How-To - Build Your Own Spot Welder - Hackaday
How-To - Build Your Own Spot Welder - Hackaday
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pot welders are used in the fabrication of automobiles, PC cases, power supplies,
microwave ovens, electrical junction boxes, Farada cages, and various electronics. A
spot welder is used because it produces a highl defined point of contact weld. The
materials are welded without excessive heating, so working pieces are handled easil.
The weld is also highl controlled and repeatable. In this how-to we cover the basics of
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a spot welder, and then show ou how to build one from a microwave oven
transformer.
A spot welder’s electrodes serve at least three functions. The transfer electrical
energ to the material while also holding it together; this also controls resistance. The
greater the pinch force the less the resistance, which results in decreased resistive UBCRIBE
heating. A lesser pinch force results in increased resistive heating. The electrodes also
conduct heat awa from the material, while in the off ccles, helping to cool and Enter Email Address UBCRIBE
temper the weld. A resistive spot weld is commonl referred to as a ‘nugget’. pot
welders are generall confined to ferrous materials which somewhat limits their
application range. Most produce a weld with low voltage and high current. The welder
in this How-to operates from a secondar of 3vac. The primar is 120vac line voltage
that should be treated with respect. The low voltage secondar makes the welder ver
safe, so the electrical shock hazard from the electrode is virtuall non-existent. There is
however the risk of burn due to the high temperatures as with an welder.
This particular welder is not intended to weld a bod panel on our 1966 Jeep; it will
not work well on material heavier than 20gauge sheet metal. The intended use is for
small projects, for it is not capable of continuous operation. Possible uses are as
follows: Welding electrode material for electrolsis cells. Working with the fine
components of a vacuum tube. Building a light weight frame for a small robotic
platform. Most of us have enough parts laing around to build a spot welder. If ou
have a microwave oven transformer (MOT) laing around, then ou are half wa there.
On a related note, we had covered a microwave oven arc welder in 2006.
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Pictured above is a working MOT. The first thing we had to do was remove the
secondar coils. Namel the high voltage winding, and the low voltage winding. We
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used an angle grinder with cut off wheel while being careful not to cut the primar
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RETROTECHTACULAR:
We cut the secondar flush with the MOT laminate core. Both sides of the MOT should CIRCUIT BOARD THE
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be cut. Inspect the MOT for signs that the laminate has been welded. We have found
that welded MOTs can handle a little more abuse than their sealed onl counter parts. 39 Comments
If possible tr to keep the core insulation intact, where the secondar will be wound.
Though it is not a show stopper if the insulation becomes damaged. The insulation More from this categor
makes it a little easier to wrap the heav gauge secondar.
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After removal of the secondar we had something that resembles the above photo. If
the magnetic shunt material falls out be sure to replace it as it was before. The shunt
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keeps the core from transferring too much power to the secondar. A magnetic ballast
if ou will. The shunt acts to control the saturation of the core. A brute force project like
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this relies on such a shunt for proper operation.
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MQTT Infrared AirCon Control.
We were careful to ensure that the secondar coil was wrapped in a helical manner to
complete the secondar.
We mounted the MOT and 2×2 to the 2×6 base. This particular build used 12″ 2×6 with
two 7″ 2×2. These dimensions ma or ma not work depending on the phsical size of
our MOT. The onl critical part here is keeping the wire length as short as possible.
After the lower jaw was mounted, we also attached the corner braces. It was found that
a spare piece of 2×2 as a shim worked well to align the upper and lower jaw. After the
upper jaw was aligned we attached it to the corner braces with screws. This formed
the hinged portion of the jaw.
The picture above shows the MIG welder tip and the screw tpe copper lug. This is an
improvement from an earlier model we had built. Initiall, we used copper tubing with a
hole and a piece of 6AWG grounding wire serving as the welding electrode. The
grounding wire was held in place b a screw that threaded inside the copper tube
perpendicular to the electrode. It was ver crude, but it worked. This new method is
much more practical.
Here are the two electrodes read to be fixed to the lower and upper jaws. We double
checked the MIG electrodes to make sure the were tight. A loose connection will take
heat awa from the weld nugget.
