Electro Wire Stripper

3D Printing & Imaging Technology
Electro Wire Stripper


As soon as I saw this, I thought, “why didn’t I think of that!?” Thingiverse user Brian Beebe designed an Electro Wire Stripper, a wire stripper that indicates when you’ve cut through the insulation. As soon as each blade comes into contact with the wire, it closes the circuit to turn on the LED, letting you know you’re ready to strip. The design files are available for download and 3D printing, you supply the plastic and components. How well does it work? According to Brian, it’s one of the best wire strippers he’s ever used. [via MakerBot]

36 thoughts on “Electro Wire Stripper

  1. salman sheikh says:

    i uploaded the file to one 3-D printing co and its like $143 just for the 2 pieces..I could get a much nicer stripper for a fraction of that..cool but no good unless you already own a printer…

    1. discutons says:

      Or you could drill a few holes in a piece of wood …

      1. Tim says:

        That’s exactly what I was thinking. People get so caught up in the 3D printer, CNC or laser cutter concepts that they lose sight of what the thing is that they are making. In this case it’s just something to hook the circuit and razor blades to. If you really wanted it to be fancy you might try a printed circuit board.

        However, as Paul says, if the blades come in contact with the metal, you’ve cut too far. I have around 40 years of experience stripping wires. The right way to do it is to stop with the blade most of the way through the insulation. If you nick (touch) the wire you’ve done it wrong and ruined the wire.

  2. Paul Howard says:

    I might be a bit anal here, but if you make contact with the metal conductors (with whatever you are stripping with), then you have gone too far.

  3. Nick Stanton (@NickStanton) says:

    It looks lethal. You may have to factor in the Band-Aid costs too.

  4. John Pattillo says:

    I think you could make one of these from regular wire strippers if you put some kind of insulating washer at the pivot point of the strippers.

  5. » Make Your Own Wire Stripper that Warns You When You Hit the Wire [DIY] Great Blogs says:

    […] Wire Stripper | Thingiverse via MAKE Magazine « Add Hyperlinks to Gmail Messages with a Keyboard Shortcut […]

  6. Make Your Own Idiot-Proof Wire Stripper | Lifehacker Australia says:

    […] Wire Stripper [Thingiverse via MAKE Magazine] diytools  Discuss  Share  Tweet  Email  More […]

  7. Wire Stripper Lights Up When You’ve Cut Deep Enough | Gizmodo Australia says:

    […] so please post your ideas in the comments for those of us lacking a 3D printer. [Thingiverse via Make] 3d printingtoolsGadgetsdiy  Discuss  Share  Tweet  Email  More […]

  8. RoBoBaLLS says:

    Echo:
    “why didn’t I think of that!?”

  9. Make Your Own Wire Stripper that Warns You When You Hit the Wire [DIY] says:

    […] Wire Stripper | Thingiverse via MAKE Magazine Article source: […]

  10. Abisolierzange leuchtet auf, bevor der Draht beschädigt wird - GIZMODO DE - Das Gadget-Weblog says:

    […] Thingiverse, Make] Pages: 1 2 ← Vorheriger Beitrag Xappr macht das iPhone zur VR-Pistole […]

  11. Linus Bravenius says:

    I made my own which sandwiches a pair of model knife blades between two 50x130x2mm pieces of plastic. It uses m3 screws and two nuts as spacers in between the two pieces of plastic, the blades are held by two screws each and hot glue is used to fix the components in between. With some macgyvering I got the blades very stable, the space between the sandwiched boards makes it incredibly safe, only way I could cut myself is if I forcibly stuck my finger in there.

    Also the red light DOES indicate when you’ve gone too far, if you pull when it lights the blades grip into the copper wire making it very hard to pull, the correct method is to back up a tiny bit, twist 90 degrees and it comes off effortlessly.

    If anyone’s interested in pictures, e-mail me at chipset31@gmail.com

  12. MAKE | Seven Cool 3D Printable Tools says:

    […] disappointing discovery, while researching 3D printed tools, was that Brian Beebe’s Electro Wire Stripper, which made such a big splash back in January, has apparently been taken down from the site. […]

  13. Seven Cool 3D Printable Tools says:

    […] disappointing discovery, while researching 3D printed tools, was that Brian Beebe’s Electro Wire Stripper, which made such a big splash back in January, has apparently been taken down from the site. […]

  14. Gifts for the Electronics Whiz, Geek, Nerd, Wonk, Ace, Pro, Babe, or Stud in Your Life | MAKE says:

    […] this stripper tells you when you’ve cut just far enough to reach the wire and no further. Brian Beebe’s original 3D-printed housing has sadly been removed from Thingiverse, but the principle of the thing is simple enough to figure […]

  15. http://www.elfatokat.com/member.php?u=149599 says:

    You really make it appear really easy with your presentation however I in finding this topic to be actually something that I believe I’d never understand.
    It seems too complex and extremely wide for me.

    I’m having a look forward for your subsequent put up, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

  16. phpmafia.net says:

    phpmafia.net

    Electro Wire Stripper | MAKE

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Matt Richardson is a San Francisco-based creative technologist and Contributing Editor at MAKE. He’s the co-author of Getting Started with Raspberry Pi and the author of Getting Started with BeagleBone.

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