I am looking for Nichrome 6 ohm/foot wire.
I tried find it from HobbyLobby, Home depot, etc..
Ebay doesn't have 6 ohm/foot.

Anyone can help me?

Nichrome wire is commonly used in packaging machinery to seal plastic bags. A current is applied to it and it heats up and used to seal the bag. We have rolls of the stuff to replace the wires in the sealing bar when they get old and break. Try an industrial packaging supply house. You are looking for the NiChrome wire used in a machine called a "Drop Sealer"

ihkim, I don't know what the resistance is, but a of people use guitar strings, cheap and available at any music store. high e = .25mm. guitar strings have a high nickle content

try Aircraft spruce and specialtys I think, I have got some from them for cutting foam

here is a site I came across today - wasn't even looking....well I was looking for some foam cutting ideas - good looking machine at the site too.
http://burnsmodelaircraft.com/index.htm
May meet your spec? Worth a look.
:cheers: Jim

www.pelicanwire.com

http://www.omega.com/pptst/NI80.html

www.demandproducts.com

they sell nicrome wire by the 50 or 200 foot rolls, if you need much less than this, email me and i will sell you some off of my roll

Ed Rees erase42@aol.com

Pottery & glass working kilns (of the electric variety) use nichrome wire in the elements.
Check in your area for a large supplier. They usually have the wire available by the foot.

Just a thought - what about using stainless steel wire leader (shark leader)? Too much resistance or?? Thouht I'd seen that suggested or sold for the same purpose. Is there any problem using it as a substitute?
Thanks Jim

High Seas.....I suspect that using the stainless would not work......well okay, maybe if you supplied a 100 amps or so.....Nichrome wire is the way to go and all the old fashioned appliance repair places have it.

www.demandproducts.com

they sell nicrome wire by the 50 or 200 foot rolls, if you need much less than this, email me and i will sell you some off of my roll

Ed Rees erase42@aol.com

It is so nice of you. But I am interested in purchasing 50' roll.
Thank you again.

Kim.

Thank you guys,
It helps me a lot.

Kim.

If you haven't purchased the wire yet you might look at McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) they are very fast and hassle free. I haven't found them to have the absolute lowest prices on anything - but they have just about everything and are very professional.

Unless demandproducts is selling the best wire in the world :confused: (should have specs) they may be selling it for several times its retail value. -could be wrong.

Found a supply of wire that is better than Nichrome: http://webpages.charter.net/mnemesh/ Click on the Iconel Wire button on the left. You can find specifications on the internet by doing a Google search.

:rolleyes:

I tried inconel wire .It is really nice .It doesn't change it's properties after heated up. I strongly recommend it for cutting wing cores .

Murat..

I tried inconel wire .It is really nice .It doesn't change it's properties after heated up. I strongly recommend it for cutting wing cores .

Murat..

How do you connect it up and did you find it hard to bend? How about a photo or two of your machine?

yes it is a little bit hard compare to nichrome wire. I hanged about 5 kilos weight to tighten it.Here are the photos

I haven't used Nichrome, but I scored some .020 steel roll at walmart , its the stuff that is used in mig welding (wirewelders) 2 pound for 8 bucks (dont know haw many feet though), the stuff looks like it will last for ever, and heats up/down preety good with a 5 amp battery charger/w dimmer control

yes it is a little bit hard compare to nichrome wire. I hanged about 5 kilos weight to tighten it.Here are the photos

rceebuilder.

COOL MACHINE. How about some more photos. It looks sturdy, and how did you weight the wire?

Greg

I haven't used Nichrome, but I scored some .020 steel roll at walmart , its the stuff that is used in mig welding (wirewelders) 2 pound for 8 bucks (dont know haw many feet though), the stuff looks like it will last for ever, and heats up/down preety good with a 5 amp battery charger/w dimmer control

o1moregil,

.020 steel is kind of thick isn't it. The inconel wire I get is .012 and not much bigger than a human hair. No expansion when heated. It costs more but will more than likely last me for as long as I want to cut foam.

Greg

I have been using Sullivan control line wire for quite awhile. The label is off but I think it is stranded .015 and works for me. The roll is 2 wire x 60 feet so there is lots if you have trouble.
John

I have been using Sullivan control line wire for quite awhile. The label is off but I think it is stranded .015 and works for me. The roll is 2 wire x 60 feet so there is lots if you have trouble.
John

vulcom1,

I guess that would work ok. It's stainless steel isn't it? More than likely the only time you would need or want something more heat and corrsion resistant is if you were in a full blown foam cutting production shop. As long as it gets hot enough to cut and cuts smooth, that's all that really matters.

Greg

i got some inconel wire .012 on the way , have to give it a try , 20 foot $10.00 not bad, .39 cent shipping

i got some inconel wire .012 on the way , have to give it a try , 20 foot $10.00 not bad, .39 cent shipping


Don't be surprised when it shows up in a regular letter size envelope. That's why the shipping is so cheap. I think they also include a warning letter telling you to watch out when you unroll it.

They probably put a twist at the end to keep it from unwrapping.
I havn't been cutting as much as I used too but still like making wing cores as they are easier for me instead of ribs. When done my 30% Raven look alike, I want to build a cnc foam cutter. That will be my first project into this and we will see where it goes from there.
John

John,

This is how it will arrive. Note, the Warning and also the size envelope.

Greg

I recived my inconel wire .012 a cuple days ago, and I hadnt had time to put it on the cnc till now, Im having trouble heating this kinda wire, my towers are 42 inch apart wish is 42 inches of wire, and im using a car batt charger that at full (i believe its 5amp). it heats the wire way to low and I have to set the speed of the steppers on the very low speed and it takes for ever to make a cut.

what are you guys using to heat this wire?
thanks !