Evenl aligning the welding electrodes, we were careful to keep the upper jaw in the
natural position where it was mounted. This maintained a flat contact area for the
welding electrodes. After we were sure that the electrodes had been properl aligned,
the jaws were marked. We then drilled a small hole. ince we mounted with the grain
of the 2×2 the holes helped to protect from splitting the 2×2.
With the electrodes mounted, we cut the wire to proper length. We never cut the exact
amount we need. We alwas cut more than we need. This rule of thumb should appl
to all electrical wiring. After all it is much easier to cut off excess than wrap a new
secondar.
We bent the wires in to the approximate positions in which the were to be assembled
and stripped the wire in preparation for the crimp tpe welding lugs. It is a good idea to
strip more than is needed here as well. impl cut off excess after sizing up the lugs
depth. Never crimp insulation with the lug. This will create a potential problem area
due to the loss of conduction.
Using a good non insulation crimp tool to secure the wire. We inspected the crimp and
gave it the tug test. impl tug on the wire if it is loose it will pull out. It if doesn’t pull
out then an adequate crimp suitable for high current has been made.
The crimped wires were attached to the welding electrodes with screws. We were
careful not to over tighten the screws. If a drwall screw had stripped out of the wood,
we would have had to use a larger wood screw in its place. After both welding
electrodes were fixed to the jaws, we aligned the electrodes. Using pliers we bent the
electrodes so that the contacted each other evenl. The electrodes should be fairl
close alread since the were aligned before drilling.
We opened the jaws and wired the primar to an electrical cord and then tested the
secondar. If the breaker trips, check for the following:
We observed proper electrical wiring practices. It is also stressed that this is a welder
and it should have a dedicated circuit as an other welder would have.
With the power phsicall disconnected we verified the welding electrode alignment
with the material we intended to work on. Before connecting the power and
performing an initial weld, we observed a few safet guidelines. This is a welder and
will produce ver high temperatures. Keep fingers awa from the welding electrodes.
Allow the material to cool prior to handling. Alwas wear ee protection. You ma be
interested in reading about spot welder parameters. There’s also the problem of
combustible materials…
This Compaq used ver thin aluminum to support the screen and connect the hinges.
The metal broke and destroed most of the lower plastic. We were able to make new
supports from 22AWG stainless steel sheet metal. All the welds were made using the
spot welder with a special power controller. The power controller will be covered in
another how-to.
100 0416
Jeeves sas:
June 23, 2009 at 9:19 am
Louis.M sas:
June 6, 2013 at 4:13 pm
NOTHING !
Naviathan sas:
June 23, 2009 at 9:45 am
Not bad, but I would be interested in a bit more umph. omething that could do
automotive grade sheet metal. An suggestions there?
tecNik sas:
June 23, 2009 at 10:11 am
@jeeves: Power controller circuitr? I don’t believe it has an. Just the primar to mains
AC via a circuit breaker.
digidev sas:
June 23, 2009 at 10:11 am
thw gu should have crimped his connectors the other wa around, he loses a tin bit
of voltage like this!
Rust sas:
June 23, 2009 at 10:13 am
spot welders and welders in general are eas demos of basic electrical phsics, and
therefore eas for man of us to make :)
Repl Report comment
Jeeves sas:
June 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
@tecnik
I refer ou to the last two lines of this article:
“All the welds were made using the spot welder with a special power controller. The
power controller will be covered in another how-to.”
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displaitem.taf?Itemnumber=45689
Alchemgu sas:
June 23, 2009 at 11:12 am
@spott: o what? I can bu m radio gear, or I can learn the ins and outs of what
makes it work and build it mself. Tr making something for ourself instead of buing
it.
kanamin sas:
June 23, 2009 at 11:21 am
Khordas sas:
June 23, 2009 at 11:44 am
I’ve made one like this, and the reall are just that simple, if a bit underpowered. This
reall doesn’t need much in the wa of control electronics, though a timed weld ccle
apparentl helps with making a consistent weld. Mine just had a light switch, which I
flipped while counting ‘one one thousand’. I’ve seen others that used a timer rela. A
lot of spot welders have something to control the pressure. That has a big effect on
weld qualit and consistenc as well. One wa to easil rig something like that up is to
hang weights off of the upper arm. Put a spring under the arm to raise it a bit, and
hang the weights from a long cord so the’re near the floor. Put a ‘see-saw’ pedal
arrangement under them so ou can step down to lift them up, and release to trap
our workpiece in position.
in other news, I like the use of the MIG welder nozzles as tips here. Next time I replace
mine, I think that’ll be a good shortcut compared to filing tips out of copper rod.
