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Idea for a new hand tool: Automatic Wire Twisting Pliers
- JakubDotPy 3y agoI would advise against using this for electrical work. See the internet for "wago vs twisting". Chicken wire, crafting, etc. sure.
- jstanley 3y agoYou're not twisting electrical wires together to make an electrical connection, it's just to keep a bundle of wires together.
- almostnormal 3y agoCable lacing keeps them together without any twisting.
- idiotsecant 3y agoThe twisting is in fact part of the electrical connection. On a good wire nut connection the wire nut is just insulating the bundle and if it falls off the bundle is still secure.
- dreamcompiler 3y agoNo. If you use a good wire nut (i.e. use a good brand, have experience, and never reuse a wire nut), the nut itself makes the electrical connection. A good wire nut application will never fall off. If it does, you didn't attach it right. I concede this is a function of experience and it's not foolproof. All that having been said, I still pre-twist because it helps keep the wires together which makes it easier to put the nut on in the first place -- especially if you're connecting more than two wires. Edit: One point I left out is that if you don't pre-twist, correct attachment means you should put the nut on with enough tension that the nut itself causes the wires to twist together. This hurts your fingers if you do it all day, so using a wire nut twisting tool is recommended.
- mschuster91 3y ago> On a good wire nut connection the wire nut is just insulating the bundle and if it falls off the bundle is still secure. The problem is, a good wire nut is impossible to distinguish from a bad wire nut. A transparent Wago (or its clones) are virtually foolproof to install and to inspect.
- avar 3y agoYou're comparing apples to oranges. You need to twist or otherwise adhere wires together before soldering them, e.g. when using heat shrink solder sleeve, unless you've some other way to hold the wires in place. There's places where you can substitute wago, but often not, e.g. when working with limited space, e.g. repairing a broken wire harness in a car, or similar.
- Mashimo 3y ago> There's places where you can substitute wago, but often not, e.g. when working with limited space, e.g. repairing a broken wire harness in a car, or similar. Don't fear! The wago inline splicing connector is here! https://www.wago.com/global/electrical-interconnections/discover-installation-terminal-blocks-and-connectors/221/221-inline-splicing-connector https://www.wago.com/global/electrical-interconnections/disc...
- avar 3y agoI knew about that, actually. It's way too big still for some uses, and I'm guessing won't deal well with anything that repeatedly lightly pulls on the wire (e.g. a trunk hinge). But for some other cases it's great.
- londons_explore 3y agoHeat shrink solder connectors are the thing to use in this case: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/dp/B073RMRCC3 https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/dp/B073RMRCC3 Waterproof, tension proof, will handle more current than the wire itself, hard to install wrong, and very reliable (ie. No fires)
- graiz 3y agoWhy not build a prototype?
- m463 3y agorelated, is there a way to automatically tighten nuts from the side? there are clicky box-end wrenches that you put over a nut, but something like that for an open ended wrench when you come in from the side. Basically, a ratcheting or powered open ended wrench?
- BobbyZero 3y agoIt's called a drill chuck.
- irrational 3y agoUse wago instead of wire nuts.
- ansgri 3y agoWhy would you even use twisting as connection method for professional work (i.e. not when you just don’t have any proper tools around)? Various quick connectors like Wago exist for temporary connections, and for permanent ones handheld hydraulic crimping presses are not that expensive.
- BrandoElFollito 3y agoWhy are you saying that wagos are for temporary connections?
- ovi256 3y agoThis seems to be some sort of meme existing in the US electricians mindspace, which prefer use of cheaper wirenuts on twisted wire. Wagos are approved for permanent connections in the whole world.
- petee 3y agoFrom what I've heard many electricians are wary because of old poorly designed back-stabbed outlets, thus anything held by a tiny burr & pressure is forever untrustworthy.
- ramses0 3y ago* except the polar wastes of Canada! Due to the complex plastic hinging interaction with bitter cold, supposedly they're not approved for use in CA.
- nikisweeting 3y agoPlenty of reasons, not all electrical work is professional, and even then it's not just for electrical work. It's useful for chicken wire, cable management ties, making long twisted pairs, etc.
- OJFord 3y agoEarths are to be connected to a single point, not multiple terminals of a Wago block or similar, in the UK at least. Twisting is not afaik a requirement, but it's common, and adds to the security of it. (At least, as long as the solid core hasn't been twisted and untwisted repeatedly and near the point of breaking.) OP appears to be doing it to make a fatter gauge cable out of smaller ones though?
- lucvh 3y agoA modified version of a wire wrapping gun might work: https://uk.farnell.com/metcal/g200-r3278/wire-wrap-tool-manual-30-22awg/dp/8264414 https://uk.farnell.com/metcal/g200-r3278/wire-wrap-tool-manu...
- lucvh 3y agoWith one of these in it: https://www.amazon.com/Neepanda-Connector-Accessories-Simultaneously-Stripping/dp/B07MDC7NS6/ https://www.amazon.com/Neepanda-Connector-Accessories-Simult...
- nikisweeting 3y agoGreat idea, this is the closest thing I've seen yet! I've seen wire wrap circuits before but never seen this particular tool.
