I Made a Battery Spot Welder from an Old Microwave and Excessive Mahogany
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ย. 2024
- Tools and Things:
Stepcraft CNC: www.stepcraft....
3D Printer: amzn.to/3E9jXge
Solder Breadboard: amzn.to/3DWLfX1
Solid State Relay: amzn.to/3hdRYlD
Arduino Starter Kit: amzn.to/3BTT1it
Arduino Uno: amzn.to/3yWY2oq
Info:
Original Instructables: www.instructab...
My Arduino Sketch: pastebin.com/q...
''Honey where is our microwave?''
''Funny you mention that, actually...''
Hot in here, or is it just me...
Just swap out the welding tips for skewers and instant kabob cooker!
He put it back and waited for someone to use it and discover it don't work. Then he just went out and bought another one. They will never know.
Spot welder go BZZZZT
"I'm using it"
shout out for making something that so perfectly gives off that vibe of "i found this in my grandpas old shop and have no idea what it is but it seems scary"
you mean like the arc welder i inherited from my grandfather that has cloth covered wires?
"Transformers are electromancy"
*Proceeds to build and program a solid state arduino controlled curcuit capable of handling a massive amount of current supplied by a basic single phase step-down transformer that works on the very first try*
That is technomancy. Technomancy is totally different from EElectromancy.
Technically, it's controlling the primary which isn't a massive amount of current.
But it is indeed wizardry
@@Gcrilla It's not even controlling the primary. It's controlling the relay that is controlling the primary. Much like an ogre, electrowizardry has layers.
The machine spirit wills it today -Random Adeptus Mechanicus
Black box theory my dude
What you want for your welder's cables is funnily enough called Welding Cable. It uses much finer strands then typical wire and EPDM or neoprene insulation for greatly improved flexibility. FYI it is also great for use in high power rv dc power systems because it's much easier to route and work with in confined spaces.
You can also use silicone cable from eBay etc (maybe 8GA?), car jumper cables, or the wire they use for high power audio amplifiers. The silicone cable from eBay will be the most flexible (by far).
@@johncoops6897 I agree. Probably much cheaper. The key is using oxygen free copper or ofc with silicone insulation. Stay away from copper clad aluminum or ccl, it will also usually be cheaper than the ofc
@@georgec1979 - Don't be so silly. This is very low frequency AC so _"Electron flow happens primarily on the surface of the wire strands"_ is just rubbish. Where do people pick up this idiotic ideas, Audiofool Forums?
EDIT TO ADD: At 60 Hz in copper, the skin depth is about 8.5 mm. So, unless each *strand* in the cable is greater than 17mm (about 3/4") the skin effect is totally irrelevant.
@@Moonsauc3 - no need to worry about "Oxygen Free" or similar marketing rubbish. Plain old copper is what you need - oxygen is useful stuff in the air you breathe, but isn't significant in power cables.
The conductivity of common C11000 Copper (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 oxygen-free (OF) Copper is identical. The extremely expensive C10100 grade OFC used in cryogenics is only 1% higher conductivity (insignificant)
@@johncoops6897 it's not the conductivity that I was concerned about, it's about the rigidity of the wire itself. The ccl is much more stiff than pure copper. Plus it doesn't break as easily over time.
We are so here for this kind of fabricobbling content! It's always a joy to watch.
Seeing you comment about security Torx fasteners gives many of us AvE vibes. 😁👍
It's funny who you'll meet in a youtube comment section. Watched your videos years ago and suddenly you show up on InRange and now here. It's indeed a small world or rather there's only little quality content.
@@Amarok41 hah, I broke into this comment section because it wasn't locked in a serious way 😉👍
He must not have his attack chicken out.
@@zendell37 indeed, nobody wants to mess with an angry chicken 🐔 😯
Hah, I wouldn't have even looked at the name if it hadn't been for that first reply. I just got roped in by the word "fabricobbling"
5:30 - You learned tolerances! Hurray! The worst part about taking your beautiful CAD model and bringing it into the real world.
The real world is a jerk..
@@Entarra Meatspace is worst space.
Actually also tuning a 3D printer can be a pain in the ash. Filament and slicing settings can offset even more than the tolerances in normal substraction manufacturing
for the size of those copper chop sticks i would have just given each side a skim with the grinder rather than printing a new one.
