Safe cutting of foam with her own hands at home. Home fixture for cutting foam - buy or make it yourself? The diameter of nichrome wire for cutting foam

Polyfoam applies in many construction work. It has good thermal insulation. However, this is quite fragile and crumbling material. Therefore, with its cutting, special equipment is applied. Otherwise, the edges will be uneven, and the material itself will lose its thermal insulation qualities at the joints.

Special equipment is available on sale. but foam cutter You can do it yourself. This will significantly save the funds of the family budget. How to create different options tool for cutting foam, it will be interesting to know each wizard.

Type of tool

Creating hand cutter for foam, It should be studied existing species of this tool. There are mechanical and electrical varieties. If the product of the foam has small dimensions, and the pruning accuracy is not so important, you can prefer the first tool variant.

However, in order to ensure a dense fit of the foam plates to each other, it is necessary to ensure high cutting accuracy. The edges must be smooth. In this case, it is possible to create a thermal layer of high quality. His heat loss will be minimal. With uneven cutting between the joints, large gaps are formed. Through them, heat from the room will go out.

Professional designers and builders apply exclusively electrical equipment for cutting foam. At home, it is possible to create a similar tool.

Simple electric cutter

Considering how to make a foam cutter, It is necessary to explore the design of the simplest equipment of this class, which runs from electricity. It will take to prepare a thin guitar string and several batteries (for example, from a flashlight).

The principle of operation of this equipment is simple. The design of the batteries forms a single block. It is connected to a guitar string. When the electric current passes through the chain, it will be heated. It is in such a state that the string can easily cut a sheet of foam.

When working such a tool, the material will melt. The string is heated to 120 ºС and even more. In this case, it is quite possible to cut a few large plates from the foam. If you need to perform a large amount of work this option is not suitable. Quickly sit the batteries. You will have to provide for the option of connecting the system to the household network.

Varieties of electrical cutters

Electric foam cutting cutter Can be applied in different purposes. This will depend on the design type and general performance of the equipment. There are three main varieties of homemade cutters.

The first category is used for linear cutting. The second group includes cutters that are performed figure cutting of the material. They are used by designers. To perform the repair of the house, this type is applied less frequently. There is also a tool with a metal working plate.

Such equipment necessarily has a lower transformer in its scheme. It must be designed for the minimum power of 100 W. The secondary transformer winding must have a cross section of at least 1.5 mm. It must withstand the voltage of 15 V. In this case, you can achieve a high result of the work.

Features of work

Studying how to make a manual foam cutter yourselfIt is also necessary to consider the features of the functioning of such equipment. As mentioned above, such a tool has a string. It heats up and melts the surface of the foam.

Such material reacts quite poorly to heating. Therefore, it is important to withstand the technology of the entire process. Cutting with a hot thread is performed quickly. This allows you to achieve high quality cut.

Check the level of heating string simply. To do this, a test is carried out on a test piece of foam. If, when immersing the thread, there are long pieces of material on it, it has not yet disappeared enough. If there are no foam at all on the string, it means that the temperature is too high. In this case, you will have to cool a tool slightly. With proper heating, it turns out to be quick, accurate cutting.

Linear cutting cutter

Linear foam cutter with your own hands Allows you to create blocks from the material of the required dimensions. This significantly speeds up the work of the master. If necessary, this tool can be cut in the polyfoam circles, triangles or squares.

Two racks are installed vertically on the table surface. Two insulator are fixed to them. Between them stretch the nichrome thread. This alloy is quickly heated, providing sufficient temperatures for cutting. Through one of the racks, freely hanging cargo. The threads are connected to contacts from the transformer.

Passing over the current will heat her. It will be stretched all the time due to the cargo hanging on the one hand. It is necessary, since the string when heated can be saved. If desired, the design can be modified by adding a spring to it instead of cargo. However, the initial option is easier to execute.

The process of linear cutting

Considering how to make a cutter for foam with your own handsIt is also necessary to understand how to work correctly. Cutting can be performed vertically or horizontally. For this, the thread is stretched in the appropriate position.

If the strings are stretched horizontally, it is possible to do the same cuts with it. Polyfoam is evenly pulling on the table. The thread will evenly cut it into the required pieces.

