I have always wanted a hot wire cutter so I came up wih a cheap idea (I have all the components.....) but I dont think that it will work (I dont know why but I feel like I am missing some parts). My setup will be posted below......any suggestions/improvements are welcomed.

I cant post the pictures I took of the setup (I drew it on paper) right now so I will post it later but I am using wood to make the base/frame/everything basically, I will have thin guitar string for the wire, I will have metal hooks holding the wire vertically, I will have wires soldered to the ends of the metal hooks, those two wires will be soldered onto a female JST plug and it will run off of a 3S 500mah batt. Suggestions please!!!

-joker

Don't connect directly to the battery, you need something to control the current.

A basic brushed speed control with a servo tester should do, start it at zero and "increase throttle" until the wire is hot enough to cut. The controller will also give you the benefit of LVC when the battery is discharged.

And I'd recommend a wattmeter in between the battery and controller so you can see how much power you're using and monitor the state of charge for the battery.

Lastly, I'd use alligator clips instead of soldered leads to the cutting wire. That way you can adjust it to match the witdh of the workpiece and only heating the part of the wire that is doing the cutting.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=...pw.r_qf.&cad=b

also, do a search for "hot wire" in this forum.

Any craft store or railroad modeling store will have one off the shelf.

Soooooooooo........

I would need at least my tx, an rx, an ESC, and a batt (along with the other stuff.......not electronics though)? Would a Turnigy 6amp Plush (probably overkill? or underkill?) work as the ESC? So I would solder the wires that are clipped onto the hooks onto the wires that are usually for the motor on the ESC? Would it matter which of the 3 wires I solder it onto? Thanks.....

-joker

You need a BRUSHED ESC not brushless. I use an old 20A one I had lying around. And most of us that use such things drive them with a servo tester rather than getting out the TX and RX.

If you know anyone who has been flying electrics for a few years they very likely have old brushed ESCs around that they'd give away. I've got plenty but it wouldn't be worth shipping them all the way to the US from here.

Steve

Ok, I dont have any brushed ESC's because I just got into the hobby last year. I will go to the LHS ASAP to get a brushed ESC and a servo tester.

-joker

One last time..........will THIS work?

12v power supply, Accucel 6, "charging" the wires...........?????

-joker

Originally Posted by joker24458

One last time..........will THIS work?
12v power supply, Accucel 6, "charging" the wires...........?????

So you're proposing to use a battery charger to supply current to the cutting wire?

Interesting-- I'd say don't do that. I'm not expert in electronics, but I suspect that the battery charger is expecting a certain resistance from the battery and using a wire (even a high resistance wire) instead will confuse it in the best case, and destroy the charger in the worst case.

It might work, but the brushed ESC and servo tester are a $20 total investment, max. I'd do that instead of risking damage to my charger. They're much cheaper than the charger and (sort of) designed for the purpose.

Ok, so I will get the servo tester and the brushed ESC........using the charger was just a silly idea to try and get it done quickly.

-joker

I had an old PC laying around and robbed the PWR Supply from it. It works well with stainless single strand fishing leader wire. About like the thinnest guitar string. I use a drywall square clapped to the edgeof my work bench. the bench has a hole in it so I have a "bandsaw" like setup with a 20 inch bite. I use alligator clips to "energize" the wire. So with this set up I can hook it up to a nice 16 inch "bow" I made for it too. I used the internet to discover which wires are 5 volt and which are 12 volt on the pwr supp. Been using it for months. It's a bit slow at 26 inch span and very fast if I move the clips inside of about 15 inches span.

Keep the span large enough to be slow and the current will be lower than a hotter fast cut with the span reduced.

Forgot to mention wires are terminated with a nut and the nut is tied to the dry wall square with 150 lb test mono. Under the table the wire is terminated at a nail or bolt that when turned sideways stops the wire from coming through the hole.

Actually a NiCd/NiMH battery charger does an excellent job as a hot wire cutter power supply. My friend and I have cut many wings using one to feed the hot wire. A LiPO charger would probably not work as those expect to see a certain voltage on the output, matching the number of cells programmed. There are even some multi-function battery chargers that have a specific mode for running a foam cutting wite...

Just us a charger for NiCd and start with the current set to about 1.5 amps. Depending on the wire you may need up to 3 amps but I doubt that any sane wire choice would need more than that.

J.P.

Originally Posted by joker24458

One last time..........will THIS work?

12v power supply, Accucel 6, "charging" the wires...........?????

-joker

Why put a battery charger into the "mix" if you already have a power supply? The power supply (if "grunty" enough), the brushed ESC and a servo tester.

Originally Posted by TheAeronut

Actually a NiCd/NiMH battery charger does an excellent job as a hot wire cutter power supply. ...
Just use a charger for NiCd and start with the current set to about 1.5 amps. Depending on the wire you may need up to 3 amps but I doubt that any sane wire choice would need more than that.

Thanks, JP, I didn't know that!

Originally Posted by Mac50L

Why put a battery charger into the "mix" if you already have a power supply? The power supply (if "grunty" enough), the brushed ESC and a servo tester.

He doesn't have a brushed ESC yet and was looking for a suitable substitute that might already be available in his workshop.