Another 'wire securing' technique

Just a heads up... you noted 3 options on the wiki page; I thought of another that you may find viable; using mechanical means and overhangs to secure the thread -- I added it to the discussion page on the wiki.

My first thought was to snap the wire in, but it could also secure it by zig zagging it thru alternating small printed overhangs to allow it to be secure enough to print another layer on top of it to secure it more firmly.

Hey BeagleFury,

(I replied on the discussion page). You're right about both methods, and we should really test this, as it could simplify things immensely if it works. I especially like the zig-zagging! However, I expect that for narrow wires, this would take more precision than we currently can manage... but we'll try it out.

If the heater doesn't work, this is a good fall-back plan.

Speaking of alternative methods, I believe that one of the ways wires inside a, IC package are connected from pins to silicon is to press the wire against the pad and then vibrate it at ultrasonic speeds. The rubbing motion then melts and fuses the wire to the pad. This is for extremely thin wires, so I am not sure how well it will scale up to wire sizes safely used by reprap machines, but it would be interesting to try. I think the vibrating to melting point may also be used to cut the wire before moving on to the next pad to chip segment.

Mike

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Yes; this technique is called wirebonding. I've actually done it myself, while working at a local tech company. But what I found was that it's a very tricky process; the pressing force, vibration power, etc, must be finely controlled. Also it depends a lot on the pad and wire composition. I'm not sure it's viable for reprap, at least presently. But I could be wrong...

What about using a very short high current pulse to "fuse" the wire between two contacts?
this could wprk.

Also I just thought about using conductive thread plated with copper, might also work.

-A

"Bother!" said Pooh, as he saw "X209 class solar flare" on Spaceweather.com ....

Alternate idea *2, use resonance to make the wire move at high speeds.
Drive the wire from a magnetostrictive material such as galfenol, so at the wire end (determined by length and wire material) the flexing is very high.
Ought to work, at least in theory.

Maybe a combination of induction heating and ultrasonics?

-A

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What about using a very short high current pulse to "fuse" the wire between two contacts?

That's called "resistance welding".

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use resonance to make the wire move at high speeds.

That's called "ultrasonic welding".

Both are matured technologies, so you might want to look up your favourite technical encyclopedia. :-)

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