With vertical cutting design, a metal or plywood frame is added. The holder is installed on it. Isolator and nichrome string are supplied to it. On the other hand, the load is suspended. It will pass through the hole drilled in the table. It should be quite large and covered with special insulating material. Next, you can perform vertical cutting.

Figured cut

If you need to cut out sufficiently large foam sheets or create decorative elements, sculptures from this material, a special type of equipment is applied. It can also be made independently. This is hand foam cutter. It is made on the basis of manual jigsaw or hacksaws. In them, the cutting element is changed to the nichrome string.

If you want to create curly elements, you can make several tools of various shapes. Lobzik knob is supplied to the wire. It must be carefullyroidered. Otherwise, working with this equipment will be unsafe. The nichrome string is attached to the wire contacts. This can be done with nuts and screws with washers.

Also, to create such equipment, a pulse soldering iron or a wood burner may be suitable. This tool is considered convenient. From such equipment, they extract their working element and replace it with a piece of thread, it is possible to give a different form.

Metal plate cutter

Exists foam cutter, In the design of which it is used to create this equipment you can remake the soldering iron. Suitable equipment with a capacity of 60 W. The device takes out the heating element. Instead, a plate is installed here.

One side of the copper blank must be treated. This will allow you to create a cut of greater accuracy. Sharpening angle should not be done too large. Cutting will be performed using heating. To choose its required level, we will have to experiment on a test piece of foam.

This method is also used by masters of various levels of qualification and profile. If necessary, the copper plate can be replaced with a steel blank. This option will require more effort when performing sharpening. But with such a tool you can cut more dense polymer materials.

Choosing what foam cutter More suitable for the work of the master, the recommendations of professional builders should be taken into account. The more the amount of work performed, the more difficult the design. A simple cutter on batteries is quite suitable for cutting multiple blocks. However, to perform a large amount of work, it should be preferred by network varieties of equipment.

With a string, the foam is heated. At this point, it is distinguished from it in the environment unsafe for human health substances. Therefore, work is performed in a well-ventilated room or on the street.

In order not to make a mistake with the cutting configuration, before starting the action to outline all the lines of the pencil. This will avoid mistakes when cutting. These uncomplicated recommendations will allow you to work quickly, correctly and safely.

Having considered, what options for cutters for foam can be made with their own hands, each wizard will be able to pick up the best option for themselves.

Wooden decor elements are present in the homes of each of us. Sometimes we go to the store to purchase a beautiful wooden frame or a bowl for home or as a gift to your loved ones, friends and relatives. However, the best gift is a gift made with your own hands, and to make a beautiful frame or a casket, we will need a cutter or a nichrome electrolybiz, which we will do right now.

Look in the video, how the nichrome cutter is made:

So, for the manufacture of a cutter, we will need a 12 volt 5-10a power supply unit (you can use a computer unit), nichrome wire with a cross section of 0.4-0.8 mm (you can disassemble the wire resistor or the same boiler in which the nichrome thread is used), two pieces of the cropped branch From which we will make handles, a copper wire of 1-1.5 m long, as well as two nails or two cuts of rigid wire.

First of all, you need to take care of the handles. To do this, you need to drive a nail into pieces into pieces or hang the wire. For convenience, it is better to use a branch from a soft-breed tree. When the wire or nail is sucked, you should take the round rows and make rings out of the protruding parts of the wire so that the wire itself, as well as the wires when the twist is not cleaved.

The next case you need to take any yellow and black wires from the power supply and connect them with a copper wire, which in our cutter will be the main, not forgetting the need to insulate the wires.

When the power supply is turned on into the outlet, it will not start immediately. If you use old models of computer blocks, you can separately install the switch connecting the green wire with any of the black. With new models, everything is much easier: it is enough with the help of an ordinary clips to shorten the same two wires for a split second.

The time of the most responsible part came: the selection of the right length of the nichrome thread. In order to do this, you can use a special formula, but there is a simpler method that is known as the tyk method. The desired thread length can be determined by winding it into the wooden bar, connect the plus wire to one end and gradually bring the minor wire from the other end until the thread starts to blush.

Attention!!! With the wrong length of the nichrome thread, it can overload and fail the power supply, and can also quickly break the thread.

