laser wire stripper?

[amdivoff]

im wondering if there is such a thing as you see on the spy movies where i could heat up and burn and remove part of a wires plastic/rubber coating. is thhere such a thing? if so where could i get one or what would i need to build one?
thank you<p>Andre Mercado

[philba]

I suppose its possible but I have to ask it - why would you even want to? It would leave burned residue, smell nasty and polute your air.

[rstofer]

There are certainly thermal strippers. They just use a hot wire to melt the insulation.<p>I haven't seen anything that uses a laser.

[HighFrequency]

I think the power required to melt plastic with a laser is too much to be worthwhile. Like rstofer said, there are thermal strippers that use a heated wire. They're pretty slick.

[Chris Smith]

On top of this, lasers vaporize the plastic, and then comes the toxic issues surrounding all lasers and vapors. Any time you have a laser that vaporizes a material, you then need a “clean room” ten times the size of the laser and all of its related parts, plus the EPA sign off. And the list goes on.

[rshayes]

The main advantage of the thermal strippers is that they will not nick the copper wire. Other than that, they are heavy, clumsy to use, and require AC power. I usually prefer a good mechanical stripper. Get the type that have dies with holes sized for each wire size, and be careful to lay the wire in the center of the die opening to avoid nicking.<p>There is a little vapor from the thermal stripper, but this is fairly minor. I wouldn't breathe it, but if the ventilation is reasonable it shouldn't be a major problem.<p>[ July 17, 2005: Message edited by: stephen ]</p>

[Dean Huster]

Ah, Stephen, you've never used the Patco model PTS-10. It's a little hand-held stripper that is basically a wall wart with a line cord. Two studs come out (the third stud is writing this) and to them is attached a thin metal band that heats up constantly. You have to work to get burned, but it works for nearly any wire size, although #12 house wiring is a bit of a struggle for it. But for the normal hook-up wire, it's great as long as it's thermoplastic insulation. I've used them for years and love them. Has a built-in length gauge.<p>Compared to bulky Pace units with their big power supply and all the fancy accessories, this baby is inexpensive, easy to use and light.<p>I believe Digi-Key sells them (or at least used to) for around $50 or so.<p>Dean

[Jeep4by4]

I prefer my "thermal stripper", more commonly known as a bic lighter. Just use the flame to heat the insulation, to the point that it's soft and plyable, but not burning, then pull it off, or apart exposing the area you need to get to. Works great, costs less than a buck.<p>[ July 18, 2005: Message edited by: Jeep4by4 ]</p>

[Enzo]

Not to mention that a laser that powerful would represent a serious vision hazard. All you need is for it to reflect off a shiny bit of solder or other piece of metal and poof you are blind.

[Dean Huster]

Well, if that's the workmanship you seek, rather than waste the butane, why not just use the soldering iron to melt the insulation off? Just use the back part away from the tinned tip for a dual-duty iron.<p>Dean