In our time, hot melt glue has become quite popular. It has a lot of advantages: it is harmless, easy to use (you can even melt it with an ordinary lighter), it is quite reliable, resistant to moisture, heats up and cools quickly. This hot melt glue is usually sold in the form of elongated rods, in several standard diameters and colors. To work with it, you need a special thermal gun, which gradually melts the hot-melt glue rod, squeezing it out in the necessary portions onto the surface to be glued.

You can buy a thermal gun, it is a fairly common product (and relatively inexpensive). Although you can assemble a glue gun with your own hands. It is not at all necessary to make a thermal gun in the form of a pistol. A heating element on my purchased thermo-gun burned out, after which I decided to alter it a little. As a result, instead of a thermo-gun, a thermo-syringe turned out. Moreover, it became even more convenient for them to glue them than it was with the pistol. Although it may not seem so attractive in appearance, well, a homemade product is a homemade product.

Who does not know - the working temperature of the hot melt glue (ordinary sticks with a diameter of 7 and 11 mm) is 120-150 ° C. The most important part is the hot melt adhesive. I just took this part from a broken heat gun. I first wrapped the metal part of the melter with mica, after which I wound a nichrome wire with a diameter of 0.2 mm on it. Wire resistance 25 Ohm. Well, from here its length is as it turns out. This new heater was powered by a variable voltage step-switching power supply. The working voltage for the thermo syringe was from 12 to 28 volts. We can say that my thermo gun, a self-made thermo syringe, is powered by alternating 16 volts.

My homemade glue gun in the form of a syringe also has one more important part in addition to the metal heater itself, this is a rubber tip (made of heat-resistant rubber), into which a hot melt glue rod is inserted. It should match the diameter of the glue stick itself, as it prevents the molten hot melt glue from flowing out from the side where it enters. This rubber tip was also taken from an old heat gun. When the nichrome was wound, I wound several layers of fiberglass tape over it, which served as electrical and thermal insulation. And already on the fiberglass I attached a finger holder made of ordinary copper wire of the corresponding diameter.

It would not be superfluous to say that when it comes to winding heaters from nichrome wire (on a soldering iron, on a heater, on a thermal gun, etc.), then it is worth considering the following - the output ends of nichrome should be made of a larger diameter. That is, we measured the length of the working wire of nichrome, and the ends themselves about 10 centimeters long were made from several veins of the same nichrome, twisting them together. This is necessary so that the main part of the nichrome is heated, and these ends remain cold (have minimal heating), so that over time the power cord connected to them does not lose contact.

Since the heating of the entire thermo-gun, the thermo-syringe is large enough, the place where you need to grasp it with your fingers must be sufficiently well insulated with a fiberglass tape, by applying a sufficient number of turns. In general, my glue thermo-gun, thermo-syringe turned out to be successful. It is compact, convenient when working with it, it heats up quickly enough (the main heat remains inside the heater, which is provided by thermal insulation made of fiberglass). Although at first it may seem that feeding a hot melt glue stick is not entirely convenient, everything is quite convenient when working. So if you have a broken glue thermo gun, try to convert it into a working thermo syringe.

P.S. Sometimes things, tools made by hand seem to be much more convenient and better than purchased ones. If we compare the thermo-gun that I had at the beginning with the thermo-syringe that I got after the alteration - I like working with the latter more!

The unpredictable behavior of the heating element in a Chinese glue gun has become a common talk. The service life, according to information from Internet users, varies from a few seconds after switching on to five years of correct operation. About the power of the heating element, there were statements from "practically does not heat at all" to "heats quite satisfactorily." This was the reason for the curiosity that arose, which prompted to buy an inexpensive Chinese glue gun for a start on the subject of "raskurochit - see". That is, to get acquainted in detail with the design of the device, and nothing more. I didn't take glue sticks, they probably won't be needed.

Glue gun diagram

And now the melting chamber with the heating element installed on it appeared to the eye. It looks like a small jet turbine.

The clamp and the thrust platform were removed. Here is the heating element itself. I note that it lay flat in the center of the installation site and was in direct contact with the body of the melting chamber with only one of its plane.

I unroll the rather sloppy packaging - an insulator. Inside there is just a miniature ceramic heating element and two contacts for supplying 220 volts to it.

