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Help with homemade shrinkwrap crimp....

I'm in a bind and I need a crimp for sealing shrink wrap. I thought it
might be a fun little project and it should be easy, but I am very new
to electronics. I think what I need is nichrome wire, but I don't know
what type. Does anyone know if the nichrome wires are "live"? in
otherwords do I need to encase the wire or can it be exposed? It
shouldn't need to get hot enough to start a fire, only melt and seal
the shrinkwrap. So, here's my plan: electrical outlet to one end of
wire to a dimmer (to control heat) and back to the outlet. Will this
work?
 
M

mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm in a bind and I need a crimp for sealing shrink wrap. I thought it
might be a fun little project and it should be easy, but I am very new
to electronics. I think what I need is nichrome wire, but I don't know
what type. Does anyone know if the nichrome wires are "live"? in
otherwords do I need to encase the wire or can it be exposed? It
shouldn't need to get hot enough to start a fire, only melt and seal
the shrinkwrap. So, here's my plan: electrical outlet to one end of
wire to a dimmer (to control heat) and back to the outlet. Will this
work?
If your objective is to electrocute yourself, you're on the right track.
Get yourself a transformer and run lower voltage isolated from the line.
Reread the above line until you believe it...

Shrink wrap doesn't seal well. It tends to...well...shrink.
I've never had success trying to seal shrinkwrap. And I have
a commercial plastic sealer. Sealable plastic wrap works well,
but it's not shrinkwrap.

IF you only need a few, you can do some interesting things with
a variac and a pencil soldering iron. With some practice, you can swipe
it across the area to be sealed.
Another way is a flat hotplate on a vairac. Use a "knife edge" of the
right width to mash the plastic down briefly onto the hotplate.
You can buy food bag sealers fairly cheaply...almost free at thrift stores.



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J

Jasen Betts

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm in a bind and I need a crimp for sealing shrink wrap. I thought it
might be a fun little project and it should be easy, but I am very new
to electronics. I think what I need is nichrome wire, but I don't know
what type. Does anyone know if the nichrome wires are "live"? in
otherwords do I need to encase the wire or can it be exposed? It
shouldn't need to get hot enough to start a fire, only melt and seal
the shrinkwrap. So, here's my plan: electrical outlet to one end of
wire to a dimmer (to control heat) and back to the outlet. Will this
work?

nichrome wire is typically uninsulated (like the heating element in a pop-up
toaster)

But there is encapsulated nichrome available (the heating element in an
electric blanket would be one example)

last time I saw shrink wrap being used it was done with a proopane torch,
the only electric bits were a piezo trigger and a spark plug to ignite the
gas.
 
A

ALBERT C. GOOD JR.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Two thoughts are:

1. Use a Weller soldering iron, preferably one with several heat ranges, and
temporarily engage the trigger at what ever heat ranges and times seem to
work best by using the radiant heat to heat the shrink wrap rather than
touching the iron directly to the shrink wrap.

2. Another method that I have used is a small electric blower-heater of the
type used to dry finger-nail polish.

Heat shrink tubing will, if used properly, shrink quite tightly with good
conformance.

Albert
 
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