How to make a spotter from a welding machine with your own hands?

The word of the spotter came to us from English. "Spot" means "target indicator". This unit belongs to a variety of welding machines. It is designed for spot welding and operates on the basis of current resistance. Operation of the device is based on the allocation of a certain amount of heat energy in the area of contact with the material to be welded while supplying electricity. You can make a spotter from the welding machine with your own hands.

The aggregates are subdivided into two types: transformer and inventory.

Purpose of the device

Spotter is intended for body works of cars, when it is impossible to level the surface of a part from the inside. By means of this tool, it is possible to perform local heating of the metal with small damage to the body part. The welding process itself is as follows: the fastener to which the spotter is connected is welded to the damaged metal site and, by means of auxiliary devices or manually, the dent is pulled out. The tool for repairing the body with its own hands makes it possible to repair the car qualitatively and quickly without painting the area that has undergone deformation.

You can make a spotter from the welding machine with your own hands. When operating it is necessary to keep the operation of each part under control, since the probability of wire rupture and overheating of the unit is high.

What does the device consist of?

The components of the unit are:

• box;
• cable;
• A pistol (a stadder);
• Sharp rod (electrode).

The box contains the entire system of the welding machine.

How to use the device?

To maximize the clear and rapid performance of car bodywork, one should adhere to a certain order and technology of the process, and also take into account some of the nuances:

• The surface that has undergone deformation is initially cleaned from any type of coating (varnish, paint, rust). This work is very important, because the result of the whole process depends on the quality level of the metal compound.
• A ground contact is attached to the surface to be adjusted.
• A fastener is welded to the cleaned surface of the damaged area, through which the spotter will be connected.
• Further, the device is grasped by the gun, after which the dent is pulled out. To level the surface, resort to the use of a hammer, hydraulic cylinders, slipways and other tools. Taking into account the indicator of the thickness of the metal, it is necessary to determine by what means the optimal way to straighten the machine, so as not to damage the body. For example, the reverse hammer is not used with aluminum, and the galvanized body is not capable of any spotter.
• At the end of the body alignment, 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 a welding gun. For continuous operation, a factory-made device is used. The tool can be made with your own hands on the basis of a gun from the construction adhesive, or you can resort to using parts from semi-automatic welding. From the getinax or textolite two identical parts are cut out with an index of thickness of 12-14 mm. In one of them, a bracket is installed, which serves as the attachment of an electrode for welding. If desired, a lamp is installed and the button "Backlight" and the switch "Impulse".

The bracket for fixing the electrode can be made of copper having a rectangular or square cross section. As a welding electrode, use a copper rod with a thickness of 8-10 mm. The design of the gun should provide for the possibility of replacing the electrode without disassembly. To connect the gun to the device, use a combination of a welding cable with the required cross-sectional index and a five-wire control cable with a cross-section of 0.75-1.0 mm2. The latter is connected in accordance with the scheme: three wires go to the switch "Impulse", and two - to the light bulb and switch. The welding cable is carefully cleaned and sealed in the hole intended for this purpose in the bracket.

How to make a spotter yourself?

Many people ask themselves how to make a spotter from a welding machine. For this, certain skills and understanding of the principles of the operation of technology are required. Spotter from the welding machine with their own hands, the drawings of which are presented in this article, can be made in the event that, If you are familiar with the design of the welding machine. Missing parts for the future unit can be purchased. Spotter from the welding machine with their own hands is mainly made from improvised parts.

Buying a factory device is not always advisable. The cost of a quality unit is quite high. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the configuration of the device and its drawings, and also to understand how to make a quality spotter from the welding machine in the shortest time with your own hands.

Device from the inverter apparatus

Many people are wondering how to make a spotter from a welding machine with their own hands? It should be noted that the unit based on the inverter among the homemade meets most often, although there are many other schemes.

Spotter from an inverter welding machine is easy to make by hand. It contains two main components: a welding inverter and a thyristor relay.

To assemble the device you will need:

• Thyristor with a power rating of 200 volts;
• A transformer for a drop of 122 volts to control the relay with a button;
• Relay with a power of 30 Amps;
• Bridge on diodes;
• Contact group of 220 volts;
• Button for control.

The transformer is connected via a diode bridge to which the thyristor of the electrical 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. For this purpose, a rubber mat is placed under the feet and adheres to standard safety precautions.

Basic stages of assembly

Many ask the question, how to make a spotter from the welding machine "Nordic". This device is ideal for a self-made unit. It is important to be able to change its configuration in such a way that the spotter from the DC welding machine at the output feeds from 1500 amperes.

The build process consists of the following:

• The secondary layer is removed from the device. Often there are two.
• Then it should be established how many turns are required for 1 V. For this purpose, the primary winding is wrapped with copper wire, and then the volt is measured. The resulting figure is divided by the number of turns of the wire. The result will be an indicator of the required number of turns per volt.
• From the removed secondary layer it is necessary to make a tire. It is desirable that the cross-sectional index is not less than 160 mm², and the voltage is equal to 6 V.
• If the cross-section is much smaller, then it is possible to divide the tire into several parts, which are fastened with a cloth insulating tape. The number of pieces depends on the original indicator. For example, with an indicator of 40 mm², the tire is cut into four parts.
• It will take two tires with a winding made of insulating tape or an adhesive tape for painting work. Isolation is carried out in series. First, a layer of insulating tape, then - an adhesive tape, and an insulation tape is wound on top again. You can put rivets on open edges.
• The obtained tires are wound on a transformer. This process is not easy and requires certain skills. A hammer and one helper are required. 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 it is possible to carry out the experiment by connecting the wires to the primary winding.

Transformer manufacturing

The manufacture of such a device, as a spotter from a welding machine for straightening with your own hands, involves the assembly of a transformer. This process is considered the most difficult.

Winding requires a lot of time, but this stage is mandatory. The winding can be made on the w-shaped or annular iron. The wire for the secondary winding should be made of copper or aluminum. Isolation between the coils must be made qualitative on the basis of the varnished cloth or transformer paper in several layers (preferably five or six). For greater reliability, the paper is impregnated with paraffin.

Making a welding gun

The gun for welding can be made from a semi-automatic machine. But it requires some additions to attach the instrument to the device for straightening. Inside the semi-automatic the axle is fixed from brass (M10). For the manufacture of ticks a conventional 20 × 20 mm pipe is suitable.

What power cable to use?

The power wire that connects the transformer and the gun must have a cross section that is identical or larger than the section of the tire. 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 should be a commuting wire with thermal insulation. With each heating, this layer will be prone to contraction.

Nuances in the design of the spotter

The biggest difficulty in adapting a welding transformer is to increase the output current to 1500 amperes. For this purpose, experiment with a tire installed in place of the secondary winding. Experience shows that the cross section should be at least 160 mm², and the voltage in the bus should be equal to 6 V.

The most important point when assembling a transformer is to observe the correct insulation of the network windings. Incorrect overlap may lead to undesirable consequences.