JP spot welder

I think I brought this up early in the thread. But you will learn! You will also learn that when welding soemthing thicker than 0,15 you will need to have less pressure with the right hand compared to the left. I would say it will take a lot of welds before you know how to handle it like a pro.
 
Well the thing is, yeah, weaker pressure gives stronger welds, and that's fine. But normally I don't recommend it officially because if you have too weak pressure or bad contact, you will get small explosions, nothing too scary though.

C cell could also have thicker steel.

So, you can use weaker pressure, but please be careful :)
 
Here is my completed DIY welder. Was fairly straight forward to build. Was worth the experience of building it to better understand circuit boards, will help build confidence.

I had to buy a anti static mat and wrist strap.







 
Hi Riba,
What's the availability of a DIY kit shipped to Canada? Do you have any in stock? Can you please add me to the list.

Thanks,

Greg
 
Greetings all!

Wondering if someone has a recommendation as to what Lipo might work with the JP Welder.
I purchased one last week and it should be delivered any day now. In the meantime, I have been doing a lot or reading trying to find a power source other than lead-acid automotive batteries.
Believe me, I would buy the best one if weight wasn't an issue but I busted my back a few years ago and it never healed completely: if I lift something heavy, I pay in pain the next day or two. Not a good thing :cry:

Anyways, I want to be able to use 0.3mm nickel strips (and possibly copper) and therefore, want to have a setup on the high-end of the range allowed by the welder: 1100 amps give or take a few.
After researching for a while, thought this unit might work and I purchased it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-w_BX1zk4
Got the GB40 because at 1000 amp was close to the limit recommended for the welder. Next size up (2000 amp) could have blown mosfets for the fun of it.

Problem is, after charging the unit, it does not delivery any juice unless it is connected to a battery having at least a few volts left. I know this is done to prevent users connecting the unit with the polarity reversed and I opened the machine in hopes of bypassing (or removing) the circuitry responsible for this safety feature but was unable to do so: this thing is more complex than I am capable of tinkering with and that was that.

So, I am looking for the Lipo setup (or any other kind of light-weight power source) that can run the JP welder close to its upper-limit. Cost is not an issue --as long as it is not a brand new Tesla Module-- but weight is.

Are there really any choices out there?
Could this pack (or two of them in P) do the trick?
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=49509

Any suggestion is much appreciated!
 
That's great news!
If it worked for Allex I feel confident it will work for me.
Since we have the same welder/controller the only other major variable that I might need to tweak are the cables/electrodes.
I played quite a bit with different setups while trying to get my under-powered Chinese 788+ to do a decent weld.
Still have different copper alloys and cables and I am sure it won't be as difficult to get it to work knowing that the battery was successfully used with the welder.

Will definitely go the 3S route; I mentioned the 2S because there was an older post indicating that a 2S was recommended.
In fact, Unless I hear otherwise, this is the one I plan on getting:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26453__Turnigy_nano_tech_1500mah_3S_35_70C_Lipo_Pack.html

Would it be safe to get a pack with more Ah? They are so inexpensive! :D

Thanks riba2233 and Allex!!!
 
What is the maximum amp limit you can use for the JP welder? Can you safely go over 1100?

How do you determine how many amps a lipo pack will add?

I have some of these 3S 20C lipo packs
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9184__Turnigy_5000mAh_3S_20C_Lipo_Pack.html

How many amps will each of these packs add to my JP welder?

Here are the specs

Minimum Capacity: 5000mAh
Configuration: 3S1P / 11.1v / 3Cell
Constant Discharge: 20C
Peak Discharge (10sec): 30C
 
Unfortunately I can't know that for sure, if Allex is using old nanos in 3S 15 Ah (they are something like 50-60 C if I'm not mistaken) then I guess at least 30 Ah of those 20 C could be ok, but I can't make any hard recommendations. Welder works with around 2000 A from 2x45 Ah car batteries, but they are less then 800 CCA declared. I guess only valid method is to test, start with 20 Ah and add 5 Ah at the time until you have satisfactory welds with 0.3 mm nickel, that's what I would do :)
 
Thanks riba, Is there anything wrong with putting the lipo packs in parallel with my car battery? I may only add a couple of packs as needed when I weld with the .3 nickel.
 