K.
googfan sas:
June 23, 2009 at 11:52 am
that will be m next project. just gotta wait for big garbage da.
fun fun with this artical most hacker shops should be damb near the point of having
close to a real “replacator” from star trec…lol
kabukicho2001 sas:
June 23, 2009 at 2:51 pm
nubie sas:
June 23, 2009 at 2:57 pm
spark sas:
June 23, 2009 at 2:58 pm
@teck monke:
tephen sas:
June 23, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Ver fun. I have several welders, but I reall want to build one of these, just for the
little things I need to tack together. I used to use a smaller spot welder for doing strain
gauges, it had a hand held unit for welding and a triggering switch in the hand unit.
Now I know what parts to “find” to build it.
bobasaurus sas:
June 23, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I’ve actuall built a spot welder (capacitive discharge) for shim stock, mainl for
making batter packs and building things at work. It uses a 1.5 Farad stiffening
capacitor (ordered off Amazon), a CR, and a foot switch with a few copper probes
attached. Works prett well, actuall.
static sas:
June 23, 2009 at 5:03 pm
imple home shop ( check out the Leja Manual) constructed spot welders are nothing
new. I believe operator experience and skill are the onl power controller circuitr
reall needed. That thought posted being mindful of the author’s note on power
controller circuitr. I’m not saing such circuit wouldn’t have it’s place
Alchemgu, relax dude, I doubt the harbor freight link was nothing more than a FYI
for anone interested. Respect full, simpl building an oscillator or an amplifier from
instructions, can teach one the underling principals wh the work. For example in
the project the Author tells ou to be mindful of how the transformer secondar is
wound, but that in itself doesn’t teach anone wh it’s important to be mindful. OK,
time to take m own advice to relax, and move on
digidev; our ees are better than mine as I cant tell if those connectors have a spit
barrel where the is correct wa to crimp them. An wa this tool depends on current
not the voltage at the tips. Though voltage plas a role in how eas it is to strike and
maintain an arc while arc welding
mk sas:
August 7, 2011 at 5:43 am
just sa “squirming coil”…..or alternator…..it’s what creates the electrical charge.
Michael L. sas:
June 23, 2009 at 6:55 pm
mk sas:
August 7, 2011 at 5:50 am
got an adobe software or earl centur california potter, or best of all a heat
press?
or $80 cash and a favor, and with that comes a recreation of ANYTHING ou
want done in photoshop/printing.
@the controller.
it adds the abilit to fine tune the power of the weld. it is best used on small jobs like
welding the materials inside of a tube. A bump switch would probabl work if the
extent of the control was simpl power. But i have some other plans for the controller
which include using a load cell to properl profile various welds. A ver rough version
of the controller can be found b looking at m older videos
Just so i don’t get stuck adding features, i’ll end it at that
mk sas:
August 7, 2011 at 6:13 am
bcoblentz sas:
June 23, 2009 at 8:44 pm
cientific American had an article in their defunct Amateur cientist column that
showed how to make one incorporating a rat trap
andre sas:
June 24, 2009 at 12:09 am
hmm… philpem did one on hackada a while back using 600,000 uF worth of
capacitors and a special CR to switch the current. I did experiment with using a 1F
audio capacitor but the words “overkill” come to mind, needs some control on the
power even at 10V.
what would be useful is a “tailbiter” circuit that discharges the capacitor into a resistive
load some millseconds after the start of the main current pulse, providing more
controllable results.
-A
Repl Report comment
phil sas:
June 24, 2009 at 7:12 am
dandin1 sas:
June 24, 2009 at 7:19 am
omeone should mirror that geocities link on rewinding MOTs before it dies.
tinhands sas:
June 24, 2009 at 7:51 am
Wood is a bad idea for this project, or an involving high voltage/current electricit.
Albeit poorl, wood DOE conduct electricit and the welder risks shock and/or fire.
chris sas:
June 24, 2009 at 7:57 am
In particular, I’m unclear how the windings differ from the coils here; I took them to be
snonmous in general. Doesn’t the mot step up voltage from mains to the kV range,
and so isn’t the secondar the high voltage side? The final bit is what’s giving me
troubles.
