The C R Clarke 500 and 920 hot wire strip heaters are designed to locally heat thermoplastic sheet materials of thicknesses between (typically) 0.5mm and 6.0mm to allow bending.
The machines operate by heating a thin (0.9mm) diameter resistance wire, located in a guard channel beneath the material to prevent accidental touching. The wire sits approximately 4mm below the material and there is no physical contact between the wire and the material. The heating wire is powered from a transformer and operates at approximately 10 Volts.
A calibrated scale on each side of the working area assists the user with both alignment and measurement of the bend position.