Hey Robert, I have looked through your arduino code and I think it might be worth adding a safety feature to it. Currently, you're checking if the button is pressed on every loop of the program and activating the relay if that is the case. So if you hold the button pressed in all the time, the relay will activate again and again on every loop of the program. As a result, if you set the activation time low enough and/or don't release the button quickly enough, the relay will activate multiple times.
You might want to add some code, to check if the button had been released and pressed in again, so it would only activate the relay once for every button press. Might save you from burning up the connections you want to spot weld and save you from a fire, in case the button gets stuck pressed in.
Anyway, great project, you might have convinced me to try it myself. There have been times when I wished I had a battery spot welder, but not often enough to go out and actually buy one and I've been hesitant to make it myself.
if(isButtonPressed()) {
activateRelay(300); //hard coded during development
delay (500); //debounce delay
while (isButtonPressed()) { //this while loop hangs until the button is released for the next activation
// Do nothing
}
}
}
With how fancy of a box Robert made for his spot welder, I cant wait to see the box that he makes for his batteries!
That's gonna be Sandalwood with Yew Wood accents. 🤣🤣🤣
If he makes it out of wood maybe we can get to see some of the magic smoke. If there's tung/linseed oil it'll be extra coochy.
I am here from the future! He hated it, so he did the Robert thing and made an even more complicated one out of metal and acrylic! :D
"How do you get people to stop using your tools?"
Dude I almost spit out my coffee! Nicely done
"Have you seen the microwave Robert?" **Zap** 'No'
I get the feeling we're going to see a ton more 3D printing in the future. "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail"
Until 9:15 I was wondering where the mahogany in the title was going to be used. Awesome spot welder! Amazing how we now typically use Arduinos where we used to use a simple 555 timer or even a single transistor with an r-c circuit to time it. But then, it wouldn't have worked the first time.
Having precise control of the timing is nice, although analog has a certain charm to it
Seems like wasteful overkill to me.....
@@sugarbooty u also don't have to spend day reprogramming shit if it blows up.
@@plainedgedsaw1694 it would take me 10 or 20 minutes to program something this simple, and if it blows up its probably not the microcontrollers fault
@@sugarbooty I meant the scenario in which the uC would get blown up, both more expensive and time consuming to repair than just swapping socketed 555 or smtg.
The channel might be called Under Dunn, but I'd say that spot welder might be Over Dunn. Makes me want to make one now, even though I have no use for one.
"Excessive Mahogany" - it's interesting to see the different region TH-camrs with their different locally available excessive species.
In the vague hope that you'll see this - I just thought I should mention that your regular channel is not featured on this channel! I actually came for the woodworking content and now suddenly I'm watching a guy deconstruct a bus, but it took me months until the algorithm told me about the other channel!
I came for the bus and only found out about this channel because Robert mentioned his "other channel", ie this one.
Even then I had to search for it.
you seem to have an endless supply of mahogany. When we get the next tour of the woodshop, I expect to see the only mahogany French cleat wall in existence.
The audio edit about 4 minutes in, with the sound of it being on only stopping when you touched the transformer, but you had it unplugged the entire time, is pure genius. Thank you for being you and trusting us enough sharing it.
Just FYI: if you can, it's better to remove the secondary without cutting the transformer open (you can for example cut the winding in half and punch it out) because if you break the core you'll never weld it together perfectly and it's gonna change both the inductance of the primary and in general increase the loss of the transformer. You can see this in the video when the transformer vibrates really loudly and draws a lot of current even with no load
Would be cool if he could try this with a different transformer and see how much current it draws without load.
Microwave transformers are purposely lossy. Wasting power with no load was the cheapest way to current limit the magnetron tube.
@@anullhandle Yeah, but still, drawing 10A @120V is a lot of power loss. I don't think they're supposed to waste a kW just sitting there idling
@@gigigigiontis8 yeah that's a cubic butt load. I think they had magnetic shunt pcs in there making them lossy but kw idle is a BIT much :)
Yeah, there was a visible gap where he welded it back together.
RE ripping that board vertically on the bandsaw, well done & hilarious! hahahaha
*Easy to assemble **Fastly.Cool*
Scammer
I see you're flaunting your TH-camr wealth with all that copper!
As others have mentioned, we're here for the fabricobbling!
Another Channel where TH-cam recommendations algorithm was eerily spot-on. Enjoyed the info and delivery.
This guy's the best. Best sense of humor too.
Best "how to" on these DIY welders I've seen.
I really love how over-under-over-engineered this project is!
