This is the first thing I've posted, so I hope everything is ok. Any problems, let me know.
I needed an 18650 pack for my electric motorcycle project, but couldn't find anything that suited my needs exactly, so.... I designed my own (as we do).
The photo's tell the story really, so all you need to know is that the copper wire I used was 2.5mm twin & earth (the stuff used to wire the sockets in your house). After bending the wire into shape (I started by bending the bolt loop around a 6mm drill, then the rest with pliers) I heated it to push it into the slots so they are held in place (I made the slots tight for this reason). There's nothing to stop you melting some plastic on the ends, or gluing them in to make sure.
The wire soldered between the copper and the batteries is 5 amp fuse wire on the positive side and 15 amp fuse wire on the negative side. The 15 amp isn't important and could be anything, but it was nice and easy to solder, so it got my vote. The 5 amp fuse is because I didn't want to draw any more than that from each cell. They are, after all, only recycled laptop cells.
I rotated the items 45 degrees on the print bed, so they would fit and used support on the 20 Cell Holder.stl. The lid doesn't need any support.
I'm only drawing around 30 amps from this pack, but it should be capable of a lot more.
| 20_Cell_Holder.stl |
| 20_Cell_Holder_-_lid.stl |