I recived my inconel wire .012 a cuple days ago, and I hadnt had time to put it on the cnc till now, Im having trouble heating this kinda wire, my towers are 42 inch apart wish is 42 inches of wire, and im using a car batt charger that at full (i believe its 5amp). it heats the wire way to low and I have to set the speed of the steppers on the very low speed and it takes for ever to make a cut.

what are you guys using to heat this wire?
thanks !

You might want to look at this web page.

http://www.nsrca.org/technical/tip_tricks/foam_cutter/foam_cutting_power_supply.htm

He uses many Radio SHack parts but you can find them elsewhere for less money.

Thanks GAWnCA, I ran with this and other sites a cuple days ago , and I'm not shure
about 2 amps capable of heating this wire, I have purchase a 5 amp 24v transformer from....hummmm....shoot, cant remember, but its in a rc site (I found the link in a utahfliers.com) I paid 29 dlls plus shipping , the problem is that it keeps on burning the dimmer controller

rceebuilder.

COOL MACHINE. How about some more photos. It looks sturdy, and how did you weight the wire?

Greg


There are L shaped copper tubes which has 1.5 mm inside diameter on the left and right columns Wire ends are passed inside these tubes so the wire ends turn up . then the wire ends knotted to another steel wire which are holding the tension weights. We use inconel wire. It is perfect and whitstands to high tensioning even at high temperatures.

What I am using is an old 8 amp power supply but 5 should still work. I used to use 4 but lucked out on this one. Where is your dimmer connected on your supply. I have mine before the transformer and adjust the transformer. It is in a box with the 110 volt power cable. If you have it after the transformer I think you will get problems.
John

vulcom1
I have it before the transformer, it's been 3 dimmer switches that i have gone thru with no luck, I just bought an old train controller off ebay shuld be arriving soon this week, its the old kind with no cuircuit braker (the good ones) , ill give it a try, only 9 bucks (cant beat that)

I have used NiCr wire from various suppliers for years. For temp control, a simple dropping resistor (any appliance that uses NiCr wire as a heating element) wired in series works for me - simple and dirt cheap. Right now I use the heating coil wire from a popcorn popper. I can clip on at various points (varying the length of coil used in the circuit) to adjust the wire temp (see pic).

My problem is wire I have on hand now breaks too frequently. Anybody recommend something that holds up well without breaking? Reason it breaks is I cut foam manually using guides the wire makes contact with and moves along during the cutting.

I am here to learn (get help really) on building, on a budget, a cnc setup! I suppose this should help much with my wire breakage problem. Will post separately on this.

hi 43220,
I can send you a length of iconell wire that is to short for my machine. send me a PM and ill get your address from you. Its supposed to be stronger than nichrome and it does seem to be true.

Ps to you other two previous posters,
dont use a dimmer, order a router speed controller off ebay or Harbor Freight for around 15 dollars. They are fused, handle 5 amps or more, and never burn out. Using same one for 3 years now.

Has anyone tried stainless steel leader wire? We were cutting manually just fine using .016 wire until our power supply finally went out (made the mistake of using a regular light dimmer with a step-down transformer). This brand http://www.malinco.com/fishing/hardwire.html is available in various sizes from .010 on up. http://www.malinco.com/fishing/leader_chart.html

Best part is a package of 42 feet was 97 cents at the local Dick's Sporting Goods.

I use stainless wire manually and will be on the cnc setup I have just built. Just need to do the electronics. What I use is control line wire the u control flyers use. Bought a spool years ago and still have lots. They come in different diameters and what I use is .016".
John

We got some .011 and .013 in addition to the .016, but haven't tried the others yet. At less than 3 cents per foot, why not try it? I can always use it for trip wire, eh?

McMASTER-CARR they have nichrome and Inconel wire(better) in all ga. (.020 831' $18.00) cheap shipping. They also have ball screws-bearings.....

Mark

Nichrome wire at http://mscdirect.com all sizes and kinds and 1/3 the proce of other distributors

Hey Gil

That power supply is the one I use. You know it works well with the inconel.

I think I got my wire from aerowright.com

Later Bruce

You can buy Chrome Nickel fishing leader wire at Walmart. It's 69# test and 0.018 inch. It comes in a 25 foot length for less than $2. Works like a champ.

This is the stuff at Walmart.

http://www.thornebros.com/muskie/terminal_tackle/lc_mason.html

I find several types od Nichrome wire.

Nickel-Chrom - copper coated
Nickel-Chrom - shining
Ni 80 - shining
Nickel-Chrom-Titan

diameter
0,2mm resistance on 1 meter 16,8
0,3mm resistance on 1 meter 10,1
0,35mm resistance on 1 meter 7,5
0,4mm resistance on 1 meter 4,6
0,5mm resistance on 1 meter 3,4
0,6mm resistance on 1 meter 2,3

or 0.008 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.020 0.024 inch

My question is: wich wire to use for foam cutting and what kaind wire diameter to use. Whati is difference between this wires.

I am using .018 inch, but I see a lot people using between .016 and .020 inch. I have a 115V to 25.2V, 2 Amp step down transformer. My AC voltage going into my transformer measures 124.9 and I'm seeing a little over 28 volts at my cutting wire. My power supply uses a 1 Amp fuse and so far it hasn't blown using .018 inch wire.

My problem is wire I have on hand now breaks too frequently. Anybody recommend something that holds up well without breaking? Reason it breaks is I cut foam manually using guides the wire makes contact with and moves along during the cutting.

Do you cut using wood templates or similate?? I used to cut wings for Rc planes using wood templates, and the wire used to break due to friction. Then I learned a simple trick: you shoul cover the edge of the template with adhesive aluminium tape, wich is used for isolating air conditing installations. Then the wire will run smoothly ;)