I made one of these as per the instructions here and it works really great, I tested it on a new piece of foam and cut some wings cores and then realized I have started to build yet another model, oh well, but again great idea which works great, thank you 5*
I made a hot wire cutter using these instructions and a similar psu, I made it with two outlets 5v and 12v it works perfectly and just what I needed for cutting my own wings etc, thank you very much, Joe
Great inexpensive DIY cutter. I imagine guitar wire would work well for this. E string maybe. Never thought of using an old PC power supply - great idea. I'd love to see a tabletop cutter using the power supply
Hi, thanks a lot for your videos, this new serie is really nicely made, I actually couldn't find a suitable power supply for my bow for a long time now, The lenght of nichrome wire on this one is aproximately 3 feet and 30Watts would be largely enough to heat it at 600°F. I harvested the power supply from an old computer. It is rated to output a current between 3A and 12A at 12V(yellow wire).
I used the same sort of thing to power my RC battery charger but i used the 12v rail and it worked really well,that was a good few years back but now i've got a proper PSU for all my battery charges.
i heard in a blog that the longer the wire the more voltage you need and moving slowly is the best way to cut. i think you could may by make one with a battery and dimmer switch, getting the temp. right is most important.
On one long wire run I actually put two sets of clips on the wire. It worked really well. The biggest problem I run into as I do these is that the wire heats too hot at first and then cools as I cut. To cure this I start to cut as soon as I put on the clips and then let it go at its own pace. I slow if it needs it around the corners and just pull harder through the longer sections. If you need to reduce the voltage you can put a variable resistor (light dimmer switch) and play with output.
Around 2.07 you start talking about connecting the power to the Green and black wire to get the power to turn on. When I plugged my power supply in, the fan started spinning and a green light was on. I didn't get to short out the green/black wire set up. Does that mean there is power going to the unit and wires to the bow? I haven't hooked up the bow yet...I pulled the powersupply during lunch at work. My IT guy said grab one. Also...does it matter what gauge the wire is? I found some Nichrome 60 stock online...but they have different gauge sizes. Thanks for a great toot! I wish I had a science teacher like you when I was in school! rtc
First off I want to say very informative video and well done...ty for your video ! I just have a few questions for you andpets55 (1). Can I use the "G" string, (second string from the bottom), off of a guitar, it is nichrome as well I believe...? (2). How many watts is your computer power supply or does it matter ? (3). Does it matter how long and what gage the power supply leads are, (the ones with the alligator clips)...? and (4). What amperage works best..?
Excelent tutorial. Tried this with my kanthal wire and it worked, but only when the wires from the psu was close to eachother (maybe 20 cm). Tried to add two more cables but it didnt have any effect. How do you do it? Do you have both the + cables together and both - cables together on each side?? Can you please make a video telling how you do it?
Awesome idea. Unfortunately my power supply is to new, it seams to have a short safety shutoff...As soon as I make a short with the wire cutter the voltage drops from 11.5V+ to 0V When I throw the power off and back one, power comes back. Guess I have to look for an older PC. ...Or build one out of a transformer and a dimmer.
I have problem.. when i connect wire to the yellow and black cable my power supply stop working... ventilator stop rotating... can you help me? i followed your procedure but this is only problem
Be sure that when you connect the wires that the "cutting wire" is between the two active wires from the power supply. Connecting the yellow wire directly to the black wire acts as a direct short and will blow your fuse in the power supply. The nichrome wire acts as a resistor and this is why it heats and cuts the foam. There is, however, a point at which you can have too much of the cutting wire and it will no longer provide enough heat to cut.