Allex said:
I had 3s4p(20Ah) 35-60C nano-techs good for 0,2mm
Before that I tried with 3s13p(65Ah) and the FETs blew, they delivered to much current.
Click to expand...

My welder is on the way and as soon as I'll have it ready I'll try it with 3S lipos.
I have 2 packs of 3S 5300 in good working conditions that I will try in parallel (3S 10.6Ah) for first and then in the case I'll need more amps I'll try some old Zippy 5000 40C cells that I'm going to get from some old 5S packs that I have used on my mini e-scooter for many years. I will reconfigure these old cells in 3S4P or 3S5P.
This is what I have finished building recently for my RC offshore; is a 5S2P lipo pack made with Turnigy 5Ah 40C cells from Hobbiking and I copied the idea of jonescg on this thread: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38252

20160113_121725.jpg

20160114_151044.jpg

20160114_231617.jpg
 
Allex said:
How do you manage to solder those aluminium tabs on lipos?
Click to expand...

The tabs on these lipos I think are made of copper covered with something like nickel. In the past I've managed to solder on the tabs adding some flux but this time I've tried to scuff the tabs with dremel sandpaper sleeves and it was super easy to solder on the scuffed tabs with exposed copper.
20160114_140852.jpg
 
Allex said:
How do you manage to solder those aluminium tabs on lipos?
Click to expand...

Allex, I can solder to those aluminum tabs by using special aluminum flux and special solder. If you are lucky the lipos aluminum will have been soldered already, but if not and they are crimped together you will need the aluminum flux. I believe the solder is optional but better to use over regular solder.

I researched and bought these if anyone is interested. They do work as I soldered those aluminum tabs.


SUPERIOR NO.1260 Aluminum Soldering Flux Gel
Superior No.1260 is excellent for soldering LiPoly Cells or
Other cells with Aluminum tabs. Don’t accept a substitute!
http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/page4.html



91% Tin 9% Zinc
Solder for Aluminum
http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/page6.html
 
JP,
My spot welder showed up today! Already did a few test welds...worked awesome. I'm very rarely impressed with anything I buy now a days, but your product is the exception!
Thank-you
 
It seems that the best stuff for electric vehicle use comes along from something already in use for something else. 18650 battery cells were already being massed produced for use in laptops and flashlights so why not use them for e-bikes and Tesla cars?

Well, it seems that the foil connectors I showed earlier are currently in widespread use for connecting wires to under-floor foil heating systems.
View attachment 1

Clipboard03.jpg


Here is an illustrative video I found on Youtube showing how these connectors are used to make the wire to foil connections

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEUIadkis4o


I even found a cheap source (8 bucks!) for the crimp tool here:

Clipboard01.jpg

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LS-02-Hand-crimping-pliers-for-heating-film-non-insulated-terminals-crimping-pliers-pipe-crimping-tools/32414370416.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.10.swiRdJ&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_2,searchweb201644_2_10001_10002_10005_301_10006_10003_10004_62,searchweb201560_5,searchweb1451318400_6149,searchweb1451318411_6448

I haven't tried this stuff, but I already have a few 18650 cells to test with and I have the spot welder, nickel strips, crimp connectors and crimp tool all on order and I'll show you all my progress. I like this crimp connection much better than soldering wires to the pack.
 
@Bones007
Are you suggesting an alternative method of making 18650 packs? Using crimp tool and underfloor heating strips?
Do you know how much current those heat films can take? To the naked eye that film seems kind of flimsy and I can picture it will heat up due to high current if used in a large 18650 pack. What do you think? Worry for nothing?
 
I don't think he is suggesting at all to use the foil heating element that goes in a floor. That would be a very bad idea for use in a battery pack unless you live in a very cold climate. :shock: He is recommending crimping that to the zinc strip you weld to the battery vs soldering your wiring to it. Although it is a pain in the ass and subject to melting the protective plastic and shorting a battery, it isn't too bad once you get the hang of it. I would like to see how you plan to package that on a bike without the sharp edges becoming a danger to the battery, bones007.
 
Crimping would work, but soldering to nickel strip is very easy. You can also solder the wire on the nickel strip before welding the tabs to the battery.

If it wasn't so easy to solder to nickel, like if the tabs were aluminum, then something like this would come in handy.
 
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