Resistance-No Resistance wire welder

[TBinAZ]

As far as clips go, I remember these from back in the day... You know...

These would be perfect for holding the wire.

ETA: It appears Fry's sells a two set pack with plastic red and black insulators.

 

[jmarkus]

man, i hope gsa gets this worked out. would love a tutorial once you do!!

 

[BorisTheSpider]

So, to mod a disposable camera, you could just remove the button (which takes pictures) and replace it with the leads, right? Then, when contact is made, the circuit is closed and the wire is welded? I'm just asking because I'm thinking this is above my head, but I may have a slight grasp. I'd like to really understand it.

 

[gsa]

So, to mod a disposable camera, you could just remove the button (which takes pictures) and replace it with the leads, right? Then, when contact is made, the circuit is closed and the wire is welded? I'm just asking because I'm thinking this is above my head, but I may have a slight grasp. I'd like to really understand it.

Watch this How to make a tazer/stun-gun/shocky-thingy - YouTube

And make sure you put FULLY INSULATED alligator clips on as the leads. Understand though, I cant run the potential charge through the calculators so I have no idea what kinda power any of those produce. mod at your own risk

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Watch this How to make a tazer/stun-gun/shocky-thingy - YouTube

And make sure you put FULLY INSULATED alligator clips on as the leads. Understand though, I cant run the potential charge through the calculators so I have no idea what kinda power any of those produce. Mod at your own risk

I suppose I didn't think about just going straight from the capacitor. That's a durr moment.

So, again, not really grasping things like spot welding tiny pieces of metal with a burst of electricity, what can be or needs to be changed to make this work better for either resistance-no resistance wire welding, no resistance-no resistance wire welding, or battery tab welding? I mean, will the capacitance have to be altered or what?

I guess I didn't realize this was possible in any format (though I suppose I should have) so a lot of projects just got a lot more enticing. I will be watching this thread for the inevitable maths and eventual refined version. For now, I think I'll have to pick up a disposable camera and start playing.

 

[TBinAZ]

So from what I can tell, Diver is just throttling the amount of DC volts going into the capacitor he used, by the length of time the button is pushed. Is that right?

Watch this How to make a tazer/stun-gun/shocky-thingy - YouTube

And make sure you put FULLY INSULATED alligator clips on as the leads. Understand though, I cant run the potential charge through the calculators so I have no idea what kinda power any of those produce. Mod at your own risk

 

[gsa]

Im not sure much needs to be changed, as it is the camera welder is obviously tacking some wires already. I decided to go with the stand alone module simply so I could regulate the voltage and have a little more control. One thing to point out though is cleaning the wire with alcohol before welding is going to make a big differace in the weld strength. Even the oil from your fingers are going to make a differance on such a small surface.

 

[gsa]

So from what I can tell, Diver is just throttling the amount of DC volts going into the capacitor he used, by the length of time the button is pushed. Is that right?

Kinda. He has a dip switch which is setting the output voltage of the booster circuit. The way a cap charges is not really linear, the charging voltage has a far more profound effect than the time it is charged. Holding the button for 2 seconds vs 4 seconds will be a big differance but holding it from 4 second to 8 seconds wont provide much extra juice.

 

[TBinAZ]

I like the idea of regulation and a little throttling combination because I use a whole slew of different gauge res and non res wires with all my stuff. Makes it pretty versatile. Pretty cool.

Kinda. He has a dip switch which is setting the output voltage of the booster circuit. The way a cap charges is not really linear, the charging voltage has a far more profound effect than the time it is charged. Holding the button for 2 seconds vs 4 seconds will be a big differance but holding it from 4 second to 8 seconds wont provide much extra juice.

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Are you regulating the charging voltage or the output voltage? If output, how? I mean, doesn't that become a mathematical nightmare without also regulating the charging voltage and timing?

How far are you into this project thus far? Have you already built a working prototype that allows regulation? What are the limitations on this currently (as in, before it becomes a $100 project) -- how big of a wire can it handle? Unfortunately, I live in a really rural area and the only places open now are a couple gas stations. IF they have disposable cameras, they're certainly very much overpriced. So I won't be able to start playing until tomorrow at least.

