Thermal saw
Unlike a conventional saw , a thermal saw melts the material to be sawed . Accordingly, this is suitable only for materials that melt at relatively low temperatures, such as, for example, foams of thermoplastic resins (which are, for example, insulating boards made of Styrodurhartschaum, polystyrene hard foam, polystyrene foam), wax or ice.
The thermal saw is mainly used in architectural model construction , in aircraft model construction (wing production), in display advertising design when processing foam polystyrene for building thermal insulation and ETICS work.
The most important element of the thermal saw is a metal wire, which always consists of an iron alloy ( steel , stainless steel , heating conductor ) because of the necessary resistance . The high current flowing through it heats the wire to working temperature. A low-voltage power supply unit must be used for a safe power supply so that accidental contact with the wire has no consequences. More complex models often also have a fan to ventilate the hot wire in order to counteract overheating of the same in the non-cutting areas.
Synonyms
Styrocut ( brand name of a well-known thermal saw), Hotwire, hot wire cutting device, Styrofoam cutter, foam cutting machine, Isoboy, Inocut IC2, IC3 or IC4 are also hot wire cutting devices.