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Home build induction heater


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The work shop / hammer-in model like what Clay Spencer does with the tire hammer would be GREAT... Pay your fee, come help assemble and learn about making coils and such, then take home a working induction heater... Could be a lot of fun...  :-)

 

Saving pennies, and failing that tempted to sell a kidney on CL ;-) I've got two right what is the worst that could happen... ;-)

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a guy once threatened me with a hammer at an event, the hammer was probably not more than 8 ounces and had a pink handle, mind you the guy did not look like he could lift a bigger one.

After I stopped laughing I pointed out that the van I was inside of was loaded with at least 30 hammers and the smallest of which was 4 times the size of his, I held out a sledge horizontally at arms length by the end of the handle and told him to try that if he could take it

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ok back on topic

 

will this be able to be set up and programmed by the average monobrowed hammer swinger or will we have to find a geek to help us?

 

will it be easy to limit the input so those of us who cant get 25kva can still use it without frying our wiring?

 

this side of the pond ( and I presume other parts of the world too ) if we buy from other countries the import duty and tax and other charges are normally more than the item and shipping so will it be a complete kit or will we be able to source parts locally for some of it?

 

will things need to be changed for different countries?

 

Josh, we dont mind the geeky stuff too so dont feel you are imposing, post more news when you can please.

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  • 2 weeks later...

ok back on topic

 

will this be able to be set up and programmed by the average monobrowed hammer swinger or will we have to find a geek to help us?

 

will it be easy to limit the input so those of us who cant get 25kva can still use it without frying our wiring?

 

this side of the pond ( and I presume other parts of the world too ) if we buy from other countries the import duty and tax and other charges are normally more than the item and shipping so will it be a complete kit or will we be able to source parts locally for some of it?

 

will things need to be changed for different countries?

 

Josh, we dont mind the geeky stuff too so dont feel you are imposing, post more news when you can please.

any progress or answers yet?

quite a few would like to get one of these as soon as avaliable

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1. will this be able to be set up and programmed by the average monobrowed hammer swinger or will we have to find a geek to help us?

 

2. will it be easy to limit the input so those of us who cant get 25kva can still use it without frying our wiring?

 

3. this side of the pond ( and I presume other parts of the world too ) if we buy from other countries the import duty and tax and other charges are normally more than the item and shipping so will it be a complete kit or will we be able to source parts locally for some of it?

 

4. will things need to be changed for different countries?

 

Josh, we dont mind the geeky stuff too so dont feel you are imposing, post more news when you can please.

 

1. Yes, part of the challenge in offering this as a kit is ensuring that the end user does not need to learn 10 new skills from the ground up and also that someone with limited electronics knowledge can assemble such a complex machine safely. Although there will be complex options for the adventurous, basic use of the machine will be no more complex than pushing a button or stepping on a pedal.

 

2. Yes, set it and forget it. I do not like how the majority of units only show tank current (that big number on the red LED from zero to the low thousands), although it has it's place I will be displaying input current/power as well as allowing the user to set maximums for both input current and working/tank current. (On the chart above I was limiting the tank or working current (violet), there was also a ceiling for the input/mains current (red) that I did not hit in that data capture.

 

3. After the initial launch I will be open sourcing this project, so yes. However the parts that make these machines expensive can be difficult to source individually. That being said I am working out logistics on a flat rate shipping/import tax rate for the crowdsourcing campaign that will not break the bank.

 

4. I assume your referring to voltage and such, no. The machine can already operate on 50-60Hz with input voltages ranging from 120/240V single phase and 208/230V three phase (delta). Modification to work on larger power sources is simply a mater of ensuring a few components meet the minimum requirements. To operate on three phase 400/480V for example I would just need to remove the filter capacitor, the other components (currently) can already handle the new peek voltage. Operation at higher voltages (within limit) brings the added benefit of running at lower current which lowers losses thus raising efficiency and reducing wear on the machine a bit.

 

--

As far as the kit goes, I had always planed on having the boards stuffed (small parts all soldered on) so the only connections were screw terminals, plugs and such. This way lack of soldering skills or the proper tools won't ruin your day or your investment, although I may offer multiple versions. Such as a bare bones kit where you would start from the ground up with all the raw materials and pieces as well as the aforementioned ARU kit (almost ready to use) where the smaller blocks are complete you just need to hook them all together and mount them in the case. 

 

I am also making the pieces and parts modular which will assist greatly in repair, modification and upgrading. Rather than having the entire system smashed together on one board that costs half the price of the whole unit and is impossible to repair except by an electrical technician, each system and sub system is on it's own board. I've also greatly reduced the size, part count (biggie, fewer failure points) and from an outward visual standpoint the complexity over the low cost Chinese units. Using discreet components does save cost but modules and parts that are made for industrial applications make for a much more reliable machine and are really not unreasonable in price when purchased in quantity.

