Polystyrene cutter to learn about resistance, current voltage and HEAT
Hello,
I have a need for a hot wire polystyrene cutter. (Poystyrene melts at 240 degrees centigrade or 464 degrees F.) The basic shape would resemble a fret saw with the teeth replaced by a hot wire. Please see attached jpg.
I can easily find a project on “Instructables” or some other maker site.
However, I don’t want to do this. I want to design the cutter myself from first principles. It would be fun to then construct it and see how well the maths predicts the actual performance of the tool. This way I can modify the length and thickness of the hotwire as I please
So, I want to take this opportunity to learn about the function: heat(expressed as wire parameters) = f(current, resistance, voltage), where f is functional notation.
Can you tell me please where I would find the equations of the above function so I can predict the parameters regarding what I need to design the cutter:
a) The diameter of the wire
b) The length of the wire
c) The electrical parameters of the cutter like current and voltage.
I don’t want you to tell me these parameters, even if you were inclined to do so. No, I want you to tell me a reliable source of accessible literature so I can find out about the relationship between heat and current in a wire for myself and then build it.
Hello,
I have a need for a hot wire polystyrene cutter. (Poystyrene melts at 240 degrees centigrade or 464 degrees F.) The basic shape would resemble a fret saw with the teeth replaced by a hot wire. Please see attached jpg.
I can easily find a project on “Instructables” or some other maker site.
However, I don’t want to do this. I want to design the cutter myself from first principles. It would be fun to then construct it and see how well the maths predicts the actual performance of the tool. This way I can modify the length and thickness of the hotwire as I please
So, I want to take this opportunity to learn about the function: heat(expressed as wire parameters) = f(current, resistance, voltage), where f is functional notation.
Can you tell me please where I would find the equations of the above function so I can predict the parameters regarding what I need to design the cutter:
a) The diameter of the wire
b) The length of the wire
c) The electrical parameters of the cutter like current and voltage.
I don’t want you to tell me these parameters, even if you were inclined to do so. No, I want you to tell me a reliable source of accessible literature so I can find out about the relationship between heat and current in a wire for myself and then build it.