Mini "Jaws of life" for bench work.

[aargee]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a mini electrical version of the hydraulic "Jaws of Life" that rescue crews use to tear apart car wrecks after an accident.
What I would like to do is split open well sealed plastic battery cases to retrieve Li-Ion 18650 cells (these are not normal clip together type laptop packs)
In theory it would be a case of Dremmelling a small slot on the seam and then splitting from there.

I'm not sure if such a thing exists or if it does, how horrendously expensive it would be.

Anyone with info or ideas?

[andtfoot]

How about a bench or drill press vice with something pointy added to the jaws if needed. I've used something similar to split apart power supply cases on the odd occasion.

[Mr. Scram]

I've seen people crack this kind of case with a bench vice. Just apply pressure along the seems until it pops. Be careful not to squish the batteries, of course.

[DTJ]

Consider a small Arbor press. It will give you good feedback when splitting cases that a powered tool will not.

Just make custom bits for the end of the ram. Lots of uses, IDC crimping, lug crimping, cutting wire and heat shrink tubing batches.

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/P118

[aargee]

Thanks guys, the cases are pretty effectively glued. So far the best way has been with a Dremel disk to cut/melt through three seams on the case ant then tear them apart with the help of non conductive spludger type tools used for car interior panel work.
Splitting cases using force has not worked.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I've yet to fail at opening an ultrasonic-welded battery pack or  AC adapter using my seam-cracking method :
https://youtu.be/C3YksbvYnKY?t=393

[Mr. Scram]

I've yet to fail at opening an ultrasonic-welded battery pack or  AC adapter using my seam-cracking method :
https://youtu.be/C3YksbvYnKY?t=393

That's surprisingly similar to how you can split a coconut in two with fairly minimal force. If you whack one with something like the the back of a knife across the "equator" of the coconut it naturally tends to split cleanly there.

[tablatronix]

I use large split jaw pliers and crush them the seams just pop, you could also grind thencorners the do the same. But i can see not wanting to apply any force to something with lions innit.

[mikeselectricstuff]

If you're going for bulk, table saw with the blade set very shallow. Or bandsaw   

Just have a fire extinguisher handy.

[Mr. Scram]

I use large split jaw pliers and crush them the seams just pop, you could also grind thencorners the do the same. But i can see not wanting to apply any force to something with lions innit.

Lions can get slightly cross when you squeeze them too hard.

[aargee]

Nope, nope and nope.
I have used your technique with great success in the past Mike, first seen on your channel  but these packs are glued not welded, I’ve whacked the crap out of it with my screwdriver handle an it ain’t moving.
(BTW - my modded Flir E4 is still going strong, apart from a hot pixel, thanks for your work there!!)
The vice compression method crushes the pack too without any signs of seam popping.

Gentle, careful use of the Dremel has been the way so far, then plastic spludger and brute force to tear the pack open. Nervous stuff close to a large open area of concrete, if it all goes pear shaped.

[andtfoot]

How about sticking something to the vice jaws, then running it in reverse to open it outwards.
Like this (orange bits added to vice):


You would still need to get it partly open to fit it over the jaws, but it would make the brute force part more controllable.

[Mickster]

How about these external snap ring pliers?

https://www.knipex.com/index.php?id=1216&L=1&page=art_detail&parentID=1365&groupID=1454&artID=1719

Regards.

[aargee]

There’s two good ideas. I’ve got some circlip pliers somewhere, I’ll give that a go.

[NiHaoMike]

Use a small neodymium magnet to find the actual location of the cells, then use a soldering gun with a cutting tip to cut into the case between two cells. After that, careful work with some cutting pliers will get the rest of the case apart.