2. Also:
Aren’t ou just removing the coil on one side of the mot? What does “both sides”
mean here?
3. What in the image is the magnetic shunt material that we need to avoid losing? Is it
that beige material around the core inside the primar?
Could ou elaborate on this? I’m clear on standard practices but I’d like to make sure
on the details in this case?
5. afet question: Does a spot welder have radiative emissions that are dangerous to
the ees? In other words, is some sort of UV/IR protection necessar? You sa safet
glasses, but I wanted to double check that something like welding goggles weren’t
necessar.
6. Another safet question: If getting the mot out of an old microwave, what
precautions should be taken concerning the possible Berllium oxide on the
magnetron? For example, on the chance that the oven was tossed around after being
discarded, breaking the ceramic insulator. Is doing the job outside with a P100
respirator sufficient, insufficient, or overkill?
Thanks!
static,
I must thank ou for mentioning the Leja Manual, it’s a revalation for me. Years of
hearing about m grandfathers adventures with things electical and knowing that he
didn’t have the background to come up an of it. there it all is with step b step
instuctions. o m grandfather was just like me, he read too much. what he could have
done with the internet!
spark sas:
June 24, 2009 at 10:10 am
@chris
1) Microwave oven transformers actuall have three windings. The first, is the primar.
This is what takes juice from the wall and energizes the core. The next is the high-
voltage secondar. The produces a couple of thousand volts for the plate in the
magnetron. The third winding, consisting of no more than three or four turns of wire, is
the low-voltage secondar, and is used to light the filament in the magnetron. The
instructions could probabl be worded more clearl, like, “remove all the windings
except the primar.”
2) This just reflects the author’s technique for getting rid of the windings in the
secondar. If ou cut awa the exposed windings on both sides of the core, all that’s
left to do is to use a piece of dowel to punch out the wire strands still stacked in the
core. BTW, I have found that a sharp wood chisel and a mallet does a fine job of
cutting awa unwanted windings, and produces less debris than a hacksaw.
3) The magnetic shunts are little pieces of metal wedged into the the opening in the
core. Most times, when ou are hacking an MOT for a power suppl application, ou
want to remove these, because the degrade regulation. In this application, I think I’d
agree that the need to remain in place.
4) Do what ou can do to eliminate electrocution hazards. All the connections on the
120 VAC side should be well insulated. Power should be supplied with a heav 3-wire
cord, and the core of the transformer grounded. Also, since the primar windings are
largel exposed, the entire transformer should probabl be enclosed in a box with
grills and a cooling fan. A would also fuse the primar side.
5) I would be concerned about UV. I wouldn’t use a piece of equipment like this
without ee protection.
6) I’m not certain that berllium is used in these tubes an longer. Even if it is, the
entire oven would just about have to be crushed flat in order to damage the tube. I
think a greater hazard is the possibilit of a charge remaining on the high-voltage
capacitor.
chris sas:
June 24, 2009 at 10:26 am
@spark
That clears it up for me. Thanks for the ver helpful information!
Jerome sas:
June 24, 2009 at 7:46 pm
the bottom probe touch the – of m batter and the top probe touch the + and the
metal i am tring to “solder”?
so the energ goes right through m batter?
thanks
Rachel sas:
June 24, 2009 at 8:50 pm
The secondar wire could be formed into a loose coil first, then “screwed” onto the
transformer as an eas wa of winding it. Or mabe making a bundle out of thinner
wire for flexibilit, then insulating it with shrink tube.
Once the welder is complete, ou could make a second set of electrodes, and weld
them together for better performance. Would filling in the gaps with solder be a good
idea?
chris sas:
June 25, 2009 at 8:56 am
When ou got enough power to melt steel solder’s just a boiling hazard.
Frogz sas:
June 26, 2009 at 12:19 pm
the bottom probe touch the – of m batter and the top probe touch the + and the
metal i am tring to “solder”?
so the energ goes right through m batter?
….boom…
ou want to have 2 electrodes close together on the same side(like… ========) ou
would touch the dual(or quad?) electrode to the thin metal bus which is pressed into
the top of the batter, at the 2 thin points of contact it would weld
Doug sas:
Jul 1, 2009 at 3:25 pm
@ tinhands; Wood is just fine, safe for this project. In most home shops, the dut
ccle is most likel going to be low enough, the risk of fire is not existent. Unless one
pulls a stunt like the person in the UN and penetrates their skin with the secondar
leads in a manner that allows the current to cross their heart, the secondar voltage
here is safe. Millions of electri arc welders whould have never been constructed if
there was an electrocution hazard.
