YouTuber Robert Dunn (called Under Dunn) had just obtained a huge box of loose round battery cells and for that reason wanted to join them together to create a big battery pack. Usually, this is accomplished by utilizing a specialized sort of device called a battery spot welder that is used to tack nickel strips onto the terminals. However Dunn didn’t wish to invest the cash on a brand-new one, so he built his own DIY version using just an old microwave, an offcut of copper, some wire, and also an Arduino Uno with a solid-state relay affixed to manage the current discharge timings.
Dunn started by extracting the transformer from the microwave and cutting it open to expose the coils within. As a quick refresher, transformers step voltage up or down by utilizing a set of opposing coils within a magnetic field, which additionally creates the current to increase or lower in a vice versa symmetrical fashion. Due to the fact that Dunn wanted to maximize the current, he changed the smaller coil with an even smaller sized one made from 6-guage cord that could take care of the extremely high current.
An Arduino was used in conjunction with a solid-state relay module to pulse the current going into the transformer. Its circuit also contained a seven-segment LED module that showed the number of milliseconds the transformer would be on, as well as a red button for activating it. Timing could be adjusted with a rotary potentiometer.
Once everything was wired up and placed into a wooden enclosure, Dunn tested out his DIY battery spot welder by pressing the button, and it worked as expected.
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