Hot Wire Cutter Calculator

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1	How to build a hot wire foam cutter
2	with an AC adapter and a guitar string
3	with an AC adapter and a guitar string
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5										Created: 22 Feb 2012
6										Created by Shawn James
7	Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. The wire reaches temperatures in excess of 460°F.
8	Suggestions: Wear fabric gloves and a long sleeve shirt.
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10	How to use this spreadsheet: Enter your information in the purple boxes in Tables 1 & 2. Table 3 are the results of the design; all the boxes must be green inorder for you design to prevent frying you AC adapter and burning up hot wires too quickly.
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12	Note: This spreadsheet was designed for AC Adapters which produce an output in direct current (DC), NOT AC OUTPUT.
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14	Table 1.					Table 4.
15	AC Adapter					Common Diameters of Guitar Strings:					Table 6.
16	Variable	Value	Units	Comment		0.008	0.009	0.01	0.011		Conversion Calculator
17	Output Voltage:	3	V	1)		0.012	0.014	0.015	0.016		From:		To:
18	Output Current:	2	A	2)							68	°F	20	°C
19						Table 5.					240	°C	464	°F
20	Table 2.					Common Gauges of Nichrome:					300	mAmps	0.300	Amps
21	Variables:					23	24				25.40	mm	1.00	inches
22	Input	Value	Units	Comment		26	32				1	Feet	12	inches
23	Hot Wire Material	Steel	NA	3)							32	Gauge	0.008	inch dia
24	Hot Wire Length	6	inches	4)
25	Hot Wire Diameter	0.0200	inches	5)
26	Initial Temperature	20	°C	6)
27	Operating Temperature:	240	°C	7)
28
29	Table 3.
30	Results
31	Desc.	Req.	AC Adapter	Circuit	Hot Wire
32	Resistance-	Fails	1.5	0.18	-
33	Current-	Fails	2	16.81	-
34	Wattage-	Fails	6	50.42	29
35	Temperature-	Meets Req.	-	240	406.98
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