*I'M GLAD I FOUND THIS CHANNEL!!*
You should have made the arduino play some short annoying tune every time it has produced a welding pulse. It helps in remembering that tune for the rest of your life when seeing a battery pack.
This is a masterpiece and I loved the humour involved in it's making, but I particularly liked the unintentional Teckno music effect when making the box joints.
That was totally intentional. It's way too good.His editing is amazing.
Your edit on cutting the box joints is my favourite part.
Hi Robert, I found your channel through the Hackaday blog, super happy they linked it! Having a blast going through your videos, love 'em!
Building cool stuff while exercising self deprecation at the highest level. Awesomeness
I like you, you're hilarious. This video was brilliant, thank you. I more-than-half expected the finger-joint cutting montage to turn into a song.
Cool, I've used a wine bottle box and instead of cutting the core I've sawed off one end of high voltage coin and pushed it out. For the switch I've used a "wall mounted" 230V spring loaded light/doorbell switch bolted to a plank so that I can operate it with a foot.... Although I've never made a spot welder head, instead I've used it to heat wire to cut Styrofoam. And for melting stuff :)
FYI those switches are not designed for inductive loads AFAIK.
@@nyetloki And what's a classic door bell if not an electromagnet pulling the bell hammer? But sure, these are drawing milliamps so wear of the contacts is minimal. On the other hand same switch design, lacking only a spring is used for light switches and some lights, e.g. linear fluorescent are inductive loads.
@@mibars you think a common doorbell switch is made to handle 1400W inductive loads?
@@nyetloki That's a tricky question because the switch is rated for 10 A with no mention of type of load. That switch, in a regular light switch variant which only lacks a spring could be used to switch dozens of linear fluorescent tubes with magnetic ballasts which will be below 10 A, but would be definitely an inductive load. I think it would wear out prematurely.
With a program like VCarve or Aspire, you can easily CNC parts from 3D printer models. There is no reason your handle or button grip should not be a matching wood for your case.
I was thinking he could have cut his box parts and joints using the CNC as well.
Fusion 360 would do the same job, and Robert's clearly familiar with the software.
I was also thinking that he (you, Robert) could've designed his circuit in Fusion 360 and had a PCB made especially for the spot welder, all within Fusion 360. Then it would've been COMPLETELY OTT.
@@tomconway6808 It's hard to cut square corners with a spinning router bit, so there would be a lot of hand-finishing to make the two sides of the boxjoint interface correctly (unless he also applied a corresponding convex 3d profile to the fingers of the boxjoint).
@@EmyrDerfel Oh duh right.
Well I think some of the better electric cars you have sitting around are going to get functional better battery upgrades soon and you have a cool new toy to do it with, a win win in my book. Wish I'd watched this sooner but glad I finally did, that was fun to watch and maybe you get a microwave upgrade 😉👍
First “safe” one of these I’ve seen. Nice job
I'm getting some real Mattias Wandel vibes from the woodworking, I love it.
The best part of your videos is just how fearless you are! Thanks for sharing.
We used to say that the most dangerous thing in the world is a programmer with a soldering iron… and that was before people started tearing apart microwave ovens.
Nice job!
Your Dad has an awesome garage.
No comment. Just a +1. But a real, a heartfelt +1 .... lovely.
Love the way you approach things and your sense of humour!!
Cutting out the box joints reminded me of the song Doubt by Delphic
Also, brushed vacuum headers for CNC machines don't last all that long and don't look nice for most of their life cycle.
When they get all messed up just replace them with stiff enough silicone sheets spliced near the bottom - works perfectly and stays decent for years.
Any time I hear microwave transformer, I get incredibly nervous! Looks like you did a great job, and didn't hurt yourself (at least that you've shown on video!)
Microwave transformers rock. Lichtenberg burning!
I think that it's great that you show your mistakes, makes your videos more enjoyable to watch knowing you're human like most of us! Plus I learn best from making mistakes! Keep up the good work!
Congrats on being featured by HAD!
I made one a year ago and used it to cobble a 18V 18650 bosch battery for dirt cheap. Almost the exact same setup as yours just it featured a foot switch which i also made from microwave relay from doors lol
I don't even care about what you are building, I'm here for the famous commentary!!
Idea you can use* for merch, in shirt form, for ease of explaining:
top line: "The Main"
line 2: "Component"
picture of the rewired transformer
line 3: "Of The"
line 4: "Barbecue"
line 5: "Taser"
Super super nice episode !! Here you get different elements, such as electronics, some data coding, welding current, and wood work. Stop saying you're an idiot, because you are not. I look forward to more such episodes, it's fun and you are very skilled, and now I have to work on my own projects... .. and as before, fantastic video editing!