After calculating the length of the thread, it remains only to cut it off the excess part and wind two rings of two pens. To other rings should be hounded from the power supply.

Folk craftsmen, inventors and rationalizers never translated into our country. Many of these enthusiastic people would like to know where the nichrome wire is sold, where to take this material at home? What is attractive for modern Kulibins and homegrown self-seller? The wire from the nichrome is used for the manufacture of cutters, jigsaws, soldering iron, machine tools for cutting foam, polystyrene, etc. The material was widespread in the field of industrial production.

What is nichrome and what is its value

Nichrom is a special alloy with an increased chromium and nickel concentration. The composition also includes iron, aluminum, silicon, manganese and other chemical elements, the combination of which gives metal unique characteristics.

Lobzik with heated string - Universal tool for use in everyday life

Nickel and Chromium Alloy Properties

The most common alloys based on nichrome - Ferronichrome and Ferrochromal (Feheral). Of these, the pullout method is obtained. The quality in its production is governed by the current government sectoral standards. On a wire with good electrical resistance, GOST 8803-89 and 12766 are distributed. The hardness and strength of the metal gives chromium, plasticity - nickel. The maximum heating temperature affects the detention in the nickel alloy. What is more, the higher the temperature that can reach 1000-1300 degrees.

Finished products comes on sale on coils or in bays

Alloy value and products from it

Products made of nickel and chromium alloy possess increased electrical current resistance. This means that in order to obtain the same amount of heat released, the necrome is needed much less than another metal. This reduces the weight and dimensions of the instruments and devices in which it is used.

High resistance is provided by numerous parameters, the main of which is the grade of raw materials used for manufacture, as well as the thickness. What it is thicker, the lower the resistance, on which the level of heating depends. Metal does not burn, not deformed, does not lose its characteristics when exposed to high temperature.

The useful properties of the alloy refers to plasticity, allowing you to give the wire the necessary form. The cross section can be in the form of a circle, oval, square and trapezium, with a diameter of 0.1 to 1 mm. The value of the alloy is also in the fact that it, in contrast to the majority of metals, subject to corrosion, does not rust, as it has anticorrosive resistance to aggressive liquid and gaseous media.

Advantages of products from chromium and nickel alloy

The main advantages of the wire from nichrome, thanks to which it was widespread in many areas of production, in demand in the inventors and homemade craftsmen:

High heat resistance;

Anti-corrosion resistance;

Hardness, strength and mechanical stability;

Elasticity;

High level of electrical resistance;

Low weight;

Resistance to the effects of aggressive substances.

The only drawback of the wire from the nickel and chromium alloy is a high cost, which does not affect demand.

Where to take a nichrome wire

The product is implemented in rolls (coils, bays) or in the form of a tape. Where to buy or take products from nichrome?
Consider all possible options:

1. Clause in an organization manufacturing products. You can learn the addresses of such enterprises in reference services and goods that are available in large settlements. The operator will tell you where to buy, and give phone numbers. Information about manufacturers can be found on the Internet.

2. Property in a specialized store. It can be a store selling radio components, materials for designers and craftsmen like "skillful hands", etc.

3. Buy by private traders selling spare parts, radio components and other metal smallers.

4. In the usual business store.

5. The flea market or flea market in some old device. For example, in the well-known physics lessons with laboratory retake.

6. Intelligence of nichrome wire you can also at home. The spiral of the electric tile is made precisely from it.

A small number of nichrome wires can be obtained from the helix of the old electrolycot. For further use, the spiral is equalized by pulling out

For a large order will suit the first option. If you want to buy a small amount, you can consider all subsequent list items. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the marking.

Wire marking:

for heating elements - n;

for resistance elements - C;

for tubular electric heaters - TEN.

Scope in industry and in everyday life

Nichrome products are used in places requiring high-quality metal. Especially in demand in industrial production.

In industrial production

One of the first places metal products occupies in the market of industrial and household electrical equipment. It has found widespread use in manufacturing industries using electric heating furnaces, firing furnaces and drying, stoves that are heating to high temperatures, having thermal influences.

It is used in welding machines, household heaters and heating systems of glass and rear view mirrors, in resistors, resistance nodes and risostats as a heating or resistor element. As noted above, the material is widely used among homemade craftsmen.