Frankl with 2 arc welders in the shop, I’d use 1 of them for the power suppl. Other
wise I’d tr a car batter first. With no arc to strike and maintain 12 V. ma be high
enough, more than enough current. For welding solder tabs to batter cells. This MOV
mod combined with the other persons electrode holder, would be the ticket.
Ris sas:
Jul 18, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Hi, I want to build a spot welder but am not sure how to build it for what I need it for. I
want to spot weld 16 gauge wires to make bird cages. Would like to have a jig setup
so I can place the wires 1/2″ apart with 4 cross bars here is a picture of it.
http://www.kentcages.com/howCageNorwichCanar.htm
An help would be great.
I love this project both for the simplicit and for the fact that it makes NO MENTION of
the Bus Pirate! eriousl though, It made me want to build one even though I have no
immediate use for a spot welder. omeda this link will be like gold…
shedmen sas:
eptember 26, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I’m making one of these and enclosed the transformer in a box i made from the
microwave’s sheetmetal. Will enclosing the transformer in a steel box affect the
magnetic field either strengthening or weakening it?
Hi I need a spot welder to make model ships I have Done the thing as far as I can but
useing 240v i got 1.5v out of the end of the 4 gage wire I don’t know what amperage I
am gettig as I don’t have the equipment to read it but so far it does not work? Could
this be bad connection( and I will mke another set of jaws)?or does the low voltage
have this effect?
Mike sas:
December 19, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Nicel done! Your use of existing welding parts mixed with existing electrical parts
show quite alot of innovation. I once use a spectacular engraver using ver low
voltage and high current. It had a copper pointed hand tool and could produce
beautiful script on the most hardend tools. It was ver controlable. Much better than
an mechanical engraver.
A.K.VADIVEL sas:
Januar 26, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Respected ir,
I am searching for home made spot welding circuit and hand held welding fixture for
small and precision spot welding of 0.5mm & 3mm length of metal wire on 0.5mm
thickness of metallic sheet. Kindl help me b giving technical in-formations to enable
me for self assemble.
Thanking ou.
china sas:
Februar 1, 2010 at 5:36 am
Evening.
I have a 120v-24v transformer rated at 10A. It has dual primaries. I assume this is for
adaptation to a 220V line voltage. I was originall going to use this to make an
induction heater, but I was wondering if this could be used for one of these spot
welders instead? I agree that the voltage and current are a little off, but I am using it
for joining steel wire rings to make solid chain links. The largest grade wire I’ll be
using is 16 or 14. Is this enough or would I do better just to find an MOT?
Thanks for our help.
hl1wou sas:
Februar 10, 2010 at 1:58 am
I will tra it !
Edtronic sas:
April 15, 2010 at 5:44 am
NERY sas:
April 28, 2010 at 9:37 am
Hi, Im a brazilian student of electrical engineering, and sorr for m bad english.
Im tring to make a welder like this, I follow all steps, m the primar circuit has no
resistence and close-circuit and m ‘disjuntor’ opened here. What ou think? Mabe
when I cut the secondar, some swarf ‘iron filings’ into the primar.
Can ou helo me?
AGGGILLI sas:
Ma 4, 2010 at 5:21 am
Could ou build two of these transformers hooking up the primars in parallel and
running the secondar winding in series to create enough current to spot weld bod
panels?
What I don’t understand in this circuit, is that the new winding is used as secondar.
As it has less windings than the primar, wouldn’t this step the voltage *up*? Or does it
step down because the wire thickness gives more inductance?
And, what voltage output does this give?
–Nathan
If primar has more turns than secondar, and ou put voltage in primar, then it steps
voltage down, b the ratio of turns, and it steps up available current b the same ratio.
1) How can one tell b looking at the mot, which is primar and which is secondar?
Will secondar have more turns with a smaller wire gauge?
Also, what size breaker are we looking at? Could I, perchance, hook this thing up in
m garage to a standard 120v outlet after unplugging m drill batter charger, or is it
more advanced?
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