I took a closer look at the heater, rang the sides between each other with a multimeter. They call, but not everywhere. The shading visible in the photo at the bottom is present on all sides and completely covers the adjacent end side. It doesn't ring. This is a ceramic coating on top of a heating element. Designed for direct contact with the heating chamber body and transfer of heat generated by the heater, without placing a dielectric spacer between them. This deposition is the dielectric spacer. It became clear that the heater was installed incorrectly by the manufacturer. He lay on his side, and even three times wrapped in an insulator. According to the existing dimensions of the heaters on the installation site, 4 of them will fit.

Guided by common sense (as far as God gave), I began to fix the manufacturer's "jambs". The dimensions of the contacts are adjusted to the dimensions of the ceramic heater. Exactly in length, and 1 mm less in height.

I made a millimeter bend along the length at a right angle to prevent the contact from sliding down onto the heating chamber body.

This is how the contacts assembled with the heater began to look (top view).

The assembly resistance (located inside the clothespin) turned out to be 6 kilo-ohms. It immediately became clear that the 20W declared by the manufacturer would not be nearly confirmed.

Exactly to the size of the ceramic heater, I cut out two copper plates 2 mm thick. It is necessary to somehow fill the void on the installation site and take heat from the sides of the heater.

The cut is made for the possibility of pressing the sides. This will add reliability in holding the heater in place and is intended to improve heat transfer.

Sectional diagram of the installation. In the figure there are gaps between the individual components; in a real assembly, they should not be.

The assembly is complete. The heater without a gasket stands on a plane (end) covered with a dielectric sputtering, on the sides there are current-carrying contacts, then on three sides there are four layers of mica (taken from an old burnt-out soldering iron), on the sides there are copper plates. The seal is the insulator on the right, made of asbestos. There was a piece at hand, it seemed that it would be more reliable.

Here you can see that the sides are already pressed against the copper plates and hold the entire assembly, the ceramic heater is directly in contact with the wall of the heating chamber, and the el. contacts far from it.

The clamp is the last to be put in place. The junction of the wires with the contacts must be insulated with ceramic insulators or something that fully replaces them.

After assembly, the first thing I did was measure the current consumption. When turned on, within a few seconds, there is a gradual jump of the current 80 - 120 - 210 mA, then a sharp jump down - 20 mA. Mains voltage 225 - 230 volts x 0.02 A = maximum 4.6 W. And on the front panel of the pistol, a nameplate flaunts in plain sight, which indicates the power of 20 watts. The glue gun will actually have the declared power if 4 heating elements are installed. However, let's not dream, but rather take a look at the video of the heating dynamics of a properly assembled and installed (in my opinion) heating element.

Video

The gluing temperature is indicated by the manufacturer 120 degrees, it was reached in 2 minutes. Yes, it is also necessary to heat up the glue stick, but the remaining 3 minutes (the control heating time before the start of work is 5 minutes) I think is quite enough for this. Especially for "" - Babay iz Barnaula.

How to make a glue gun on your own? Today we will consider an option that involves the use of.

With my real experience in this matter, on the pages of a trade publication 3D Today, the portal user has shared under a pseudonym TanyaAkinora... We present to your attention her story. Punctuation and spelling of the author are traditionally preserved.

As a maker, I use various tools in my work, including glue gun... For miniature work, there is a small pistol with a 7 mm shaft. But in any case, you have to pull the trigger, making some effort. And this is not always convenient.

So the idea to make your own instrument appeared. in this regard, an irreplaceable assistant.

The experience of using a 3D pen suggested a variant of the case. The result is a device that I named GlueDart... This is a glue gun in the form of a handle with electric for 7 mm rods.

The feed button is located on the front under the right thumb. Thus, we have obtained a convenient tool that makes the gluing process more accurate and precise.

All plastic parts are 3D printed,. In the process of use, the case practically does not heat up.

The only part that has gone over from the standard glue gun is the nozzle. As a heater, I used a conventional ceramic heater from a 3D printer, which does an excellent job. With a supply voltage of 5 V, its power is 7.2 W.

The extruder uses a reciprocating mechanism and a small motor with a gearbox. An attempt to make an extruder similar to a 3D printer was unsuccessful, since the glue rod is much softer than the filament rod.