Note! Choose nichrome wire for the manufacture of equipment is not easy. When choosing, it is necessary to consider such parameters as diameter, length and alloy brand.

In household

In the household sphere is used for cutting foam and polystyrene. At home, cut these materials is quite problematic. There are several ways. Often, for these purposes, a knife is used from which the material begins to crumble.

Homemade craftsmen know how to cut a foam at home so that he does not crumble. To do this, you will need a nichrome wire. It is needed in order to make the machine, the cutting tool of which is the warp string. With it, you can cut the foam and make items from it with your own hands.

For cutting foam in the household, you can construct the simplest machine with a vertical or horizontal arrangement of the cutting tool

How to make a cutter for foam with your own hands

Make a machine does not represent difficulties. This will require:

A step-down transformer;

Pipe lining (pipe with a thickness of at least 20 mm, the thickness of the foam - at least 2 cm);

Springs for string stretch;

Metal string.

For the manufacture of countertops, you will need a table, board and sheet of professional.

The simplest variant of the machine for cutting foam, which can be made with your own hands

A lowering transformer can be made with your own hand from transformer iron. It will take to make a row to select the current value. To do this, you can take a spiral from the electric stilt, pre-stretching it into the string. The winding frame is constructed from asbestos-cement or ceramic pipe with a thickness of 15-20 mm and about 80 mm long.

For figure cutting, a thermosak from a piece of nichrome wire is used. It is fixed on the handle from the insulating material. The homemade cutter for foam is perfectly coping with the task, including with a figured sharp material, the device allows you to make recesses, cut cavities, work with foam, as the sculptor works with clay.

Note! After treatment, the surface is covered with a melted crust, closing pore and increases the strength of the foam.

Foam cutter can be compared with a sculptor tool working with clay

With the help of homemade fixtures, which found the use of nichrome wire, you can not only cut the foam, but also burn wood. It can also be used in homemade household heaters, welding machines, in the heating systems of automotive glasses and rearview mirrors.

Devices for cutting do not necessarily make their own hands. There are machines and adaptations of industrial production that meet the needs of lovers and professionals. Such devices are manufactured in accordance with the norms and regulations of safety.

Polyfoam (extruded polystyrene foam) is used as thermal insulation with external and interior decoration, used for packaging of goods or manufacturing prefabricated structures. The material is produced in the form of sheets that are cut into place and customized under the dimensions of the surfaces. For quick cutting of foam, you will need a special device that allows you to make a straight or curly cut.

Manual processing of foams is possible at home and small workshops using a simple device collected from infirred materials. Extruded expanded polystyrene is characterized by a sufficiently dense structure, so cutting plates with a metal toolheated to a certain temperature. The wire supplying the electric current is suitable as the cutting surface, and the main difficulty of assembly is associated.

Self-made machine allows from conventional foam for packaging to get tiles or bars of suitable thickness with further use in certain designs. In such a device, you can also paint further and similar materials that are needed for the manufacture or repair of upholstered furniture. Compact dimensions of foam cutting equipment with their own hands using nichrome allow you to install the machine in a small workshop or even on the balcony.

For cutting foam at home, you will need a design that can be collected from simple materials available in any construction store. Previously need to determine the parameters of each element, taking into account the size of the plates of the foam, which will have to handle . In most cases, the following details are sufficient:

The base of dense plywood, chipboard or array. You can order new details or use elements of old furniture (doors, walls, shelves). To work with foam, there is enough base 400 x 600 mm.
String or wire in the form of thermal thermal for foam.
Metal racks, screws, springs or ordinary nails for fixing wire. The mounting height of the cutter depends on the intended thickness of the finished plates.
Mounts for details on the base. There are enough multiple self-tapping screws that fix the elements of the structure.

To assemble the thermosak, it will take to one hour of working time. Each of the structural elements can be quickly replaced during the repair or expansion of the device.

Algorithm of action

For the manufacture of adaptation under the cutting of foam or similar materials, you need the most conventional tools (hammer, screwdriver, pliers). You can work anywhere with sufficient space (balcony, room, hallway, garage, etc.). No participation of helpers or third-party specialists will need.