 

[TomCatt]

Hmmm, using the camera circuit board, could you use a dc-dc converter between the board and the cap to set the charge voltage? Any idea on what the charge voltage is for the camera circuit?


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ETA:
http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=10850

So a 'back-end' dc-dc buck module would be out


Kodak disposable camera flash circuit schematic:

 

[gewre]

 

[gsa]

Are you regulating the charging voltage or the output voltage? If output, how? I mean, doesn't that become a mathematical nightmare without also regulating the charging voltage and timing?

How far are you into this project thus far? Have you already built a working prototype that allows regulation? What are the limitations on this currently (as in, before it becomes a $100 project) -- how big of a wire can it handle? Unfortunately, I live in a really rural area and the only places open now are a couple gas stations. IF they have disposable cameras, they're certainly very much overpriced. So I won't be able to start playing until tomorrow at least.

1. Regulating the output current not the input. The input is fixed at 3.7v ish.
2. Regulating is done by voltage converter I linked to from amazon, that little screw on the blue thing is a trimmer potentiometer. I plan on putting a set of test points on the unit so I can read output voltage with my multimeter to dial it in.
3. See my above comments about "time to charge the cap". It is not really that critical.
4. I am waiting for my parts. The camera one has been the only tested unit so far and it worked, just not adjustable very easily.
5. I live in the sticks too. Thats why I am waiting for parts to be delivered

 

[gsa]

Hmmm, using the camera circuit board, could you use a dc-dc converter between the board and the cap to set the charge voltage? Any idea on what the charge voltage is for the camera circuit?


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ETA:
Voltage in a disposable camera capacitor! - All About Circuits Forum

So a 'back-end' dc-dc buck module would be out


Kodak disposable camera flash circuit schematic:

The camera circuit is about 300v and lower uf cap. It's a different type of circuit, but my guess is that final output is in the neighborhood of 50w at 10ms since it welded the wires.

 

[gsa]

So about $100 usd shipped. It is probably fair for what it is and what is involved in building and testing them. If your not handy and you use a lot of r-nr wires it might be worth it to just buy one. I think we can make one that is just as functional for about 1/4 of that.

 

[jmarkus]

So about $100 usd shipped. It is probably fair for what it is and what is involved in building and testing them. If your not handy and you use a lot of r-nr wires it might be worth it to just buy one. I think we can make one that is just as functional for about 1/4 of that.

thata boy!!

 

[TomCatt]

1. Regulating the output current not the input. The input is fixed at 3.7v ish.
2. Regulating is done by voltage converter I linked to from amazon, that little screw on the blue thing is a trimmer potentiometer. I plan on putting a set of test points on the unit so I can read output voltage with my multimeter to dial it in.
3. See my above comments about "time to charge the cap". It is not really that critical.
4. I am waiting for my parts. The camera one has been the only tested unit so far and it worked, just not adjustable very easily.
5. I live in the sticks too. Thats why I am waiting for parts to be delivered

I think you would want to regulate the input voltage (voltage to the capacitor) wouldn't you? Use a step-up voltage converter before the capacitor. Would you be able to regulate the output voltage (voltage off of the capacitor, right?)?

 

[gsa]

I think you would want to regulate the input voltage (voltage to the capacitor) wouldn't you? Use a step-up voltage converter before the capacitor. Would you be able to regulate the output voltage (voltage off of the capacitor, right?)?

Maybe how I said it was confusing. The battery output is not adjustable. The boost converter adjust the voltage output to the welding cap. There is no regulation on the output of the cap, it is a dead short that creates the weld, it puts out pretty much exactly what is put into it, just a whole lot quicker.

 

[gdeal]

FWIW - After his video review, on another ahem site, Todd confirm that the TSAF will work on Silver NR wire.

 

[dsy5]

I think we can make one that is just as functional for about 1/4 of that.

Easily.............