Thus, we have a convenient and lightweight instrument with a safe 5V power supply. A blue LED is used as an indicator of the on state.

An option with variable speed was created, but this option turned out to be superfluous.

All modeling was done in Autodesk 123D Design, and some parts (axial cam) and partly video in Fusion 360.

I wish all the makers creative success.

We print a glue gun on a 3d printer - video

Equipment: Anet A8 3d printer

When implementing this case, a 3D printer was used Anet a8... This is an updated version of the previous model of the Chinese printer - Anet A6.

The printable area is 220x220x240 millimeters. The printer is equipped with a heated table, display and can print materials such as ABS, PLA, HIPS and some others.

In this way, you can create many useful things and tools in everyday life. If you have your own experience in this matter - let us know and your story will appear on the pages of our section.

Have you noticed a mistake? Select it and press Ctrl + Enter

Powered by a 5 volt power supply and can be connected to a power bank or power supply using a USB connector. During operation, the glue gun consumes from 1.2A to 2A. During operation, the average value was 1.4A. To reduce power consumption, you can change the length of the nichrome wire or choose a smaller wire section.

What we need:
1. Aluminum can (0.5l or 0.33l)
2. 2.5ml medical syringe
3.USB cable
4. Wooden handle (also from an old soldering iron)
5. Button or switch (the button is more convenient, because the switch quickly failed for me)
6. Nichrome thread 14cm (I took it from an old soldering iron)
7. A pair of heat pipes (from the same old soldering iron)
8. Copper wires (I took twisted punches)
9. Heat shrinkage 5mm
10. Power supply 5V 2A
11. Electrical tape and super glue

From tools:
1. Scissors
2. Stationery knife
3. Soldering iron

Step 1.
We take a handle from an old soldering iron and cut it in half (I'm lucky, the handle is unscrewed). We need the bottom part. There the glue stick (7mm) passes perfectly (if you don't have it, you can modify it with a file). We make a slot as in the photo so that the tubes for heat dissipation can be placed (I took them from an old soldering iron).

Step 2.
We take 2 copper wiring (taken from a twisted pair) 10cm each. We clean them so that the heat sink tubes fit, as shown in the photo.

Step 3.

Cut out a rectangle 8cm x 12cm from an aluminum can of drinks (I took it with a margin, then it is easier to cut off the excess). We take a 7mm glue stick and, putting it on the cut out rectangle, carefully roll it up so that at the end we get a spout with a narrow outlet for heated glue and insert the resulting tube into the hole in the handle.

We make cuts in the area of ​​the spout with scissors and bend through one.
Next, we wind 14cm nichrome wire onto these slots.

An example of slots and winding (the example of a spout is not correct here). Finished, with a narrow nose, will be in the next photo.

We glue the heat sink tubes (they turned out to be fragile) into the slots on the handle and fasten the wires to the nichrome wire.
It should look like the photo.

Step 4.
Cut off the syringe (2.5 ml) as in the photo.

And we insert it into the top of the handle (lucky again, fit perfectly).

Step 5.
We wrap the lower part of the handle with the wires with electrical tape, glue the power button on super glue and solder the wires to it. Glue the rubber band from the syringe to the power button for easy pressing and one-handed operation.

Step 6.
Finally, we connect the wires to the USB cable (polarity does not matter), isolate them from each other with electrical tape and heat shrink on top. We tape the junction of the wires to the syringe with tape. Ready!

Let's start checking the functionality.

The adhesive flows evenly and the intensity can be adjusted with the other hand.

Builders, as well as home craftsmen, who are often involved in renovating their apartment or fixing things, have appreciated the thermo gun, which makes it possible to glue various surfaces with extraordinary ease. It is used by florists, designers and needlewomen, to whom a glue gun helps in making souvenirs, scrapbooking or creating designer dolls. It is hand-mend lovers who often ask themselves the question: how to choose a glue gun for needlework.

Types of thermo guns

Glue guns are divided into several categories, namely:

• Professional;
• Household.

Professional ones are quite massive, they are used for long-term work, which is provided by a rod with a large diameter, which is necessary during construction work.