I love your bench mounted bandsaw
I forgot you mentioned this channel. I only found it on this video when watching videos on batteries. Now I get to hear you talk about more stuff. I don't know why but I enjoy your style of videos.
Make that switch button into a foot switch! You'll really like having a free hand. 13:37 - You will desire!
he could make a handle with the button on it and literally weld with it lol
@@alexvonchamporcin3668 - yes, he did not protect in the code against re-triggering, so actually possible! 🤓😁
This was an epic video because the first part is ripping apart appliances, then we learn about Transformers/magnetism/induction theory(sort of), then we learn programming/electronics and finally we get to do custom wood working 😂😂 You've basically described my garage in a nutshell. 😊😊👍👍
You’ll need a fan in there! Will get mighty hot over a day working! 🔥
The joy of making useful tools, I also enjoy making tools by myself instead of buying them if I can make that happen, so thanks to you for that, I have all the necessary parts and going to start as soon.
some youtube videos I can walk away and listen while I go grab something from another room.
here, as soon as I do that, there's a childish giggle and i have to finish what I'm doing, come back, and rewind to see Robert knock half a transformer off with a chisel.
Great content. I specially liked the notice at the end saying that the most important thing is the spot welder itself, and not the fancy box and all the tools needed to build it.
People often do not make difference between a TH-cam channel and real life.
People who can create both software and hardware will rule the future world.
I had no idea you were a professional level wood worker. Fantastic work!
Segfaults... That is one seriously nerdy shirt. Respect.
Do NOT open a microwave over unless you know what you are doing.
Lots of angry pixies in there even when it's unplugged.
This thing has been unplugged for years. There is no way the caps had any charge left. I should've added a disclaimer for everyone else though
Nice methods and solutions on the box. I can see I am going to have to watch more of your videos.
As an ex-Yugoslavian ... that Yugo logo :D ... props
If you had half as much fun doing it as we had viewing it, you had a lot of fun indeed!
I don't know if I've watched too much of these, but my first reaction when I saw the box-joint jig was a "did he mess this up".
I know this is pure torture, but I'd like you to know that "twas was for naught" as some twisted person half-way around the got a hefty chuckle out of this and the first smile of the day :D
I short, a humble thank you!
I guess that "modern man" has forgotten the special digits that form a magical number: 555
All that hardware and programming, for a simple pulse?
A potentiometer, with a dial that you calibrate, two capacitors, a couple of resistors, a potentiometer, and a 555...
to learn enough arduino to fabricobble your ideas in to reality is in general way easier that analogue circuitry. of course the analogue solution is way more elegant but i think it's great that people can make shit without much barrier of entry. also he can update functionality of this device with software updates.
LOL Heirloom spot welder. omg, that's amazing.
Man, Can you believe his patience and attention to detail. Incredible. truly Incredible.
This isn't as dangerous as it seems. I don't see any comments *thoroughly* explaining this, so I'll try my best.
First, I'd like to discuss the misnomer that it's not the voltage that kills but the current. This is technically correct, but not the full story.
It boils down to Ohm's law, which says Current = Voltage ÷ Resistance.
These three values are always tied by this relationship. And there are some consequences to this:
1. An open circuit (no connection) will have an infinite resistance. No current will flow and a power supply will be at its max voltage. Here we see 2V.
2. A short circuit will have no resistance. Therefore infinite current will flow in theory. Metal is an approximation of a short circuit due to having low resistance. If the power supply cannot keep up, it's voltage will drop to maintain Ohm's law.
3. Due to consequence 2, Robert should have actually measured current while welding. (A short circuit) Not while open. The 10A is probably just due to losses. The real current might be much higher than 600A through metal.
4. The human body is pretty resistive. The exact number will depend on what two points of the body you measure through. But even two points close together on the skin has a high resistance. As such, at 2V, the current is very low. Nowhere near enough to hurt you. At 120V, you can flow enough current to kill depending on where through the body it flows. (Particularly the heart)
5. Due to that, the output is actually less dangerous then the input to that transformer after modification. (NOT before)
6. Still, it makes the metal hot. If you touch it while it's welding or shortly after, you will hurt yourself. Be careful nonetheless!
Hopefully this has been educational. Electricity is truly fascinating, and I'm all too happy to spread my knowledge!
