kWeld - "Next level" DIY battery spot welder
- Thread starter tatus1969
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LordKitsuna
1 mW
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- Sep 14, 2021
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- 12
Don't get me wrong I did ultimately go with nickel strips for the batteries I am building both because I'm able to get significantly larger quantities of it easily end because it is much easier to well the only needs 20 joules instead of 100. But I did get a small roll of copper that I want to use for a small parallel battery packs just for fun and to have have the practice of spot welding. I would argue that copper is very good for practicing your spot welding because it's a lot less forgiving than nickel
Silvaticus
10 W
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
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- 66
Three miles from the house they weld with this welder. Only the cost of such a welder is about 10-12k GBP.
I was quite excited to read and share the information about the "copper / nickel sandwich" method.
In fact the cheaper "nickel-plated steel" buses are best because the higher resistance of steel will convert the welding amps into enough heat with less energy. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they cost less. The nickel-plating only provides rust resistance after the welding.
Even if I ran an industrial business, I would be happy to buy two kWelds instead of a $10,000 pulse arc laser machine.
In fact the cheaper "nickel-plated steel" buses are best because the higher resistance of steel will convert the welding amps into enough heat with less energy. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they cost less. The nickel-plating only provides rust resistance after the welding.
Even if I ran an industrial business, I would be happy to buy two kWelds instead of a $10,000 pulse arc laser machine.
Silvaticus
10 W
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- Jan 18, 2019
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- 66
I understand that you, as a reseller, will compliment Frank's work.
Welding points of kWeld are on the level or slightly better than welders based on MOT 2x1kW.
Of course, even on very good transformer-based welders, we always have 10 percent or more of poor quality weld spots. I've seen this countless times.
With all due respect to Frank's development, I have not seen here on the forum good welding spots on pure nickel strips. The nickel plated steel cooks perfectly. One of my colleagues is very pleased with the ease of use. However, it welds 150 μm nickel plated steel and has excellent points. Therefore, I made a choice not in favor of kWeld, which is incredibly happy. Therefore, under the same conditions, we will make different decisions. There are quite decent Chinese samples for $2-2.5k.
Most do not distinguish between what is acceptable to them personally and how it should be if they do it for a living. When you risk your own property that could be damaged by fire, this is one thing. And it is completely different when you sell what you create. In this case, you risk not only your reputation, but also your bank account and, in some cases, your freedom.
The Omega PA250i was never a laser, it's a MicroTIG. In addition, the laser costs like the one on your photo, about twice as expensive as you mentioned.
I myself am very interested in conducting a test with copper ribbons. But now all my time is occupied by a project that has nothing to do with electric transport.
Welding points of kWeld are on the level or slightly better than welders based on MOT 2x1kW.
Of course, even on very good transformer-based welders, we always have 10 percent or more of poor quality weld spots. I've seen this countless times.
With all due respect to Frank's development, I have not seen here on the forum good welding spots on pure nickel strips. The nickel plated steel cooks perfectly. One of my colleagues is very pleased with the ease of use. However, it welds 150 μm nickel plated steel and has excellent points. Therefore, I made a choice not in favor of kWeld, which is incredibly happy. Therefore, under the same conditions, we will make different decisions. There are quite decent Chinese samples for $2-2.5k.
Most do not distinguish between what is acceptable to them personally and how it should be if they do it for a living. When you risk your own property that could be damaged by fire, this is one thing. And it is completely different when you sell what you create. In this case, you risk not only your reputation, but also your bank account and, in some cases, your freedom.
The Omega PA250i was never a laser, it's a MicroTIG. In addition, the laser costs like the one on your photo, about twice as expensive as you mentioned.
I myself am very interested in conducting a test with copper ribbons. But now all my time is occupied by a project that has nothing to do with electric transport.
Thank you for the clarification about the details of that very nice machine.
I was the north American retailer of the kWeld for one year. Due to sales growth, Frank was going to need someone full-time.
I have a full-time job, and could not give that business the attention it needed, so Frank found someone with an existing business (Keith) to manage kWeld sales in the US.
I have had no business with kWeld or Keenlab for over two years. I have written positive things about their main competitor, Malectrics, which continues to be adequate for certain jobs.
I was the north American retailer of the kWeld for one year. Due to sales growth, Frank was going to need someone full-time.
I have a full-time job, and could not give that business the attention it needed, so Frank found someone with an existing business (Keith) to manage kWeld sales in the US.
I have had no business with kWeld or Keenlab for over two years. I have written positive things about their main competitor, Malectrics, which continues to be adequate for certain jobs.
Silvaticus
10 W
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
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- 66
Never mind, I'm just a little sarcastic. Yes, the Malectrics V4 project is very interesting, but after so many generations it has not overcome the 1kA barrier, which is a pity. Frank made the right choice by doubling it. For many simple tasks, this is quite enough. However, my colleague is quite successful (I presented his results earlier in this thread) in welding pure nickel strips of 200 μm with a current of 3.2kA.
Silvaticus
10 W
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
- Messages
- 66
I am not following the project. And where is it written about 3kA? When I went to the project page before writing the post, I did not see anything about it. Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough.myxomop said:
Silvaticus
10 W
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
- Messages
- 66
Now it is clear why I did not know anything about it.
This sounds interesting. Pease start a thread about copper spot-welding your super-capacitors. Im certain quite a few builders would be interested...
Sorry, but I'm not a native speaker and I don't quite understand what interests you)?spinningmagnets said:
There is a whole thread about welding copper to cans.
The fact that Malectrics can handle currents in excess of 3000A is not surprising, and kWeld will be able to remove the software lock or possibly "cheat" during calibration.
Several posts here have been flagged as "off topic". They can be moved to another discussion, or deleted by the moderator board.
Since I used to be a retailer for the kWeld, I am being very patient to avoid conflict.
If a Malectrics discussion began receiving posts about the kWeld, the rules here would demand the same response.
Since I used to be a retailer for the kWeld, I am being very patient to avoid conflict.
If a Malectrics discussion began receiving posts about the kWeld, the rules here would demand the same response.
