Wire wrapping is a quick and reliable way to build prototypes and one-off pieces of hardware. The multiple cold welded joints makes it even more reliable than PCBs in certain environments like high vibration. [Justin Jones] couldn’t find his favorite wire wrapping tool or anyone selling a replacement so he decided to improvise. He constructed a new tool using a pen tube, small screwdriver, and a bit of metal cut from a floppy disk. The only thing it’s really missing is a built in wire stripper.
SIMPLE AND FUNCTIONAL, i LIKE IT.
Sure beats spending AU$75 on one from RS. I’ve been needing one for ages.
Very cool hack, elegant in it’s simplicity.
And for some reason that second picture really makes me think of “computer user drug paraphernalia”, but maybe that’s just me.
very cool and not a led in sight lovely juble
steve please get a girlfriend or a pet but please leave us alone!
it is true that a wire wrap tool is expensive!
Very cool!
Jerome
mentor i have a wife thank u very much and she is much better than a LED hackaday is a top sight so go and berry urself u tosser
how can anyboy be that selfcentered! YOU don
this isn’t complete without a big fat bright blinking LED on top so steve can wine and cry
what.. i thot those were just wrapped by hand.. how could that device be anything more than 10 bucks? in that case very nice hack
A couple (probably stupid) questions:
I’m not sure I understand how the cold welding works…wikipedia mentions a vaccuum being used because oxygen can screw up the cold welding…so does that mean that the wires are cold welded here, just to a lesser extent, or does the oxygen screw things up here (and we’re left with a handy tool to wrap the wires with, but no welding)?
also, are the posts part of the board, or were they added?
if added, how are they staying in place (I would assume solder)?
for what I understand of it, nice hack…
Reminds me of a captive-screw tweeker I made from a similar jeweler’s screwdriver and two pieces of heatshrink tubing.
evo1337: technically speaking, wirewrapping isn’t “cold welding,” at least not in the same vein that you’re thinking of.
Remember everyone… If you think steve doesn’t exist he doesn’t.
My guess is that he is some irritating AI developed as part of MIT’s SpamBrain program. They are testing his capacity to annoy with useless remarks. If we stop giving them useful data, they’ll turn him loose on slashdot.
And…uh… Good hack! Actually the thing I found most interesting was his thoughts on building an impromptu wire stripper. I’ve got some stuff that is too thin for my current stripper (which we all know is a high amperage exotic dancer)… To the HackLab!
spring loaded wire wrappers already exist, we have one at the tcf
It’s not like a regular wrapping tool is that hard to find…
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=242801
even cheaper yet http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=68
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103243&cp=&origkw=wire+wrap&kw=wire+wrap&parentPage=search
$6.99 at radio shack, bitches
the built-in wire stripper on most wire wrap tools really sucks, anyway…
would it be possible for some one to do a how to on wire wraping for hackaday that would be really cool, because there are not many good ones out there.
steve is funny, because he says he’s married, implying he’s in his 20s at least, but he spells this claim in a way that implies that he’s 6
Hopefully this will not end up on engadget tomorrow.
look ! one often critises an opinion when what is uncongenial is really the tone in which it’s conveyed!.
steve,
I understand what you’re saying, but what is its relevance? Your last statement only says to me that you are using big words and convoluted syntax to make yourself seem smarter and not a six year old. But I’ll still side with giskard. Knowledge and application are two separate things. You might be smart, but you’re acting like a child with this LED junk.
–Kurt
stop feeding the troll…
i know this hack is very simple but why does steve have to say bad comments about things that are not super complex?? my opinion is that it is simple but usefull
At first glance, I thought this said “improvised wire TAPPING tool”.
+1 for a how-to on wire wrapping. It sounds useful as hell, but it seems to take a certain technique.
google found a simple (very simple) example of how to wire-wrap here http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/robot/wrap/wrap.html
Splurge and get a battery powered gun and use prestripped wire to make yer life easier. I used to build automation equipment and the gun makes 10 perfect turns of the wire much faster. Course u could hack this wirewrap tool into a cheap cordless drill boom badda bing.
“The only thing it
16 years later the link is bad. And my wire stripper isn’t working. Anyone got a link?
Well it’s twice the fun now, the page was caught, but the pics weren’t, so it’s a fun game of following written instructions…
https://web.archive.org/web/20060722021353/http://www.toozy.com/wraphack/wraphack.html