Making my own (Kapton) heater elements

I want to make my own Kapton heater elements from NiCr foil ( Nichrome ) sandwiched in Kapton tape. I read, the NiCr foil is usually etched into the desired shape. But I want to know if there are other ways to produce low numbers of elements?
Could it be lasered? Which laser would do?
You can sure cut it with scissors, but is it repeatable?

Can I solder wires to the foil or do I have to weld or crimp it?

Does anyone have a source for various NiCr foils? I only found them on alibaba with minimum order of 1-50kg.

BTW: These elements wouldn't get very hot, what foil other than Kapton would you recommend?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2018 02:34AM by o_lampe.

cutting metal with a laser (even thin metal) requires a high powered laser... a lot of the beam will be reflected... so a enclosure is required for eye safety. Perhaps painting it black and cutting then removing the paint would help...

have you thought about a cheap paper cutting machine? uses a blade.. should be able to cut it...

... I'm "cutting" metal foils with a 20Watt fiberlaser - actually brass sheets with 0,4mm thickness ... but did this too with 0,5mm steel sheets.

But you can use NiCr-wires too ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

I'll start with NiCr wire, but I'm not sure, how evenly it would spread the heat.
I thought of using Polyester foil ( UL approved upto 130°C ), but I'm afraid of hotspots then...

Instead of cutting, it would be possible to make long strips of NiCr foil and fold it in shape. A bit fiddly, but it's a start.

Wire will definitively be the easiest to use, constant diam and no kink then less likely to have hot spot, even crimp (NO SOLDER). What is the intended working T° ? What power, nominal V, purpose, environment ?

Look for old toasters (although the new chinese ones are again made with found wire or even flat strips)

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"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

Witht he niCr foil, you need to have an even width, or you will get hot spots. The width of the foil determines the resistance, therefore the dissipated wattage at any given point. You need to be REALLY accurate, unless you're just going to use pre-cut strips.

With wire, you will be able to get a consistent dissipated wattage over the length of the wire, to within the wire's tolerance. Then it's all up to having good thermal connection to your heated object.

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MBot3D Printer
MakerBot clone Kit from Amazon
Added heated bed.

Leadscrew self-built printer (in progress)
Duet Wifi, Precision Piezo parts

... with the first heated bed development 13 years ago we tested different methodes - one of them was etching meander structures onto PCB plates -- this too gives precise and uniform traces ...

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Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]