The word spotter came to us from the English language. "Spot" means "target pointer". This unit belongs to a variety of welding machines. It is intended for spot welding and operates on the basis of current resistance. The operation of the device is based on the release of a certain amount of heat energy in the area of contact with the material being welded when electricity is applied. You can make a spotter from a welding machine with your own hands.
The units are divided into two types: transformer and inventory.
Device assignment
Spotter is designed for car body work, when leveling the surface of the part from the inside is not possible. With this tool, it is possible to carry out local heating of the metal with minor damage to the body part. The welding process itself is as follows: fasteners are welded to the place of the damaged metal, to which the spotter is connected, and the dent is pulled out by means of auxiliary devices or manually. DIY body repair tool givesthe ability to quickly and efficiently restore the car without painting the area that has undergone deformation.
You can make a spotter from a welding machine with your own hands. During its operation, it is necessary to control the functioning of each part, as there is a high probability of wire breaks and overheating of the unit.
What is the fixture made of?
The components of the aggregate are:
- box;
- cable;
- pistol (studder);
- sharp rod (electrode).
The box contains the entire splicer system.
How to use the device?
For the most accurate and quick car body work, you should adhere to a certain procedure and process technology, as well as take into account some nuances:
- The surface that has undergone deformation is initially cleaned of any type of coating (lacquer, paint, rust). This work is very important, because the result of the whole process depends on the level of quality of metal joining.
- A ground contact is attached to the surface to be corrected.
- Fasteners are welded onto the cleaned surface of the damaged area, through which the spotter will be connected.
- Next, the device is captured by the pistol, after which the dent is pulled out. To level the surface resort to the use of a hammer, hydraulic cylinders, stocks and other tools. Taking into account the thickness of the metal,it is necessary to determine with which device it is optimal to straighten the machine so as not to cause damage to the body. For example, a reverse hammer is not used with aluminum, and not every spotter can do a galvanized body.
- At the end of the straightening of the body, the welded part is twisted, and the contact point is protected by a grinding machine.
The main component of the spotter
The main part of the unit is the welding gun. For continuous operation, a factory-made device is used. The tool can be made with your own hands based on a gun from building glue, or you can resort to using parts from semi-automatic welding. Two identical parts are cut out of getinax or textolite with a thickness index of 12-14 mm. In one of them, a bracket is installed that serves as a fastening of the electrode for welding. If desired, a light bulb and the "Illumination" button and the "Impulse" switch are mounted.
The bracket for fixing the electrode can be made of copper, which has a rectangular or square section. A copper rod with a thickness of 8-10 mm is used as an electrode for welding. The design of the gun should provide for the possibility of replacing the electrode without disassembly. To connect the gun to the device, a combination of a welding cable with the required cross section and a five-core control cable with a cross section of 0.75-1.0 mm² is used. The latter is connected in accordance with the diagram: three wires go to the switch"Impulse", and two - on the illuminating bulb and the switch. The welding cable is carefully stripped and soldered into the hole in the bracket designed for this purpose.
How to make a DIY spotter?
Many are wondering how to make a spotter from a welding machine yourself. This requires certain skills and understanding of the principles of operation of the technique. A do-it-yourself spotter from a welding machine, the drawings of which are presented in this article, can be made if you are familiar with the design of the welding machine. Missing parts for the future unit can be purchased. A spotter from a do-it-yourself welding machine is mainly made from improvised parts.
Buying a factory device is not always advisable. The cost of a quality unit is quite high. Therefore, you should consider the configuration of the device and its drawings, as well as figure out how to make a high-quality spotter from a welding machine with your own hands in a short time.
Inverter Device
Many are wondering how to make a spotter from a welding machine with your own hands? It should be noted that an inverter-based unit among homemade products is most common, although there are many other schemes.
Do-it-yourself spotter from an inverter welding machine is easy to do. It contains two main components: a welding inverter and a thyristor relay.
To assemble the fixture you will need:
- thyristor withpower indicator of 200 volts;
- 122 volt step down transformer to control relay with button;
- 30 amp relay;
- diode bridge;
- 220 volt contact group;
- button to control.
The transformer is connected by means of a diode bridge, to which the thyristor of an electric relay is connected. The transformer feeds the control branch of the thyristor circuit.
Before you make a spotter with your own hands, you need to create a safe working environment. To this end, a rubber mat is placed under the feet and standard safety precautions are followed.
Basic assembly steps
Many people ask how to make a spotter from a Nordic welding machine. This device is ideal for a homemade unit. It is important to be able to change its configuration in such a way that the spotter from the DC welding machine supplies at least 1500 Amps at the output.
The assembly process consists of the following steps:
- The secondary layer is removed from the device. Often there are two.
- Then you should determine how many turns are required per 1 V. For this purpose, the primary winding is wrapped with copper wire, and then the volt indicator is measured. The resulting figure is divided by the number of turns of wire. The result will be an indicator of the required number of turns per volt.
- From the removed secondary layeryou need to make a tire. It is desirable that the cross-sectional index be at least 160 mm², and the voltage be 6 V.
- If the cross section is much smaller, then you can divide the bus into several parts, which are fastened with cloth insulating tape. The number of pieces depends on the initial indicator. For example, at a rate of 40 mm², the tire is cut into four parts.
- You will need two tires wrapped with electrical tape or tape for painting work. Isolation is done sequentially. First, a layer of insulating tape, then - adhesive tape, and on top of the insulating tape is wound again. Rivets can be placed on open edges.
- The resulting tires are wound on a transformer. This process is not easy and requires certain skills. Be sure to have a hammer and one assistant. So the tire will sit better and will not have any damage.
- If the power indicator is sufficient, then the device is ready, if not, then you can conduct an experiment by connecting the wires to the primary winding.
Transformer manufacturing
Making a device such as a spotter from a do-it-yourself welding machine involves assembling a transformer. This process is considered the most difficult.
Wrapping takes a lot of time, but this step is required. Winding can be done on w-shaped or ring iron. The wire for the secondary winding must be made of copper or aluminum. The insulation between the coils must be made of high quality on the basis of varnished fabricor transformer paper in several layers (preferably five or six). For greater reliability, the paper is impregnated with paraffin.
Making a welding gun
A welding gun can be crafted from a semi-automatic. But it requires some additions to attach the tool to the straightening device. An axle made of brass (M10) is fixed inside the semiautomatic device. For the manufacture of pliers, a regular pipe 20 × 20 mm is suitable.
Which power wire to use?
The power wire that connects the transformer and the gun must have a section identical to or greater than the section of the bus. It is advised not to use wires that are too long. Their maximum size should be 2.5 m.
The basis of the working cable connecting the gun and the transformer must be a switching wire with thermal insulation. With each heating, this layer will shrink.
Nuances in the design of the spotter
The biggest difficulty in adapting a transformer for welding is to increase the output current to 1500 Amps. To this end, they are experimenting with a bus installed instead of the secondary winding. Experience shows that the cross section should be at least 160 mm², and the busbar voltage should be 6 V.
The most important point when assembling a transformer is to ensure proper insulation of the mains windings. The wrong pad can lead to undesirable consequences.
