Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

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gnat
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by gnat » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:23 am

That's not a proper work area. THIS is a proper work area!
MVIMG_20190418_122037.jpg
My MMU finally shows up tomorrow. I have no idea where I'm gonna feed 5 spools from :(

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:54 am

Jesus, you're even a slob like me. I think we were separated at birth, bro.

Image

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:55 am

Pop quiz, hotshot: How many pairs of needle-nose pliers and angle cutters are lost in that heap?

If anyone ever looks in the cardboard boxes under that desk, I will definitely be convicted of killing a Radio Shack and hiding the body.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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gnat
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by gnat » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:23 am

5chn3ll wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:55 am Pop quiz, hotshot: How many pairs of needle-nose pliers and angle cutters are lost in that heap?
One needle nose, one wire cutter, one flush cutter, and one vise grip. It's actually quite well organized thank you.
If anyone ever looks in the cardboard boxes under that desk, I will definitely be convicted of killing a Radio Shack and hiding the body.
There are no cardboard boxes under the desk :P

The one visible on the right is where I toss my scraps and failures in hope that I can find somewhere local to recycle/compost it.

It happens to be sitting on a 24" monitor box full of stuff meant for electronics recycling, but the last two local collections have been rained out so the pile is growing considerably :(

What is under the desk (in addition to an over flowing filament dry box) is a shit ton of 70 year old rusty O-gauge train track.

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:35 pm

Mine is all "quite well organized" as well.

In my opinion.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:18 pm

20190420_181349.jpg

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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32wildbilly
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 32wildbilly » Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:38 pm

5chn3ll wrote: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:18 pm 20190420_181349.jpg
Very nice. Now that you got them all stuck together what is the planned use? Or is it like Pig Killer from Thunderdome: "Plan? There ain't no plan!"
Never gonna make you cry...

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:31 am

Screw discretion, I had to give it a try. Works!
20190426_211339.jpg
20190427_092546.jpg

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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32wildbilly
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 32wildbilly » Sat Apr 27, 2019 11:51 am

5chn3ll wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:31 am Screw discretion, I had to give it a try. Works!

20190426_211339.jpg

20190427_092546.jpg
Does the wife know? Did it melt any windings? Do you have any finger blisters? How was the pucker factor?
Never gonna make you cry...

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5chn3ll
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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer

Post by 5chn3ll » Sat Apr 27, 2019 12:46 pm

The biggest pucker factor is that it tends to blow through the nickel strips because I don't have the proper switching hardware built yet. Ideally it would be pulsing 2-3 times for each weld instead of just dumping current through the electrodes while shit glows white-hot and vaporizes.

So, at a very macro level, it works great! At a micro level, I need to make it suck less before it's usable - but it doesn't work any worse than I was anticipating for the v. 1 build. Time to update the built posts - well, almost time.

Understeer: You will hit the wall with the front end.
Oversteer: You will hit the wall with the rear end.
Horsepower: How hard you will hit the wall.
Torque: How far you will move the wall.

Gone hunting with Alec Baldwin and Dick Cheney. Back soon.

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