Safety note about solid state relays. They always pass voltage! Not an issue with 2v, but when I used one to control the heater on an electric hot tub I was introduced to 240vac several times. Mind you it's in the single digit milliamps but still not fun.
If the load is 240VAC (in North America) you would need 2 SSR's, 1 in each power lead to isolate the load as there would be a path through the load (presumably resistive heat elements) to the unswitched line. With 240VAC, (sometimes called 2 phase) there is 115VAC to ground on each line.
Well, if you hadn't gone that fancy with the woodworking, then you couldn't have posted it to your woodworking channel! I love it, what a great device you made and you survived to upload the tale!
As a longtime software engineer and an advocate for removing code biggotry from dev teams 6:59 had me laughing my ass off, so well put.
I included code for a project submitted to hackaday once.
Never again.
@@TheAwfulInternet That's really sad, it's such a horrible experience for people like yourself. I've got absolutely no time for devs that have a code superiority complex, it's got many business' into hot water too.
Oh man, this is giving me flashbacks. I used to work at Batteries Plus store, and we would rebuild battery packs for customers. Most of the time it was things like odd drill pack batteries which are just a bunch of Sub-C's spot welded together. Our machine had a foot lever lever that that would lower the probe and trigger it; I swear it had a bicycle pedal on it. I don't know why, but there was some finesse to it, if you pressed down too hard you would "pop" the weld. You're set up with the trigger looks much easier!
Mad scientist woodworking!
I like how it's called the 'Zip-Zap' yet looks like a professional modern but tasteful well made box haha.
Loved the show wicked build from mostly scrap
👍👍👍😜🏴🦕🙂🤞✌
Combination of electrical interest and woodworking. Man after my own heart. Subscribed!
Very neat project, Highly desirable. Thanks for sharing.
Can't wait to hear you merge CNC router, the router table, drill, and brad nailer into a rhythmic symphony. Great job!
You are absolutely correct having it work the first time is an amazing feeling. Nicely done!
wow, that enclosure is seriously professional looking, except more stylish! i love it!
i built a microwave oven transformer power supply a few years ago. i went a little crazy with my wire and used some 0ga wire. got ~2.2v and dead short, measure out at 1360 amps. just used it a couple weeks ago to weld up some tabs on some 18650's to make a battery pack. best FREE.99 i ever spent.
I appreciate you making videos like this mr Dunn. I love watching them.
You are one clever bastard. Well done.
Barbeque taser, my new most favorite phrase
This is so cool, unfortunately I always get hopelessly lost when electrical projects are intertwined with electronics because I do not understand or know anything about electronics, electronic parts and components, circuit boards, electronic wiring or how to make any of it work in conjunction with electrical hardware. It is a very nice knowledge to possess and it sure does turn your electrical tools into very safe, controllable and refined tools. Wish I understood any of it.
CNC, 3D printing. This is getting fancy! Have fun with the welder!
Thank you for the code. Love the clever wit.
You should link your second channel....I didn't know about it....All that time that I was waiting for you to post new videos......... AWESOME project man.
An awesome spot welder project, LOVE IT Rob!
If you want to go Super Fancy with your power cords, you can get IEC power cord (think "computer power cord") receptacles off of a bunch of different things, and the hole shape is cad file is easy to find.
I want you to take this as a compliment, I think you might be a mad genius 🤪
I began to follow you when you started the saw table. Nice work though.....🤣😂😁😀😎
I'm so glad he didn't over engineer the case or anything else in his build! xD Glad it worked and that his wife got a new microwave.
That's not a given.....
Fabulous. You are a creative genius and so much fun to watch. My mood has been duly lifted. 😊✔
This was fun to watch. Don’t know why. My medication may need adjustments.
10:14 sounds like the intro to an 80's song
You’ve really gotten better as a presenter. Great job!
thx for talking about the simplification of it like not needing arduino and stuff
08:20 Suggest you use a double pole switch to avoid you are opening the neutral and still have the live on. Nice video, well done project, and the humorous twist is great. Now you know it is not just software writers that would do this or that different….also electricians 😉
Yes DEFINITELY a double pole switch. Even if you wire it correctly with a SP switch on the active line, the house wiring (particularly if it's very old & without safety switches, or in countries with poor compliance) can have the active & neutral lines reversed. A great recipe for electrocution!
I love the fact you use the most expensive materials for your shop! #unnecessarymahogany