enamelled wire

[arivel]

Hi everyone .
Besides fire and sandpaper, are there any other alternatives for removing enamel from copper wire?
Thank you.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

A lot of newer enamelled wire is "Solder through" - just start trying to tin if from the cut end and the lacquer coating will retreat from the solder. Or scrape it enough to expose some copper, then start tinning there.

For really heavy stuff (eg. 3mm diameter) you can grip across the end with a pair of pliers and rotate them to strip the coating.

You can also just tin through the lacquer directly, but that is a bit slower and can cause more (unpleasant) fumes.

 

[Reloadron]

Heat and sanding are likely the leading methods. They also make custom strippers which use spinning blades. When I was involved with this we went with heat followed by very light sanding. The idea being that no copper be removed. A Google of enameled wire stripping machine or magnet wire stripping machine will show you some of the spinning head types. We were to have no copper flake in the removed material.

Ron

 

[arivel]

I was really thinking of some chemical product.
for example, there is a product called paint remover which is used to remove the enamel from wooden windows, perhaps it can also remove car paint, it is a mixture of acidic substances.
Is there something similar for enamelled wire too?

 

[Reloadron]

I was really thinking of some chemical product.
for example, there is a product called paint remover which is used to remove the enamel from wooden windows, perhaps it can also remove car paint, it is a mixture of acidic substances.
Is there something similar for enamelled wire too?

During my experiments which were about 16 years ago I tried several strippers including paint stripper and also several conformal coating removers. Conformal coating as in used on circuit boards. None worked for me but maybe I missed one or maybe there is better available today.

I am in the US and while I never tried it you may want to call the guys making your wire. I was dealing with Essex Wire quite a bit. Most large scale wire manufacturers have applications engineers on staff to answer questions like yours. You may get lucky.

Ron

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

None worked for me but maybe I missed one or maybe there is better available today.

Probably the opposite, any thing 'good' has probably been banned now as too dangerous

 

[Reloadron]

Probably the opposite, any thing 'good' has probably been banned now as too dangerous

Well yes, we can figure if the label is green and says environmentally friendly the stuff won't work. When I shop for a cleaner I want to see a skull and cross bones on the label. So yes, I agree but figured nothing to lose for the thread starter.

Ron

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Well yes, we can figure if the label is green and says environmentally friendly the stuff won't work. When I shop for a cleaner I want to see a skull and cross bones on the label.

And smoke seeping out round the cork

 

[Reloadron]

And smoke seeping out round the cork

Absolutely. While off topic we had several large tanks filled with Trichloroethylene. When heated it made a nice vapor cloud above the liquid. Then a series of chiller tubes around the tank stopped the cloud. Parts went down into the cloud and came up clean. It was a marvelous cloud where vapor degreasing was indeed a miracle to behold. We all knew that hanging over the tank and shoving one's head in the cloud was not a good idea. Then, like the day the music stopped, the cloud went away.

Ron

 

[ZipZapOuch]

I was really thinking of some chemical product.

No, the cross-linked enamel coating us designed to be inert to "chemicals". Try hot solder, physical scraping (razor knife or sand paper). Finer paper is easiest with fine wire -
220 grit for up to 18 gauge
400 grit for 20-26 gauge
600 grit for 26-32 gauge, to
800 grit 34 to 42 gauge.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Methylene chloride (Dichloromethane) would probably work, but it is extremely toxic, a known carcinogen among other things.

Methylene Chloride | NIOSH | CDC

Methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) is a colorless liquid that can harm the eyes, skin, liver, and heart. Exposure can cause drowsiness, dizziness, numbness and tingling limbs, and nausea. It may cause cancer

www.cdc.gov

(The lacquer on modern enamelled wire is generally polyurethane based, and methylene chloride will attack polyurethanes).

Other products for removing polyurethane foam or adhesive may work? But, the ones I've seen are similarly unpleasant and dangerous.


I believe the commonest production line method for stripping the ends is a solder pot: That's a small heated tub of solder, sometimes with a special molten flux floating on the solder to protect it.

Otherwise, the wire can be dipped in a suitable flux before it's put in the solder.

It should be used near a fume extractor.

eg.

HandiPot Solder Pot - Seba Developments

HandiPot Solder Pot - HandiPots are our small, circular solder pot range. The D suffix of the HP100D, HP200D and the HP 350D models denotes digital ...

www.seba.co.uk

Quick 100-4C Solder Pot Kit

This soldering kit includes a Quick 100-4C solder pot, Qualitek dipping flux, and AIM Solders lead-free solder pellets. Great for tinning the end of wires.

www.somersetsolders.com

 

[Reloadron]

I would just contact your wire manufacturer looking for the best way to remove the coating. Their applications engineers should know exactly the coating you have and how to remove it.

Ron

 

[arivel]

If it is beaten with a hammer is it easier to remove it mechanically?

 

[JimB]

If it is beaten with a hammer is it easier to remove it mechanically?

That sounds like a good way to improve the reliability of your wiring...
beat seven bells out of it with a great big hammer!

You have been advised of several ways to strip the enamel from your wire, have you tried any of them?

What is so special about your wire that it needs a new method to strip it?

JimB

 

[ZipZapOuch]

If it is beaten with a hammer is it easier to remove it mechanically?

pounding soft, flexible copper will "work harden" it. It will be brittle and likely crack at the edge of the solder joint or screw terminal.

Looking forward to your other non-standard ways of removing enamel - very innovative. Keep going. But, for each odd suggestion, please include a reason why an industry standard technique is not acceptable for your situation.

 

[arivel]

I'm just exploring other alternatives

 

[ZipZapOuch]

I'm just exploring other alternatives

We see that. We are just asking, why?

 

[arivel]

I thought about having it trampled by a herd of grazing cows

 

[arivel]

thanks everyone for the replies

 

[tepalia02]

Here is a wire-stripping tutorial. You may check this out too.