Even the minimum output current of 3A would generate a power of 36Watts wich would be largely enough, though the nichrome wire of my bow doesn't heat enough to cut foam just a little...Do you have any idea where the problem might come from? Thank you for your time, greetings from France ;)
Thank you for the upload. You have done what the majority the majority have failed to do. I have spent over 4 hours trying to get this answer. I code, I built 2 cars, one motorcycle, I maintain networks with over 4 thousand users I build models in CAD. I built and fly an ultralight. Im not saying it to brag.I mention it to help with the following comparison. like anything else, an individual can find a network of people that are interested in the same study or activity. The people who are interested in the electrical side of this craft aren't even on the scale when it comes to low self esteem ,they are arrogant and the most useless group I have ever encountered. I've read dozens of posts with people asking simple questions that never get answered. instead of an answers you get pages worth of replies from people trying to one up each other as if its an accomplishment. Then there is all the, how to build a hotwire videos that are equally useless because they dont cover the power supply. Its not just me ,take a look at forums and youtube and you will see negative comments everywhere about the same thing. Its a wire and power supply,not magic or Quantum Mechanics .Thanks again
You sound like my kind of guy. I build canoes (check out www.wildgooseco.com), toys (papaswoodentoyshop.com), repair motorcycles (I'm a BMW type) work on computers, cars (big 69 camaro fan, have 4 of them), do chain maille, build telescopes, muzzle loaders, archery, and whatever else catches my eye. My wife calls it OCD. Thank you for watching.
+andpet55 love the 69. my wife got a 69 convertible for her 16th birthday. when she was 28 a yahorrific thing happened. She traded it in for a maxima. it's too bad we had just started dating so I had no say.
+JOHN A. FURTADO JR. I think he did a great job of explaining the power supply part of the hot wire cutter. I think there is a lot of one up on the subject also..... I want to mabe flying wings not circles.... lol!!!!!!
Hey I need help I made the same set up but for me when I did it the fan spun up and then when I cinected vBulletin the wire to my wire is sparked then the dan spun down
When using this cutter, connect the green to the black wire before you hook up your clips to the cutting wire. You need to begin cutting right after which will prevent the wire from overheating and melting. This cutter will work on wings up to about 4 feet long. Thanks,
You may have a faulty power supply. I have done this using a number of these, both at home and at school with my students and have only shorted one. Make sure that you have the jumper in the correct place and that you are using the proper colors that attach to the alligator clips. Hope this helps. Thanks
i use a pc powersuplay to. in the computer it works well, but at soon i connect 5 or 12v to my cuttingline it shot down. i can then restart but it just cut down again. help is needed. do you have any
I have never had an issue, but then I use older PC components. The newer ones may have a surge protector built in. If anyone else has seen this, please post. Thank you for your comment.
No it is just one of the new onse who has a kind of shortcut security. It shot down if to much power ho true so the motorboard, in the pc i have stolen it from, dont get burned
+andpet55 I have even used stainless steal wire it works just as good and easier to get a hold of. most places like Home depot and Lowes have never even heard of nichrome wire. Get it on line at E-bay or Amozon....
If you have old hair dryers laying around the house you can uncoil the heating element which most likely is NiChrome wire. Also acoustic or electric guitar strings work well, the first or second strings are OK.
No. The reason this works is due to the high resistance of the wire, creating heat. You need the proper size wire and correct amperage. Too much and you melt, not enough and it won't cut.
hi, i have tried to make it, but wire didnot get hot. my NICHROME wire is 32gauge. just like a hair.and the output is +12v--750mA. where is i am wrong ?
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I made one of these as per the instructions here and it works really great, I tested it on a new piece of foam and cut some wings cores and then realized I have started to build yet another model, oh well, but again great idea which works great, thank you 5*
I made a hot wire cutter using these instructions and a similar psu, I made it with two outlets 5v and 12v it works perfectly and just what I needed for cutting my own wings etc, thank you very much, Joe
Great inexpensive DIY cutter. I imagine guitar wire would work well for this. E string maybe. Never thought of using an old PC power supply - great idea. I'd love to see a tabletop cutter using the power supply
Hi, thanks a lot for your videos, this new serie is really nicely made, I actually couldn't find a suitable power supply for my bow for a long time now, The lenght of nichrome wire on this one is aproximately 3 feet and 30Watts would be largely enough to heat it at 600°F. I harvested the power supply from an old computer. It is rated to output a current between 3A and 12A at 12V(yellow wire).
I used the same sort of thing to power my RC battery charger but i used the 12v rail and it worked really well,that was a good few years back but now i've got a proper PSU for all my battery charges.