The assembly is carried out in the following order:

To the base, you can attach legs, which will increase stability when cutting the foam of the string.

How to choose cut wire

A suitable cutter can be made of nichrome wire (x20n80), which is used in the design of most household appliances as a heating element. According to mechanical characteristics, the nichrome is comparable to conventional steel, and it is characterized by a large resistance and the heating limit to the temperatures of +1200 ºC. For the manufacture of fixtures under cutting, a wire with a diameter of up to 10 mm is available.

The exact and smooth thread of foam plastic is possible when the cut line is heated to a temperature, which is two to three times the melting threshold (+270 ºC). It should be borne in mind that such a process involves energy consumption and to absorb heat itself in proportion to its density. Therefore, for efficient and safe cutting, it is necessary to choose a wire suitable thickness to eliminate the melting of the metal at maximum heating.

Calculation and preparation of the electrical part

For the safe operation of the device, it is necessary to correctly mount conductive elements that are connected to the source of electricity through the cape terminals. To cut the material, you can use variable or permanent current. The power of the source is calculated based on the fact that it will take up to 2.5 W for efficient cutting for 10 mm (for 500 mm - 125 V).

The voltage of the current is proportional to the resistance and is calculated by formulas or tables. But on average, with a wire diameter of 0.8 mm, a length of 500 mm and a resistance of 2.2 ohms will require a voltage current 12 V with a load current 12 A. Change in length to a large or smaller side will require a similar increase or reduction of voltage at the same power. Current.

Electricity sources and connection scheme

A safe cutting provides a connection to a conventional household network 220 V through a car transformer. To adjust the voltage in a single primary winding, a handle is provided, with which the graphite wheel moves and remove the voltage from the corresponding site. You can change this parameter in the range from 0 to 240 V. Connection to the current source is carried out through the terminal box.

When connecting a self-made machine for cutting foaming to a power grid, you need to make sure that the phase does not fall on the overall wire. All the necessary parameters and connection scheme can be found on the transformer case. Before connecting to the network, you need to check the performance of the device using a multimeter.

The simpler version of the current supply to the wire is to use conventional lowering transformers with removal from the secondary windings. In this case do not have to select the voltage valueSince this value is always constantly and enough to heat the wire to the desired temperature. You can choose the desired value when the transformer is initially adjusted, handling a certain number of turns of the windings in the chain.

Heat the wire for cutting foam can be used with the help of household appliances. At the same time take into account the following nuances:

It should be borne in mind that the cutting tool under the voltage will immediately be hot, therefore it is impossible to touch it to check the temperature.

To make thermo-mounted foam or foam rubber, it will not be required to considerable costs and time. For this, a wire of almost any diameter is suitable for this, but with unknown parameters (diameter, resistance), the power should be increased gradually, connecting the low-power current sources first. The reliable isolation of contacts and the phase position control is of great importance, which cannot be connected to the wire.

With construction and finishing work, a question arises than to cut the foam so that it does not crumble. To do this, use special tools and techniques that are selected based on the size of the foam plate. Such cutters can be purchased in the store or make yourself. To make the tool with your own hands, special knowledge or skills will not need.

Nichrome cutter do it yourself

Cutting the foam of the string, rotated to + 120 ... + 150 ° C and melting material. Thanks to this, the cut is smooth, and the foam will not crumble. On such devices, the nichrome thread is installed through which electricity is passed. You can make a simple cutter with your own hands. It differs from the machine with portability and compactness, so the heating temperature of the nichrome wire cannot be adjusted on it.

Required tools and materials

To make a cutter with nichrome wire for cutting foam, you will need such tools and materials:

small wooden bar;
screwdriver and drill;
2 pencil;
2 Copper Wire Cut;
round-rolls;
termoklay or PVA;
insulating tape;
connector for batteries;
switch;
1 m wires;
soldering iron;
nichrome thread.

The latter is sold at the Radioetting Store. It can also be taken from the old heating elements from the hair dryer, boiler, boiler, etc.

