How do i build a electronic wire strippers?

[slee95]

Hi i work at mission central tearing down computers and other electronics plus i look for electronics at the curb that people threw out. I was wondering if i can make a wire strippers that will strip many size wire and also feed it through by itself or with a little help. I want to make it with junk or as cheaply as possible. I want to build one to recycle wire and make some extra cash. I LIVE IN TOWN AND DO NOT WANT TO BURN IT, because its illegal and bad for the air. I go to school at vo-tech for electrical engineering so i know a little about electronics but have only been there for a year. This is the school i go to http://www.cpavts.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=1 .

 

[Danger]

Could you melt it without actually burning it? Of course, you would have to determine whether or not that would still produce toxic fumes.
One question: does the wire have to survive this unscathed, or can you damage it? I ask because it seems to me that one of the simplest approaches would be to repeatedly run it through a couple of sanding belts.

 

[Integral]

Could you set up a die with 2 adjustable opposing blades. Run the wire through the die with the blades adjusted to the surface of the wire, this would slit the insulation on 2 sides of the wire. Run the wire through a second die which separates the cut insulation from the wire to a take up spool.

The challenge would be to find blades which would last and be sharp enough to cut the insulation effectively.

 

[Danger]

The challenge would be to find blades which would last and be sharp enough to cut the insulation effectively.

Ceramics might be applicable.

 

[slee95]

I was thinking disk Blade Drill a hole in something like a 2x4 put the blade on the bottom of the hole and a bolt on top to push the wire down on the blade the tricky part is how can i electronically feed it through?

 

[Danger]

I was thinking disk Blade Drill a hole in something like a 2x4 put the blade on the bottom of the hole and a bolt on top to push the wire down on the blade the tricky part is how can i electronically feed it through?

Can you elaborate upon that? Sorry, but I don't quite know what you mean. "Bolt"? If my initial impression of that is correct, as in it being a "plunger", I don't think that it's the right way to go. A friction wheel would be my approach for the final feed system, but neither of those address the problem of untangling the mass of wire preparatory to stripping it.

 

[Integral]

Feed the wire to a spool then use the spool to pull the wire through. If you wanted to get fancy throw in some friction wheels after the split and remove die.

 

[slee95]

ok i'll try.

 

[Danger]

Feed the wire to a spool then use the spool to pull the wire through.

Good idea. I'm still concerned, though, about how to untangle the wire before it can be fed into anything. As part of my ADD/OCD, I used to pick up anything that had any hope of being useful for anything in the future... including wire. Almost all that I ever found was scrunched up and kinked and generally looked pretty much like a bird's nest. That isn't conducive to mechanized threading.

 

[slee95]

Yes lots of wire stored in my room in hopes of being turned into cash :)

 

[fizz_it]

Not sure of the practicality but could you use liquid nitrogen and cause the insulation to break off? I bet you could do a great deal of wire at a time.

 

[slee95]

i was sort of thing along those lines fizz except use like a week acid base.

 

[Danger]

acid base.

Doesn't that qualify as an oxymoron?

 

[slee95]

it shouldn't cause bad fume for the environment if a could some how jimmy rig a fume hood right?

 

[Danger]

it shouldn't cause bad fume for the environment if a could some how jimmy rig a fume hood right?

Close, but wrong name. The term is Jerry-rigged, or sometimes jury-rigged. Anyhow, the use of a vent hood will protect you but not the environment. Unless you have some fancy filter system installed, which would exceed your budgetary requirements, it will just pipe the pollutants out of the building and into the atmosphere.
The reason that I didn't suggest an acid bath was because it will also damage the wire. In fact, the metal might be far more susceptible to acid erosion than the plastic.

 

[slee95]

Damn :( ok back to the drawing bored i talked to dad he said it might be a waist of electricity to sand the plastic off the wire :(

 

[Danger]

You don't have to use electricity to mechanize something. How are wind conditions in your area?

 

[slee95]

i live in Mechanicsburg pa :)

 

[Danger]

i live in Mechanicsburg pa :)

Oops. For some reason, your posts led me to think that you were in a different demographic.

 

[slee95]

demographic? what's that?

 

[Danger]

demographic? what's that?

Sorry; that just means a segment of society. When you mentioned finding things in the street, I thought that perhaps you were in an area with lax disposal protocols such as in parts of Asia.

 

[MATLABdude]

If you're pulling it through a die, why not just add a knife blade or two to slit the jacketing / insulation? If you wind the stripped wire to one spool, and the jacket / insulation to another, I'd think that'd result in separated wire with minimal mess (compared to sand-blasting or nitrogen freezing and shattering). Unfortunately, it'd probably only be worthwhile if you have long lengths of cable.

 

[slee95]

just recently i was given 3 spools of wire and it looks like two much for me to strip and one spool is tv wire and that's a pain to strip :(

 

[johnbbahm]

Some coatings on wires might not be worth stripping (other than with a fire).
You might try a hot knife, http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/89_2048_137/products_id/76375/n/X-ACTO-Soldering-Iron-Hot-Knife?utm_source=Google-Base&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product-Feeds&source=google_ppc_ext&gclid=CJbk5cae2LECFfADtgod9EUAlw
Pull the wire over a tight radius wheel, and have the hot knife cutting down to the copper. Use a revise tight radius wheel and a mechanical edge to remove the now split jacket.
A word of caution, DO NOT burn off any Teflon jackets, the fumes are toxic.

 

[Danger]

one spool is tv wire and that's a pain to strip :(

Do you mean twin-lead or coax? The latter is probably worth a lot more intact.

 

[slee95]

The tv cable is the type that screws onto the back it has the single copper lead in the middle.

 

[Danger]

The tv cable is the type that screws onto the back it has the single copper lead in the middle.

That's coaxial. I don't know about in the US, but here it's quite expensive. You can probably sell it for more as it is than for the metal contained in it.