e-kapnisma.gr" for the schematics or to get one.

 

[breaktru]

CooooL............

 

[par292]

oh thats way too cool i really need one of these

 

[gsa]

Seems like Capacitor Discharge welders are a common DIY for folks who tab batteries together for building and repairing battery packs. Here are some useful links:

$100 CD Battery Tab Welder

philpem.me.uk :: electronics :: welder

There are many more, far more complicated designs out there but for our purpose I think these are more than enough.

 

[bearded]

Some informations i found via dampfertreff forum in germany:


Diver Manolis - YouTube

hi guys.

This time I wanted to share with you my impressions on what came to my attention about the tsaf. It looks that the Diver (Inventor of the tsaf) has done his homework.

Apart from the very high percentage of the successful attempts to tsaf the wires together (it should be at 90% or more under normal use of the device), it is impressive that the inventor has followed a very straightforward way of thinking when he constructed the device, keeping in mind as well the endurance, the correct circuitry in terms of security, lightness and ease of use.

Starting with the construction of the device I will say that the way the system is built secures each stage of the circuit from the other, and uses the right staff for the various tasks. Thickness of the wires, logical placing of the building blocks all into such a small size that although it’s really packed up with stuff, it is very reliable in its operation.

When we go to security the guy has taken under serious consideration the protection from short circuitry, erratic placing of the battery and other gimmicks that will keep the device and the user secure.

The device is also very light and small. It can be carried out to wherever you would like to take it in a small pocket of your jacket.

Going to the ease of use anyone with two hands and a sight that can focus as far as 25 cm can do the job fairly easy. The only thing the user should pay attention is to keep the wires parallel and overlapping for 2 mm in order to apply the soldering procedure to as much surface as possible and keep the contacts of the two small clamps clean, in order to secure 100 % of current transfer to the wires to solder.

It is also very economic on the energy that it consumes from the battery, since the reports for 200+ fusions per battery, indicate that one could spend a very big period of time as it comes from the manufacturer.

The way to ask for it for now is via private message or via a list.

Greetz bearded

 

[gdeal]

Before the thread was pulled from ECF. I asked Diver if the device would work to attach Kanthal to silver NR wire. He said he has not tried that yet but would do so then post back. Which now seems like it wont happen.

 

[bearded]

Maybe it is possible to contact him through this greek forum.

Greek Vapers -

http://www.greekvapers.com/forum/index.p...ods-being-made/

According to what i have heard, his forum id is "manolis".

 

[gsa]

If anyone wants to reach out to him or try and add some more info here that is great. Trying to navigate foreign boards with translators and such is just too much like work for me. Researching Cap Discharge welding theory and the circuitry behind it is however kinda fun so I am going to stick with it. Plus, seeing the comments now I think he is probably selling them, not looking to publish the plans. So this can be the Open Source version

It would be interesting to find out what the price is on that one though, simply to see if this project is justified. My gut feeling here is that this can be a kitted project from digikey within a few weeks though and will probably be considerably cheaper and much faster delivery

 

[gdeal]

If anyone wants to reach out to him or try and add some more info here that is great. Trying to navigate foreign boards with translators and such is just too much like work for me. Researching Cap Discharge welding theory and the circuitry behind it is however kinda fun so I am going to stick with it. Plus, seeing the comments now I think he is probably selling them, not looking to publish the plans. So this can be the Open Source version

It would be interesting to find out what the price is on that one though, simply to see if this project is justified. My gut feeling here is that this can be a kitted project from digikey within a few weeks though and will probably be considerably cheaper and much faster delivery

So do you think this type of weld will be ok for attaching silver wire to kanthal?

 

[mre777]

So do you think this type of weld will be ok for attaching silver wire to kanthal?

This video HERE says "A device which helps to connect NiChrome or Canthal wires without twisting them"

 

[gdeal]

Researching Cap Discharge welding theory and the circuitry behind it is however kinda fun so I am going to stick with it. Plus, seeing the comments now I think he is probably selling them, not looking to publish the plans. So this can be the Open Source version

.....My gut feeling here is that this can be a kitted project from digikey within a few weeks though and will probably be considerably cheaper and much faster delivery

This video HERE says "A device which helps to connect NiChrome or Canthal wires without twisting them"

mre777, of course I watched the video. I thought gsa (or anybody else with knowledge) might have some insight to the question that I ask Diver. (see my post number #7 above.).