- weinzierl 3y agoMaybe use a small rebar wire twister with the hook replaced by pliers. Something similar to this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFB-mbvt9k https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFB-mbvt9k These things need to be fast because it's usually done by piece workers. There are smaller versions used to tie up sacks also.
- MawKKe 3y agoThe traditional(?) version of that tool[1] could also maybe work if you are allowed to make a loop of the wires for twisting. The tool itself is just a hook on a angled axle that rotates in the handle. It's called 'surrauskoukku' in finnish, not sure about the english name [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1BJQorsaCQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1BJQorsaCQ
- nikisweeting 3y agoThats a good idea. Ideally I want something that doesn't have to apply much tension on the wires, but a smaller version with the right pitch angle on its internal threads might work.
- wkipling 3y agoThe wire twisting pliers in the first picture are used for lock wire, not electrical wire and they are very good at that specific task. Used in industries such as aviation to prevent movement/rotation of a fastener or a part such as a screw on oil filter.
- nikisweeting 3y agoYeah but they they're usually too big for the work I have in mind, and not nearly as smooth as a potential pump-action equivalent.
- ryandrake 3y agoYea one of the flaws of traditional safety wire twisting tools is their size and inability to get into really tight spaces. The solution in the article still seems too big. I'd buy something like it but only if it was the size of a small ratchet.
- nikisweeting 3y agoYeah it's hard to depict when there's no existing examples, I was imagining it should be something as small as a pair of side cutters or small pliers. I tried ChatGPT image generation and it failed miserably haha.
- mplewis 3y agoIt makes sense that an LLM wouldn't be able to draw a tool that doesn't yet exist.
- keep320909 3y agoAlibaba has all sorts of wire twisting machines, tools and pliers...
- nikisweeting 3y agoI've looked through many of them in the past, but none quite fit in the niche I'm aiming for.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoThis seems to basically already exist. The safety wire twister pliers probably won't have enough leverage for solid core household wiring especially compared to a cordless drill. Drill Powered Wire Twister and Stripper That Has Gone Viral https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxyTou4pMqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxyTou4pMqQ
- nikisweeting 3y agoI've seen these but I wanted something hand powered for the 24~14awg range. The target use-case isn't houseold wiring as Wago's or real terminals are better for that anyway. It's more for smaller low-voltage hobby projects, chicken wire, making twisted pairs, etc.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoIt seems like toward the smaller end of that range but a wire wrap tool with a scaled version of that bit might be along the lines of what you're after. Wire wrap is meant to go around a long relatively rigid pin as the host for the wrapped wire. https://jonard.com/network-it/wire-wrap-tools https://jonard.com/network-it/wire-wrap-tools
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoAlso I've had good success with just chucking multiple strands wire into a regular drill to make twisted pairs when needed.
- mtpockets 3y agoI’ve used the drills clamp to hold the end of stripped wires then twist.
- tussa 3y agoI'm sure I saw a method of making a circuit that used twisting instead of soldering. Apparently it was used quite a bit in the days gone by. Anyone knows what that night have been?
- nikisweeting 3y agoAre you thinking of "Wire wrap construction" perhaps? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap
- tussa 3y agoYes! Thanks!
- linsomniac 3y agoProbably not what you're talking about, but everyone should know the Lineman's Splice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Union_splice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Union_splice TL;DR: It's a method of joining two wires that won't pull apart under load; the wire will break before the splice comes apart. Add solder, trim any pointy bits, and you have a NASA approved joint.
- icameron 3y agoI'm trying this now with 20ga solid core, at least without solder it is still pulling apart even with more then 6 wraps. It could be my technique, still working on it. Thanks.
- jdmichal 3y agoLooks very similar to knots used to join fishing line, like the blood knot.
- tussa 3y agoThanks! I had this one and the Wire Wrap somehow linked in my mind but forgotten the name. Must have seen them both described on the same page a long time ago.
- xyst 3y agoSounds like this person just needs a wire nut twister attachment for their power drill tool. Professional electricians use something like this to finish the outlet boxes. https://www.amazon.com/T-Line-Twisting-BOWT-001-Power-Accessories/dp/B073PPW82J https://www.amazon.com/T-Line-Twisting-BOWT-001-Power-Access...
- nikisweeting 3y agoAs mentioned in other comments below, the whole point is that I don't want a big unwieldy tool, it should be the size of the gun-type automatic wire strippers.
- bArray 3y agoYou can get very small drills, I have a USB powered one with enough torque to twist wires.
- nikisweeting 3y agoThat's not a bad idea, I have a small electric screwdriver that could work. What I really want is something with a spinning head angled 90º facing forward though, like the gun-type automatic wire strippers [1]. It's a lot easier to hold a trigger-type interface and reset it quickly than a screwdriver-grip-type interface. [1] Like this: https://docs.monadical.com/uploads/88cd3519-84a4-413e-b266-113b0a483b67.png https://docs.monadical.com/uploads/88cd3519-84a4-413e-b266-1...
- hacknewslogin 3y agoJust put this wire nut tightening tool into a 1/4" multi-bit screwdriver. I used that a lot when I was doing electrical work.
- CapitalistCartr 3y agoAs an electrician, do NOT do this. Electrical screwdrivers sometimes already include a wirenut wrench, but the ones that mount on a drill are a joke, and dangerous to wiring. Wires for line voltage especially, need to be well-connected.