Household - can fit in the palm of your hand, are light and convenient for gluing various little things and performing simple work, when decorating crafts or interior items.

• mechanical, that is, the glue is supplied by simply pressing the trigger;
• automatic, when the adhesive is supplied using an electromagnetic starter.

Undoubtedly, the tool for professional builders is more reliable in work, but their cost mainly depends on the modification, versatility and brand of the manufacturer.

Design

In the body of the glue gun, to which the power cord is connected, elements are fixed that allow the tool to properly perform its functions:

• nozzle;
• trigger or trigger;
• cylinder for installing the glue stick;
• legs.

A big advantage of the model is the presence of a kind of recess on the body, through which it is possible to determine the presence of the remaining adhesive composition, the integrity of the rod and its timely replacement.

In the case, made of plastic, special legs are built in, which allow the tool to be in an inoperative state with its nose down, since in a different position it can overheat, which leads to malfunctions and the failure of the pistol.

The presence of a button that can turn off the energy also has a positive effect on the operation of the tool, since it saves adhesive, which, in between uses, can leak.

The glue gun, provided with tips of various configurations, refers to more complex modifications of products. Typically, such nozzles make it possible to change the diameter of the hole through which the adhesive flows to the working surface and, thus, to adjust the amount of adhesive. Replaceable nozzles with long, small diameter elements are used for gluing product fragments in hard-to-reach places. In this case, the decor with a glue gun requires great accuracy and skill from the needlewoman.

Replacement parts are made of metal, and reputable manufacturers provide them with a rubber or silicone protector, which significantly reduces the risk of burns.

In order to understand how this tool works, you need to have an idea of ​​how the glue gun works inside. This will help determine some of the parameters and characteristics of the device.

So, a thermal gun is a tool, inside which, a polyurethane adhesive is heated to a liquid state. The device is charged from the rear with rods, the diameter of which varies from 7 to 11 millimeters.

The rod, passing through a special sleeve, enters the rubber tube, after which the spare wheel is driven into the chamber, where, under the influence of the temperature created by the heating device, the polyurethane composition is melted. This process takes about five minutes. Then, the action of the trigger causes the reserve to act like a piston, pressurizing the heated cylinder and injecting adhesive through the nozzle onto the work surface.

Heating chamber is a metal cylindrical container containing a so-called heating unit, consisting of a heating element. It is the size of the heating chamber and the power of the heating element that determines the volume of the adhesive mass ready for use, that is, the productivity of the tool. Therefore, when answering the question of which gun to choose for needlework glue, these characteristics must be taken into account.

Power consumption

The power consumption of the heating element of the glue gun largely determines the rate of transformation of the adhesive into a liquid and affects the amount of electrical energy consumed. So, devices for professionals can take 300 W or more, and handicraft guns are limited to a consumption of 30 - 150 W.

Some manufacturers produce thermo guns with power controls. Then, at the beginning of work, the device consumes 200W, switching into an operating state with an electricity consumption of 40W, and while waiting, it reduces requests to 15W.

However, the speed of "melting" of the adhesive composition may not affect the performance of the tool at all, since it is necessary to take into account the capacity of the heating chamber.

In the event that the heating element is capable of providing the operating temperature and there is a sufficient amount of adhesive in the heating tank, the power of the device can be ignored.

When trying to find the answer to the question of which glue gun is better for needlework, you should focus not on its power, but on performance.

In addition, crafts with a glue gun can be made from a variety of materials, some of which are quite sensitive to high temperatures.

So, for polymers, paper or fabric, low-temperature adhesives are used. Moreover, for such rods, special pistols have been developed or tools with the ability to adjust the temperature regime should be used, which is often reflected in such a characteristic as the price of a glue gun for needlework, it is necessary to choose, taking into account various parameters.

The World Wide Web opens a wide selection of Internet resources where you can buy pistol glue for needlework, in rods of various diameters, colors and lengths.

Crafts with a glue gun, often, are genuine works of art, and many craftswomen appreciated the capabilities of this tool. It is convenient and safe, and the results of the work that are created with the help of a glue gun are simply amazing.

