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Hotwire Controller

An AVR-based power supply for cutting foam.

See the newest revision of the project here!

The circuit

I designed the circuit using Autodesk Eagle and had the PCB manufactured by AllPCB in China. The circuit is described in detail in hardware.md. The current hardware revision is v1.1, which improved on v1.0's power stage and LCD functionality. Below is an image of the current v1.1 hardware without the LCD installed. The circuit.

I also machined an enclosure to house the circuit. The image below is the completed product. Completed product.

Results

I designed this tool to help me build a large model airplane. Here's part of the fuselage. The pink foam was cut using my hotwire controller. The complex shapes were achieved by laser-cut wood stencils.

A partially cut cross-section of the fuselage. Note the visible wire dangling from the center and the smooth cuts achieved by the hotwire. A partially cut cross-section of the fuselage.

A fully cut cross-section of the fuselage. This single piece is very light and stiff, which will make the perfect core for a fiberglass composite outer shell. A fully cut cross-section of the fuselage

A partially assembled fuselage. The individual slices of the fuselage are aligned using four aluminum rods, which will be removed after the slices are bonded together. A partially assembled fuselage

A slice of the main wing's airfoil. A wing slice.

The individual foam slices can be seen in the incomplete CAD screenshots below:

About

The firmware for an AVR-powered hotwire cutter.

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