kWeld - "Next level" DIY battery spot welder

[tatus1969]

Sorry if this is not the right thread to post this.  I couldn't a find a kweld forum, or a general spot welding forum...

I have kweld (with super caps) and it's been great so far for batteries.

Now, I need to "stick" wires to some hardened steel rods. These are short rods, 3mm diameter, 8mm long.  I need to attach the wire to the end, at 90 degrees to the rod.  The wires are used detect when a mating part is in contact, so minimal current. (kinematic coupling)

So a few questions -
Will spot welding copper wire to steel work?  Is copper too low resistance, or should I try a different material? 

Can I weld a thin wire to a larger rod?  Will the heat dissipate through the large rod without welding?

Should I be placing both probes next to each other when trying to make the weld, or can I place one probe on each end of the rod.  The standard probes are quite large to place both on the end of a 3mm rod.  I may need to make smaller ones.

I can't say much about that, other than that welding copper wires to steel rods is possible in general. A customer of mine had sent me this picture, quite a while ago:

https://www.keenlab.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/kWeld-example-strand.jpg

[branadic]

It should be possible, but you would need a tungston electrode at least for the copper wire.

-branadic-

[p.larner]

years ago at the welding institute to sit exams there was a big stainless steel cylinder about 1m dia and 1.5m tall it had a wall thickness of about 4 inches,in its top was a copper plug welded into it,it was electron beam welded,it was a part of a flask for vitrified nuke waste.

[branadic]

For quite some time I was looking for a proper enclosure for the welder and the caps board. I recently found Case for kWeld and kCap spotwelded with 120mm fan and thought it looks rather nice, compared to many other solutions. So I gave it a print and some hammer finish paint, which is currently curing. In case you are searching too, I can recommend that solution.

Edit: Image added.

-branadic-

[Jesserosco]

Any updates to the HSTNS-PD05? I just ordered the ksupply and kcap and have this power supply. The pin out looks exactly like the HSTNS-PR01.

[Unity]

I just got my Kweld in the mail and I'm planning on making a 3D printed housing to hold the recommended Turnigy Graphene Panther 5000mAh 3S 75C battery. I'm thinking of also mounting a fan, does anyone have any recommendations for powering the fan? I have spare 120mm and 140mm 12v Noctual PPC fans, along with NA-FC1 fan controllers.

[lisafig]

The Kweld's high price and closed-source design explain why it hasn't gained traction in the DIY community—and likely never will. Even in Europe, outside of Germany, you're looking at €237 for a kit that you still need to assemble yourself. On top of that, you need to purchase a separate case and power supply, and there doesn't appear to be any special warranty coverage. The fact that pricing has remained stagnant for years suggests limited capacity for improvement or cost reduction.

I wanted to highlight a more promising DIY option that Luca (https://www.youtube.com/@Luca_Techy) has been developing. He's actively working to improve several affordable Chinese spot welders, including the purple KEKK K100. What's particularly encouraging is that Chinese manufacturers are actually listening to his feedback and implementing his suggestions.

This kind of collaborative approach—where knowledgeable individuals share their expertise to democratize technology—is exactly what the DIY community needs and deserves our support.

[BradC]

The Kweld's high price and closed-source design explain why it hasn't gained traction in the DIY community—and likely never will.

<snip>

This kind of collaborative approach—where knowledgeable individuals share their expertise to democratize technology—is exactly what the DIY community needs and deserves our support.

So start another thread rather than shitting in the Kweld thread because you don't like the business practice.

[No_Shorty]

The Kweld's high price and closed-source design explain why it hasn't gained traction in the DIY community—and likely never will. Even in Europe, outside of Germany, you're looking at €237 for a kit that you still need to assemble yourself. On top of that, you need to purchase a separate case and power supply, and there doesn't appear to be any special warranty coverage. The fact that pricing has remained stagnant for years suggests limited capacity for improvement or cost reduction.

I wanted to highlight a more promising DIY option that Luca (https://www.youtube.com/@Luca_Techy) has been developing. He's actively working to improve several affordable Chinese spot welders, including the purple KEKK K100. What's particularly encouraging is that Chinese manufacturers are actually listening to his feedback and implementing his suggestions.

This kind of collaborative approach—where knowledgeable individuals share their expertise to democratize technology—is exactly what the DIY community needs and deserves our support.

IDK what world you live in but the KWeld is one of the most popular spot welders in the self-building community. When it came out it was leagues ahead of the Chinese stuff which was unreliable and a lot of guesswork as to their capabilities. That has changed over the years and there are now solid options from China for a lower price. Plenty of folks have been happy to pay a bit extra for the knowledge they are getting high quality components with a strong community of makers behind the specific model, the price is not a lot for someone building a big pack, and as the maker of the KWeld has said - the kit' form is partly a requirement because he cannot possibly provide the certifications a spot-welder produced as a product would require in a EU country.

I'm sure you would be welcome to provide links to others community work, but acting like hacking a poor chinese product to work better is somehow a superior approach to a product that is known to work well and be of high quality is truly bizarre.

[No_Shorty]

@tatus1969

I drop in from time to time to wonder about your KWeld Pro, is most of the info about it progress scattered in this thread or do you have a place for info to be collected?

I was really just wondering on it's progress and if you have any ideas of likely cost and rough release date?

[tautech]

@tatus1969

I drop in from time to time to wonder about your KWeld Pro, is most of the info about it progress scattered in this thread or do you have a place for info to be collected?

I was really just wondering on it's progress and if you have any ideas of likely cost and rough release date?

If you click on the globe in his profile it takes you to his website and shop:
https://www.keenlab.de/index.php/shop/

[No_Shorty]

Yea, I have a kWeld, I was asking more specifically about his work on the kWeld Pro.

[tatus1969]

The Kweld's high price and closed-source design explain why it hasn't gained traction in the DIY community—and likely never will. Even in Europe, outside of Germany, you're looking at €237 for a kit that you still need to assemble yourself. On top of that, you need to purchase a separate case and power supply, and there doesn't appear to be any special warranty coverage. The fact that pricing has remained stagnant for years suggests limited capacity for improvement or cost reduction.

I wanted to highlight a more promising DIY option that Luca (https://www.youtube.com/@Luca_Techy) has been developing. He's actively working to improve several affordable Chinese spot welders, including the purple KEKK K100. What's particularly encouraging is that Chinese manufacturers are actually listening to his feedback and implementing his suggestions.

This kind of collaborative approach—where knowledgeable individuals share their expertise to democratize technology—is exactly what the DIY community needs and deserves our support.

If you this as a hobby, then that's perfectly valid, but that's not the case here. Also, we could start discussing why everyone promotes cheap stuff from China, where in fact this is hurting western businesses like mine - I just cannot keep up with that. kWeld is mostly made in Germany, and that gives it a different price point. My focus is more on reliability and innovation.

[tatus1969]

Yea, I have a kWeld, I was asking more specifically about his work on the kWeld Pro.

I've been drowned with work getting a client's project up to speed, but in the meantime we've managed to get it going well. For anyone interested: https://vrs.racing/hardware/dfp15-wheel-base

(p.s. this is yet another market that Chinese manufacturers have started flooding, and where surviving in it has become a tough game)

I've (re)started working on kWeldPro a week ago, after having the 90% finished prototypes sitting, collecting dust. I'll keep you guys updated :-)