Besides:

• adhesive composition for thermo guns is less toxic and does not exude unpleasant odors;
• replaceable nozzles, allow you to work in those places where it is very problematic to get to the usual ways;
• correct inaccuracies, since parts are easily detached when heated;
• glue sticks perfectly retain their qualities for a long time;
• the polyurethane substance sets quickly and firmly;
• the seams created by the glue gun perfectly withstand the effects of moisture;
• allows you to firmly bond both synthetic and natural materials.

Care should be taken, however, as awkward use can burn your hands. It is not recommended to use the adhesive properties of the tool on thin synthetic materials or polyethylene.

The cost of a glue gun for needlework depends on its power, the possibility of using different temperature conditions and types of rods suitable for a given model.

You can buy a glue gun for needlework in specialized online stores, in the same place where the glue gun is sold, in this case, it will not be difficult to choose, it is important not to miss some of the nuances.

What to look for when buying

Having decided where to buy a hot glue gun for needlework, first of all, you should pay attention to its technical characteristics:

• power;
• working temperature of the melt;
• productivity, which, in the documentation, is more often referred to as the speed of work, that is, the supply of the adhesive;
• power supply options.

However, as already noted, the performance of the tool is usually more important than its power and it is this indicator that will be the main one for determining the category of the tool, as for the other parameters, they can significantly affect how much a glue gun for needlework costs. And this is from 250 rubles and more.

Undoubtedly, the Internet allows you to compare prices on resources where you can buy a hot glue gun for needlework, but it is useful to know the features, thanks to which you can make the best choice.

So, if you have to work with a pistol periodically, then there is no point in acquiring an expensive modification capable of maintaining high temperatures, for home art, devices with a chamber heating up to 165-170˚ are quite suitable.

In addition, you should not buy a thermo gun with the ability to autonomously work, a work of applied art can be created with a tool powered from the mains.

However, before deciding which glue gun is best for needlework, you need to familiarize yourself with its capabilities:

• switchable temperature mode;
• the presence of electronic regulation, which excludes the possibility of overheating;
• determination of the state of readiness for work;
• the presence of a push-button switch on the body;
• illumination of the working area;
• the presence of a viewing window on the body;
• special trigger designs;
• the ability to change nozzles;
• the presence of a nipple on the nozzle;
• the presence of a support leg;
• completing the instrument with a special case, a set of rods.

It is worth noting that, despite a large selection of such industrial production tools, and a fairly democratic price, folk craftsmen, if possible, are quite capable of making a thermo-gun with their own hands.

How to make a thermal gun yourself

Of course, a homemade tool will not have the capabilities of industrial analogs, but there are situations when such a device is needed urgently.

In this case, for those who wondered how to make a glue gun on their own and quickly solve this problem, you will need:

1. a roll of non-stick tape;
2. a tin sheet that can be cut out of a regular tin can;
3. a coil of copper wire;
4. wooden block with a cross section of 2 × 4 cm;
5. small household boiler;
6. silicone rod.

First of all, a wooden handle is made, for which, the length of the handle of the boiler is measured, up to its working part. It is about seven centimeters. It is this value that is measured twice on a wooden block and two parts are sawn off.

Then, with a hacksaw, stepping back half a centimeter from the edges, make two longitudinal cuts on one side, at each of the resulting blanks.

The depth of the cuts should completely sink the handle of the boiler, after the excess wood has been removed from the grooves with a chisel.

The boiler is insulated from the wooden surface with Teflon tape and placed in the handle stock, after which both parts are fastened with self-tapping screws or insulating tape.

The main part is ready.

Now, it is necessary to make a nozzle-nozzle and a cylindrical heating chamber. For this, a silicone rod is wrapped in half of a sheet cut from a can. The resulting cylinder should fit freely into the coil of the boiler.

With the help of pliers, a funnel is made from the rest of the sheet metal, which should fit tightly with its wide end on the cylinder of the heating chamber.

The connected parts threaded into the coil of the boiler are firmly fixed with copper wire.

After inserting the glue stick into the tool, you can get to work.

It is important to note that a glue gun, where a boiler is used as a heating element, cannot work directly from the network. To connect the device, you need a special power regulator, which can be used to control the heating of the device.

Of course, a home-made thermo-gun cannot replace industrial designs, and most likely it will not be useful to home craftswomen in their work, but it is quite capable of helping in urgent repair work.