Homemade cutter for foam

Homemade cutter is intended for minor work. Cut the entire sheet of expanded polystyrene is not possible. To carry out the cutting of foam at home, it is necessary:

In a wooden bar, 10-11 cm long make 2 holes. They must coincide with the diameter of the pencils. From the edge you need to retreat for 1-1.5 cm. The recess should be a little deeper than half of the bar to fix the pencils. Due to this distance, you can cut a sheet of foam of almost any thickness.
Both pencils into the holes with a thermoclaus or pva.
In each of the pencils from above, make a small hole for copper wire.
Copper wire bend the rounds in such a way that small rings get at its ends. After that, set into the holes in the pencils.
Connector for batteries glued perpendicular to a wooden bar. Additionally, it will perform the role of the handle.
On the bar paste the switch so that you can de-energize the string.
Then connect 2 wire connector. After that, connect with the switch, and then each output to a separate pencil. So that the wire does not resist and prevente the work, it is fixed by a tape. To ensure reliable quality of connection, you need to solder wires to the connector. Connection spaces need to be isolated using a shrink tube or tape.
The second end of each wire is cleaned from the braid and fasten to the copper wire. Connection solder.
Nichrome thread to go into the rings from copper wire and consolidate on them. The string must be tightly stretched between pencils. When heated it stretches and saves a little. The stronger the tension, the smaller the sagging.
In the connector insert batteries and proceed to cutting foam sheets.

In this way, you can make a simple device for cutting foam with your own hands. And another version of the manufacturer Look at the video:

Machine for cutting foam with her hands

Cutting machines are more convenient because the cutting thread is fixed and only foam can be moved. This allows you to increase the accuracy of movements. In the manufacture, you will need the same tools and techniques as in the previous case.

First you need to make a table that is a wooden base with small legs. The table should be smooth and smooth to prevent the foam deformation. The size of the base is selected arbitrarily. The bar is perpendicular to the table top, and the wooden crossbar is attached to it at an angle of 90 °. Then it is necessary to enhance the design of the jumper.

The corner line marks the place in which the thread of incandescent is. If the surface is quite smooth, it can be done using a plumb. To do this, there is a self-hat with a wide hat, and the thread with a load is screwed on it. A hole with a diameter of 6 mm is drilled in the selected place. To the string did not burn the tree, a plate of textolite or metal is installed. It is necessary to put the material flush with the surface.

Wire has a hole in the hole, the lower end of which is put on the self-tapping screw. Screw to screwed next to the hole. The length of the spiral should be such that when heated the latter becomes red. Since at high temperatures, the wire is lengthened, you must use a compensating spring to avoid sagging. Spring is satisfied with the spring, and the nichrome thread is attached to it.

The end of the thread is connected by the source of energy, which can serve as a battery with a voltage of 11.7-12.4 V. To adjust this indicator, use a thyristor regulator scheme. The regulator can be taken from the electric grinder. You can also control the voltage using the spiral on the cutting machine for the cutting of expanded polystyrene.

This helix is \u200b\u200binstalled on a wooden bar to which the upper edge of the incandescent filament is attached. Connects with wire sequentially. Its function is to lengthen the nichrome thread and, accordingly, reducing the voltage. You can achieve this by changing the location of the nichrome spiral. The less distance, the stronger the thread is warm and the foam melts more.

If the transformer is connected to the machine, it must have a galvanic junction. This should use a transformer with outlaps.

For smooth and smooth cuts, you need to make a rail guide. It is made of a bar or any other smooth material.

With the help of such an uncomplicated machine, a cutting of foam plastic is carried out with their own hands. Additionally, you can make different devices. You can make it during the repair of the stubble with your own hands or tray that will help smoothly cut the material under the desired angles.

3D technology of polyfoam

The polystyrene foam products began to be widely used in marketing and decorative purposes. From polystyrene foam companies make logos of companies, call names, various figures, decor elements, etc. Therefore, 3D cutting has gained wide popularity. The use of foam allows you to save money and at the same time get a high-quality and durable product.

The bulk cutting is carried out on special machines. They cut the material with long strings or laser and allow to give a foam of any form.

Figure cutting of foaming

Figure cutting of expanded polystyrene is carried out on special machines. Some of them are equipped with CNC. When working on the machine, the thickness of the sheets of foam plastic does not matter. However, for simple cutting, you can use a simple cutter made by your own hands.