Thanks! Helped me a lot!
i heard in a blog that the longer the wire the more voltage you need and moving slowly is the best way to cut. i think you could may by make one with a battery and dimmer switch, getting the temp. right is most important.
On one long wire run I actually put two sets of clips on the wire. It worked really well. The biggest problem I run into as I do these is that the wire heats too hot at first and then cools as I cut. To cure this I start to cut as soon as I put on the clips and then let it go at its own pace. I slow if it needs it around the corners and just pull harder through the longer sections. If you need to reduce the voltage you can put a variable resistor (light dimmer switch) and play with output.
Around 2.07 you start talking about connecting the power to the Green and black wire to get the power to turn on.
When I plugged my power supply in, the fan started spinning and a green light was on.
I didn't get to short out the green/black wire set up.
Does that mean there is power going to the unit and wires to the bow?
I haven't hooked up the bow yet...I pulled the powersupply during lunch at work. My IT guy said grab one.
Also...does it matter what gauge the wire is? I found some Nichrome 60 stock online...but they have different gauge sizes.
Thanks for a great toot! I wish I had a science teacher like you when I was in school!
rtc
Very interesting stuff!
Where did you get your NiCrome wire? I was thinking of harvesting some from an old heater and straightening it out...
First off I want to say very informative video and well done...ty for your video ! I just have a few questions for you andpets55 (1). Can I use the "G" string, (second string from the bottom), off of a guitar, it is nichrome as well I believe...? (2). How many watts is your computer power supply or does it matter ? (3). Does it matter how long and what gage the power supply leads are, (the ones with the alligator clips)...? and (4). What amperage works best..?
An alterative to nichrome wire is 0.8mm stainless steel mig welding wire..
Excelent tutorial. Tried this with my kanthal wire and it worked, but only when the wires from the psu was close to eachother (maybe 20 cm). Tried to add two more cables but it didnt have any effect. How do you do it? Do you have both the + cables together and both - cables together on each side?? Can you please make a video telling how you do it?
I purchased Ni-chrome wire from the local hardware store used in hanging picture frames.
What gauge (or resistance) wire did you use at 12VAC please? THANKS again.
por favor podrías decirme que colores son los que puenteas para hacer funcionar el ventilador ??
gracias.
buen aporte, muy gráfico
Awesome idea. Unfortunately my power supply is to new, it seams to have a short safety shutoff...As soon as I make a short with the wire cutter the voltage drops from 11.5V+ to 0V
When I throw the power off and back one, power comes back.
Guess I have to look for an older PC. ...Or build one out of a transformer and a dimmer.
por favor podrias decirme que colores son los que puenteas para hacer funcionar el ventilador ??
gracias
I have problem.. when i connect wire to the yellow and black cable my power supply stop working... ventilator stop rotating... can you help me? i followed your procedure but this is only problem
En el centro hay un hilo de color verde claro. Lo cruzar con cualquiera de los cables negros. Gracias por su pregunta.
Dear when I switch on the PSU to nichrome wire psu shut , how to resolve this
Be sure that when you connect the wires that the "cutting wire" is between the two active wires from the power supply. Connecting the yellow wire directly to the black wire acts as a direct short and will blow your fuse in the power supply. The nichrome wire acts as a resistor and this is why it heats and cuts the foam. There is, however, a point at which you can have too much of the cutting wire and it will no longer provide enough heat to cut.
Even the minimum output current of 3A would generate a power of 36Watts wich would be largely enough, though the nichrome wire of my bow doesn't heat enough to cut foam just a little...Do you have any idea where the problem might come from?
Thank you for your time, greetings from France ;)
Thank you for the upload. You have done what the majority the majority have failed to do. I have spent over 4 hours trying to get this answer. I code, I built 2 cars, one motorcycle, I maintain networks with over 4 thousand users I build models in CAD. I built and fly an ultralight. Im not saying it to brag.I mention it to help with the following comparison. like anything else, an individual can find a network of people that are interested in the same study or activity. The people who are interested in the electrical side of this craft aren't even on the scale when it comes to low self esteem ,they are arrogant and the most useless group I have ever encountered. I've read dozens of posts with people asking simple questions that never get answered. instead of an answers you get pages worth of replies from people trying to one up each other as if its an accomplishment. Then there is all the, how to build a hotwire videos that are equally useless because they dont cover the power supply. Its not just me ,take a look at forums and youtube and you will see negative comments everywhere about the same thing. Its a wire and power supply,not magic or Quantum Mechanics .Thanks again
You sound like my kind of guy. I build canoes (check out www.wildgooseco.com), toys (papaswoodentoyshop.com), repair motorcycles (I'm a BMW type) work on computers, cars (big 69 camaro fan, have 4 of them), do chain maille, build telescopes, muzzle loaders, archery, and whatever else catches my eye. My wife calls it OCD. Thank you for watching.
