Hot Wire Foam Cutter – Arduino PWM

I did the hot wire foam cutter previously but I missed the temperature control. So that’s why I made a simple PWM control. The whole project was based on Arduino ATtiny85 Digispark. For this project I only needed three pins, so the ATtiny85 is fine. Also I carried the wires in the PVC pipes.

See more: Hot wire foam cutter – Arduino PWM

Step 1: Components

• Arduino Digispark ATtiny85

• Plastic box for electronics

• Some wires

• IRF530

• 5 x resistors 1k ohm

• 2 x resistors 100 ohm

• 1 x potentiometer 10k ohm

• 2 x BC547

• 1 x LED 3v

• 1 x 7812

• Hot wire foam cutter

Step 2: Schematic diagram

Step 3: Fixing

After soldering the circuit, we can mount it to the PVC pipe.

Step 4: Wires

The next step is to place the wires inside the PVC pipe.

Step 5: Software for the controller

The software itself is very simple.

#define PWM_PIN 1
	int val = 0;
	long t = 0;
	bool sw = LOW;
	//the setup routine runs once when you press reset:
	void setup() {                
	  pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT); //LED on Model B
	  pinMode(PWM_PIN, OUTPUT);
	  analogWrite(PWM_PIN, 0);
	  delay(1000);
	}
	void loop(){
	  val = analogRead( A1 );
	  analogWrite(PWM_PIN, val/4 );
	  if( millis() - t > 1000 ){
	    sw = !sw;
	    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, sw);
	    t = millis();
	  }
	}

Download source code: Hot_wire_foam_cutter.ino

Step 6: Programming ATtiny85 with Arduino IDE

Select board Digispark (Default – 16.5MHz)

Select programmer micronucleus

Press upload and connect ATtiny85 Digispark to USB. You have 60 seconds to do it.

Read More: Hot Wire Foam Cutter – Arduino PWM