Hot Wire Scroll Saw

[BTCat]

I saw on YouTube a "scroll saw" of sorts made with a hot wire for cutting foam. Looked easy enough to make so I bought some 26 ga Nichrome wire off Ebay for about $8 and am going to give it a try. I'll have to play around with the DC power source, voltage and amperage to get the temp right. I also need to build some sort of frame and cutting surface. When I get it set up, it should make cutting a scratch build a breeze. I'll post some pics and maybe even a video when I get it set up.

[Solitaire]

My iCharger 106B+ has a hot wire feature. Haven't tried it yet, but you can conveniently set the volts and amps. You'd still need some kind of a rack and guide setup for the wire.

[BTCat]

Apr 25, 2010 21:48:41 GMT -6 Solitaire said:

My iCharger 106B+ has a hot wire feature. Haven't tried it yet, but you can conveniently set the volts and amps. You'd still need some kind of a rack and guide setup for the wire.

That's interesting. I never thought of a charger having a foam cutting feature. Most of the power supplies I saw on YouTube were 12v automotive battery chargers or 110v to 12v DC adapters. I have a couple adapters but the amps may be too low.

[19000rpm]

Apr 26, 2010 4:57:10 GMT -6 BTCat said:

Apr 25, 2010 21:48:41 GMT -6 Solitaire said:

My iCharger 106B+ has a hot wire feature. Haven't tried it yet, but you can conveniently set the volts and amps. You'd still need some kind of a rack and guide setup for the wire.

That's interesting. I never thought of a charger having a foam cutting feature. Most of the power supplies I saw on YouTube were 12v automotive battery chargers or 110v to 12v DC adapters. I have a couple adapters but the amps may be too low.

That sounds neat. I've heard of these things and saw one a while back. Making your own would seem to be easy enough.

[Raygun]

When I was a kid I built my own everyone then was using the old model train transformers with the variable speed control on top it worked really well.. Ray

[Gabe]

BT, that's really cool. I'd love to see a video or a build log on that.

[19000rpm]

Apr 26, 2010 7:33:55 GMT -6 Gabe said:

BT, that's really cool. I'd love to see a video or a build log on that.

2X that BT

[akent]

3X on that BT!!!

[Solitaire]

Uh, what comes after 3X?
The pressure is on now, BT.

dditch has the same charger...maybe he's used the foam cutting feature...if he's still around.

[BTCat]

The wire came in today. I have a transformer with a 2amp rate and voltages from 3 to 12. I played with it a little today. The wire I bought was 26 gauge. I think I will buy some 32 gauge or smaller. The 26 gauge draws 2.2 amps at 12 volts with my test piece (about a foot long). I'll play around with it more tomorrow. It cuts the hell out of that foam, though. Once I work out a few details I'll post a pic or two and a video.

[BTCat]

I toyed with it this afternoon and came to a couple of conclusions. No matter what the voltage, 1.7 to 2 amps works great for EPP and a little lower for Depron or dollar tree foam. Controlling the amperage is as easy as controlling wire length. The longer the wire (higher resistance) the lower the amperage. Optimally, with the 26 gauge I have, about 30 in. is about the right length. Shorter for lower voltage. I have an old laptop power adapter rated at 3 amps and 19 volts. It stays as cool as could be at 2.2 amps. I'll probably use it, even though it means using a longer wire. I'll post a small sample pic shortly.... as soon as I think of something creative ;D

Okay, It isn't that creative, but it does demo the possiblities. I don't have the wire mounted so I was cutting with one hand while standing on one wire lead and holding the other in my hand. Still pretty easy. It should be a breeze on a real table. BTW, speaking of breeze, if you build one of these, cut outside or in the garage with a good fan. I'm still dizzy ;D

[akent]

Excellent!

At first glance, it looked just like Snoopy with skis under his chin with a twirly bird hat!!
Sorry!

Your wire cutter looks like it's working nicely!
How do you plan on mounting it?
Kent

[BTCat]

Apr 27, 2010 18:35:50 GMT -6 akent said:

Excellent!

At first glance, it looked just like Snoopy with skis under his chin with a twirly bird hat!!
Sorry!

Your wire cutter looks like it's working nicely!
How do you plan on mounting it?
Kent

I'm not going to mount it! I'm not that kind of person

Seriously, I am going to get something of a "C" bracket and I have a small, round 24" table I can drill a hole in the middle. I want to make it where the bracket fixture can pivit to allow a 45 degree or so angle.

[akent]

Umm, similar to the design of a scroll saw, where the wire comes out in the middle?

[BTCat]

Apr 27, 2010 19:19:33 GMT -6 akent said:

Umm, similar to the design of a scroll saw, where the wire comes out in the middle?

That's the plan. At least for the beginning. The fact that 30 inches of wire seems optimal with my power adapter will make me have to alter a few things, coil some of the extra wire or add a small resistor. Either that, or possibly get a slightly smaller gauge wire. There is an assortment on ebay for cheap.

It will be fun to get this up and going. I think it will make cutting easy. Maybe even fun.