+andpet55 love the 69. my wife got a 69 convertible for her 16th birthday. when she was 28 a yahorrific thing happened. She traded it in for a maxima. it's too bad we had just started dating so I had no say.
+JOHN A. FURTADO JR. I think he did a great job of explaining the power supply part of the hot wire cutter. I think there is a lot of one up on the subject also..... I want to mabe flying wings not circles.... lol!!!!!!
Is it beacuse maybay the wire pulled to nany amps? ( I used a 26 guage stainless steel wire) plesesesesese help
Hey I need help I made the same set up but for me when I did it the fan spun up and then when I cinected vBulletin the wire to my wire is sparked then the dan spun down
When using this cutter, connect the green to the black wire before you hook up your clips to the cutting wire. You need to begin cutting right after which will prevent the wire from overheating and melting. This cutter will work on wings up to about 4 feet long. Thanks,
Screw wings... FOR NOW. I'm gonna try to use this on EVA foam!
Thank you....
I'm also using a computer ATX power supply but when I attach the alligator clips, it shorts out the ATX power supply. Any advise?
You may have a faulty power supply. I have done this using a number of these, both at home and at school with my students and have only shorted one. Make sure that you have the jumper in the correct place and that you are using the proper colors that attach to the alligator clips. Hope this helps. Thanks
Chris Stolle .Use the 5v instead of the 12v and just use a smaller wire i have had the same problem with the newer ATX.
KBCHILLIN614
Thanks
i use a pc powersuplay to. in the computer it works well, but at soon i connect 5 or 12v to my cuttingline it shot down. i can then restart but it just cut down again. help is needed. do you have any
I have never had an issue, but then I use older PC components. The newer ones may have a surge protector built in. If anyone else has seen this, please post.
Thank you for your comment.
I found the solution. I used a wier with a heigh ohm. It seems that the reason was to little resistance
Rejnar Storm. You may have a bad power supply
No it is just one of the new onse who has a kind of shortcut security. It shot down if to much power ho true so the motorboard, in the pc i have stolen it from, dont get burned
The nichrome wire is 18 gauge
+andpet55 I have even used stainless steal wire it works just as good and easier to get a hold of. most places like Home depot and Lowes have never even heard of nichrome wire. Get it on line at E-bay or Amozon....
Dumb question: Where can I buy NiChrome wire?
You can get it on Ebay. I purchase mine through a science supply like Flinn Scientific, but your best bet is Ebay.
If you have old hair dryers laying around the house you can uncoil the heating element which most likely is NiChrome wire. Also acoustic or electric guitar strings work well, the first or second strings are OK.
archiguitarchi You can find it at Pelican Wire, www.pelicanwire.com, they sell it through their on-line web store.
Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!
can i just connect the alligator clips to a blade?
No. The reason this works is due to the high resistance of the wire, creating heat. You need the proper size wire and correct amperage. Too much and you melt, not enough and it won't cut.
NICE TUTORIAL..:)
does the Amp of the 12v matter?
i don't think that there is a difference in the amps of different manufacturers, so no.
thank you
hi, i have tried to make it, but wire didnot get hot. my NICHROME wire is 32gauge. just like a hair.and the output is +12v--750mA. where is i am wrong ?
canada BC
you need 2 amps
Hell that didn't look safe at all... I saw it started getting bright reddish orange,
nice way to burn up your wire and possibly start a fire. = 0 \
En el centro hay un hilo de color verde claro. Lo cruzar con cualquiera de los cables negros. Gracias por su pregunta.