 

[gsa]

Tentative parts list:

Battery- 3.7v AW IMR 18650 from my stash $0
Batter holder- Digi-Key Part Search $2.83
Resistor- 10w 3.6ohm SQP10AJB-3R6 Yageo | 3.6W-10-ND | DigiKey $0.63
Capacitor- 1.5F 5.5v "supercap" Digi-Key Part Search $4.19
On/Off Switch- Not really needed IMO. I will just take my battery out when not in use.
Momentary Switch- SPST NO 2A Digi-Key Part Search
Alligator Clips- Plenty of those in the junk drawer, might get some nice ones if this works though. $0
Fuse: 2A 125vdc Digi-Key Part Search $1.95/qty 3
Wire, solder etc- again from the junk drawer. $0

So less than $11 before shipping for bare bones parts to give it a try. I think I will.

I calculated the capacitor charge using this calc here: Charging a Capacitor

So at 3.7v-4.2v power with the 3.6ohm resistor and a 1.5f cap = about 5 seconds to charge to 600000uf which ought to be enough to weld the wire, if not holding the button longer will increase the charge but adding more caps may be a better solution. The resistor should limit the battery discharge to around 1 amp and the 2 amp fuse as a safety, well within the limit for the battery. 10 watts should be way more than enough for the resistor as well.

Am I missing anything here?

 

[gsa]

So do you think this type of weld will be ok for attaching silver wire to kanthal?

I don't know about silver, nickel may be better, I have both though. I have kanthal as well as nichrome in more than a few wire gauges. Did I mention I am hooked on ody's....

Edit. A quick search turns up a whole slew of dc welders in the jewelry world, looks like they weld silver all the time. So I think any of the materials we want to use will work fine.

 

[gdeal]

I don't know about silver, nickel may be better, I have both though. I have kanthal as well as nichrome in more than a few wire gauges. Did I mention I am hooked on ody's....

Edit. A quick search turns up a whole slew of dc welders in the jewelry world, looks like they weld silver all the time. So I think any of the materials we want to use will work fine.

Yes, but what happens when you apply enough temp to weld kanthal to a thin .9999 silver wire?

"When you are working with a small mass of metal, it is easy for the material to get to the molten temperature. The heat is easily distributed through the piece. This makes the time to get the material molten fairly rapid. So, you are joining the pieces, but the rest of the material is awfully close to the melting temperature (which in pure metals is a melting *point*). In other words, WHAM, the piece melts down. There is no real color indication, either, as there is in steel turning red to let you know that you are close to temperature."

http://www.artmetal.com/brambush/forum/bramyak3/messages/63.html

 

[mre777]

has anyone tried the flash from a disposable camera? run clips off the cap. those things can put out a good sized arc and their really cheap. careful handling the board as it can give you a fun little shock


Ill be right back, I'm going to go get one at the store down the street.

 

[gsa]

Yes, but what happens when you apply enough temp to weld kanthal to a thin .9999 silver wire?

"When you are working with a small mass of metal, it is easy for the material to get to the molten temperature. The heat is easily distributed through the piece. This makes the time to get the material molten fairly rapid. So, you are joining the pieces, but the rest of the material is awfully close to the melting temperature (which in pure metals is a melting *point*). In other words, WHAM, the piece melts down. There is no real color indication, either, as there is in steel turning red to let you know that you are close to temperature."

http://www.artmetal.com/brambush/forum/bramyak3/messages/63.html

Looks like he is talking about torch welding there. With that I can definitely see the heat issue. With arc welding you have a lot more control of the heat as the pulse happens in milliseconds. A search for "pulse arc welding silver" turns up a bunch of useful info. I might stand behind my "nickel may be better" until I test it though

 

[gdeal]

Looks like he is talking about torch welding there. With that I can definitely see the heat issue. With arc welding you have a lot more control of the heat as the pulse happens in milliseconds. A search for "pulse arc welding silver" turns up a bunch of useful info. I might stand behind my "nickel may be better" until I test it though

Thanks, I am outta my league here on the technical aspect of pulling this together..so I just gonna I would definitely get one of these if it was available and cheap, just for the entertainment factor alone.

 

[mre777]

Ha it works! Cheap 7 buck disposable with flash just got it at the drugstore. Left the board in the case so I didn't shock myself (still did, watch the wire ends ) Hooked two jumpers to either side of the cap. you don't need to hold the button for more then 0.5 sec, any longer and it wont make a good connection or just melt the thin wire . It took some practice but i got a good hold on a .005 Nichrome to 30g fine silver wire. didn't have much luck with the 30g Nichrome, might need to play with it more. This is so cool!

 

[mre777]

Here is a quick 3ohm coil I tacked together with the camera out of the .005 nichrome and the silver wire. Fires and everything! Its hard to get a good pic of these little things. And really if your gona try this be very careful or you WILL SHOCK yourself! And the flash button only need to be held a short amount of time like 0.5-0.3 seconds. It takes some playing around but it does work