mu.zeitgeist,
thats some pretty specific info you've got there.
Not sure I'd want to risk dragging on a hot wire wrapped around kevlar, sounds dodgy.
Do your glow-plug (are they platinum wire?) ones work better or longer ?
1400'C is critical cos its the melting point of nichrome?
Sounds like you're taking it seriously, if you get it right .... don't forget to share
Yes. Roughly1400℃ is the critical temp. for NiCr alloy. More or less depending on the ratio. But that is a very high melting point and you need to start worrying about a lot more things than a burnt coil if you burn a good amount. IMHO forget about glow plugs though, it's more a good idea and lost cause because of its prepackaged form and cost. You CAN even use a few commercial 1/4w resistors though at your own disgretion. Be my guest, it's worked fine as long as you don't burn beyond necessity. But know they release toxic fumes when misused. But I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it. At all unless care was taken to insulate any gas escaping from the burned resistor. Although the same could be said about kevlar or most polyamide fabrics.
When I work out all the quirks and small details, and at least 18/20 atomizers I have made withstand the abusive tests I give it, they will be for sale and come with a 6mo. guarantee for those unable to make it themselves.
To DIY it you need:
Patience
NiCr ribbon wire (extruded flat type, not the round type)
Ceramic High temp. thermocoupling insulators
Ceramic fiber cloth (rated to 1260CMAX 960C normal)
Knowledge of how to put it together
That's IT!Anyway how you put it together:
You need to wrap 1/3S@0℃ NiCr around the ceramic insulators (be as close as possible between gaps to uniformly heat the ceramic) and when done wrapping leave leads about one cm on each side.
Undo the ceramic cloth from it's awesome braiding (Pain In The ... alert) and carefully wrap the entire ribbon with the unbraided material. I just do a loop through at the end to hold it all together and it seems to hold fine.
That's it. I originally used the core gap in the insulators to hold itself up against pressure and for heat sink but after rigorous use I don't think it's such a good idea anymore. It works air cooled and chances of burning your fingers at severe temps. is not fun.
However this atomizer design works well so far. I do need to find a solid way to prop it against the forces of say a cartridge being inadvertantly smashed onto it or an object smashed into the atomizer amongst other things. As it sits, its a dripping only device. That doesnt help the masses. I'd like to see if anyone can come up with a way to make it more practical. I also recommend buying something called a BASIC stamp board at radio shack, over the past two weeks I have learned you can do a lot with it, and it's got some great functions to stress test the design. Easier than building proprietary analog or digital circuits for timers etc.
I am still in search of a material to hold the casing against the atomizer casing btw, and everything is failing at extreme operations. If anyone has something that would work I'd appreciate the input.
Of course all of this is open/free source as long as it is credited to μZG. I always share my designs after I know it works, because I don't believe its humanly possible to do what I can do, or build anything "right" on a mass produced scale. Cheapskating on the material just will not work with certain clientel and I will always be the one they will go to when those few need something done right and it will make up for the cost, time, headaches involved in getting to this point.
Cleaning method: Toothbrush and warm water.
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