Best Lithium Ion Battery Tab Spot Welder "NO Super Capacitor" DIY

Intro: Best Lithium Ion Battery Tab Spot Welder "NO Super Capacitor" DIY

Hi!

This instructable is about making a spot welder that makes better battery tab welds without spending too much money on super capacitors cause i have found that the super capacitor spot welds are not as great as the method that i am teaching you now.

•This method is simpler.

•it's more reliable.

•the capacitors used here charge faster.

•here the spot welding operation is performed within safe voltage range of 12 to 14 volts.

Just follow the step by step procedure or go through the video :)

" Youtube channel link"

STEP 1: Capacitor Bank:

You will need a minimum of 2 such capacitors to be connected in parallel.

Here I have used 3 identical 110,000 micro Farad capacitor so the total is 330,000 micro Farad capacitance so the minimum capacitors you will use will be 2 and the maximum will be around 4 with the voltage range of 14 and above.

"youtube channel link"

STEP 2: Connecting the Capacitors Together:

•Stick the capacitors to each other with the silicon gun and rubber bands as shown in the picture.

•Use 2 thick wires.Connect the first wire to the positive of all the capacitors and then take the other wire and connect it to all the negative terminals of the capacitor."youtube channel link"

STEP 3: Battery / 12V Bike Bulb / Nickel Strip / Copper Conductors:

• Use any charged & working 12V battery.I have used a 12V 7Ah UPS battery.
• use a 12 volt motor bike bulb.
• get the lithium ion battery to which you want to do spot welding.
• get the Nickel alloy strips to weld the battery tabs.
• get 2 thick copper conductors and you can get these conductors from the COPPER shaded ring induction motor.

STEP 4: Connections:

There should be 4 wires coming out of the capacitor Bank.One set of positive and negative will be connected to the battery with a series 12V bulb connected to it as shown.

Copper rods will be connected to the other two wires for doing spot welding to the batteries

The series bulb acts as a resistor here thereby limiting the current flowing from the battery to the capacitors and to the copper rods because when the spot welding occurs, then there is a short circuit and that short circuit creates a real high current that will discharge the battery faster ,depreciate its overall life and also destroy the Nickel alloy strip.

The bulb also acts as an indicator that the spot welding has been completed."youtube channel link"

STEP 5: Protection:

Wear eye protection glasses and gloves as there will be Sparks :)

"youtube channel link"

STEP 6: Spot Welding:

Cut a small portion of the nickel alloy strip and keep it on the battery terminal (the battery to which you are going to do spot welding). Touch the first copper rod to the battery without touching the nickel and the second to the nickel alloy strip.This will create a short circuit and the hot spot will be b/w the battery and the strip and thus melting them and sticking them together. :)

"youtube channel link"

STEP 7: Spot Welding Completes:

So that was all guys.Thank you for your time :)

"youtube channel link"

Comments

[Goose]

I ready to make a spot welder. Found a guy who closed down his shop for motor repairs.
I picked up about 50+ different capacitors. All sizes and shapes, but most of them show around 25uf to 30uf with some as low as 10uf and some as high as 60uf.
Voltage is between 110 to 420v. Would they work? another question is size. Do they need to be same size in a set or it don't matter. As long as uf and voltage as same.
I know nothing about capacitors so don't want to blow anything up.
Thanks in advance.

[leephoto91]

Chances are you wouldn't blow something up, you'd end up killing yourself on accident. Capacitors are like batteries that discharge everything they've got all at once. The volt number is mthe maximum voltage you can feed it before it fails and pops, the microfarad number is like its capacity, or how much it can store in it. The reason you want a lower volt with high farad is because its safer to work with. I assure you, a 250v 1100ųf capacitor fully charged will kill you, if your still alive after, you'll wish it finished you off cause you'll be brain dead high voltage capacitors are no joking matter and should be treated with respect, you should really read up more on capacitors and safety precautions when dealing with electronics because there alot of shirt u just don't wana go sticking your hands all over until you know is safely discharged and even then.... its a loaded gun man be careful and know what your messing with

[leephoto91]

Also read up on wiring in a series vs parallel, and its a safer bet to have them all the same. Keep it simple stupid. Otherwise you'll almost certainly end up with some popped capacitors.. keep all your fingers and eyes man, and wear some personal protection while your at it.

[panja5555]

Can I use soldering iron copper bits as electrodes.?

[tonyleeusa]

Can I use a Radio Shack 12V DC regulated power supply as power source instead of 12V 7Amp battery? I also have a non-regulated 12V DC power supply. Which one works better?

[Fidoo001]

You can use both but I think using regulated power supply is a bit wasting. And it isn't 7 Amp but 7 Ah (so it's only about battery life) and I dont know how much current does it need. But more maximum current from power supply is better.

[countrywill]

Hi could I use 22,000uf 35v and how many would I need to make this welder?

Alf

[kurshiukas]

You could, but you would need arround 10 - 15 in parrallel. or you could use 30 of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-quality-5-pcs-lot-25V-10000UF-18X35mm-10000UF-25V-Electrolytic-capacitance-ic/32830343644.html?spm=2114.search0104.8.88.PgTUE0

[countrywill]

Hi thank you for your reply. I have got 2
capacitors each are 2.7v 500F these are super capacitors and are marked Green-cap EDLC(DB) could I use
these and can you advise? How I could charge them and wire them? and what bulb
would I need or do I need a bulb?

Thanks

Alf

[103]

yes they will work to

[countrywill]

ok thanks
Alf

[giurti]

I look and compare it with this your other video:

Which is differences?

Which is better?

Which is cheapest?

[harvsch]

The peak power delivered by your method will be influenced by the gauge and length of the wires connecting the capacitors to the copper rods. Shorter or thicker wires will produce a higher peak power and thinner or longer wires will produce a lower peak power. The peak power has to be enough to melt the weld area without blasting away too much metal.

Anybody making a setup like this would do well to copy faithfully. Adjustments can be made after you have evaluated the performance of the rig.

[taroblaro]

Could you use a 12 volt power supply (from a laptop) instead of a battery? How many amps would it need to supply?

[omars2]

yes you can... amps is not an issue.It will work with a 0.5A power supply as well as 10A power supply.The only thing thats effected is charging time of capacitors :)

[harvsch]

Charging large capacitors is difficult for a power supply. At the beginning of charge when the cap is not charged the power supply sees a short circuit. At the end of charge the supply sees an open circuit.

Most switch mode supplies don't like either conditions. The protect themselves by shutting down in the case of a short circuit. They don't regulate when they see an open circuit and may put out an unexpectedly high output Voltage. You might be able to get it to work by having a series current limiting circuit (resistor) and a minimum load resistor.

[branke]

Hello there,

Good and simple, will do me.

What is the wattage of the bulb?

Thanks.

[ElectroFrank]

The value you give: "1,10,000 micro Farad capacitor" is completely meaningless.

Please would you check and correct this value ? Many thanks.

[omars2]

Its correct.It says that each of the 3 capacitors have a value of 1,10,000uf making a total of 3,30,000uf.I don't see any mistake.

[DraakUSA]

The mistake is the extra comma. The value is 110,000uF (0.11F). The extra comma makes people think it's 1.1F, which is incorrect.