 

-Josh

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thank you Josh

lots of answers and help, looking forward to the launch

 

personally I have a little experience of electronics, built my first 2 computers many years ago and have friends into it as well so with the simplicity of your machine I would not be too daunted.

 

3 phase here in the UK is normally for industry only

 

domestic in the UK is 220-240v 50hz 13a with larger things wired in permanently or on the bigger industrial plugs, most houses have a 60 amp supply coming in

 

industry here uses the above plus 16a or 32a plugs for single phase 

3 phase in either 4 or 5 pin ( L1 L2 L3 N E or  L1 L2 L3 E ) 415 OR 440V ( depending on how it is measured I think ) ON 16a or 32a plugs and sometimes bigger

 

I have what most small industrial workshops have here 32a per phase is my limit.

 

95% of my forging is on the same small parts 1/2" round and square heating about 3" at the end and this is what I intend using this for as those parts are often needed in a small quantity in a hurry turning this unit on will be a lot better than lighting a coke forge for 5 minutes work.

 

I will be using the lower end of the power settings mostly

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As someone who has a good deal of experience with electronics (and postsecondary education in physics), I'm not concerned about the actual assembly in the least. I'd gladly pay for a set of plans that just encapsulates all the engineering and fine tuning work you guys have done over the past months... Is there any plan to make such a write-up available in the near future? I'd love to be able to build one this summer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

still looking for a more suitable PSu for it before, had used a inverter welder ( needs 48v DC at 20a ) but after the first sucsessfull test with a piece of 1/4" rod I tried the end of a medium sized ring spanner and turned the welder up, there was a bit of a bang from the two mosfets on the board.

I doubt it would do even the smallest stuff I do reasonably but may be good to play with whilst I wait
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

news of my 1kw toy induction heater,

after replacing mosfets and checking what else I could I tried again, not working so a friend is taking a look at it for me.

seeing it heat metal did make me want to get a real one.

 

yes I want one of these Daniel and Josh

how are tests going on the new one?

any idea when you will be doing something to start the crowdfunding or whatever or a release date yet?

will it be this summer?

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Hey guys, I apologize for not replying to all the PM's and questions yet. I've been burning the midnight oil for the past few weeks getting the beta model up an running.
 
This project will be open source so I've been working on setting all of that up as well. That means I will not be selling plans, the plans will be free. I'll loose a bit of revenue there but I'll gain a lot of community involvment, insight and momentum. I know that the kit will be worth it to users who are interested in more than just tinkering. There is a xxxx of a lot of work that goes into sourcing parts and there are a lot of parts in this machine. Single pricing will likely be more than the cost of the kit.
 
I've already implemented a few of the ideas I got from comments here (I think they were from here at least). For one the case is completely sealed, there is a 120mm heat exchanger inside the case that circulates air cooled by the water cooling system already present. This was also in response to me having to swap out the control board in the prototype Daniel was using, the conductive metal dust that it was covered in shorted out the microprocessor and PLL pins. This should greatly prolong it's life and reduce maintenance. I've also added a 16A solid state switch (fused at 10A) to automatically control a pump or valve based on internal component temperature (there are currently 4 thermal  sensors in the machine).
 
Now that the beta unit is mostly complete I will be focusing on content and documentation.
 
Here is a photo of the first beta control boards being assembled.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38230-beta-assembly/


 
Hot Stuff:

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38231-15inch-square/



http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38232-05inches-by-6inches/


 
Stuff that shouldn't be hot:

One thing I will need to change is the color of the case, at least the front. Although black looks slick it absorbs way to much radiant heat.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38233-black-is-hot/


 
OMG VIDEO!


In this video the induction heater is running on 240V single phase 34A at near unity power factor (.99), it's capable of running at 3 times that capacity (and has). Most induction heaters that run at that input power level (7.6 to 8.2Kw) are rated at 15Kw (oscillation power), they also do not run at unity power factor but closer to .6-.75 or worse. So although the apparent power (input) is around 7-8Kw only about 4.7-5.7Kw of that is real power (doing actual work). I think I prefer results based rating over numbers that can (and often are) doctored. 
A video of the machine in action: 
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news of my 1kw toy induction heater,

after replacing mosfets and checking what else I could I tried again, not working so a friend is taking a look at it for me.

seeing it heat metal did make me want to get a real one.

 

yes I want one of these Daniel and Josh

how are tests going on the new one?

any idea when you will be doing something to start the crowdfunding or whatever or a release date yet?

will it be this summer?

 

You can do a surprising amount with 1Kw. Of course it won't blow your socks off working with larger material (unless you lick the MOSFETs while holding your ankles). In my early tests I had a MOSFET version that ran between 500 and 1300 watts, it easily heated 1/4" stock to working temperature and beyond. It's all about impedance tuning, ensuring your work coil is optimized to the work piece ensuring you make the best use of the power available. 

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That is really an awesome project so far! I appreciate your work and looking forward to building one when it's available. One question i have is, will it be possible to control the Induction Heater with a computer? Like sending commands to it via Matlab to change power or to receive actual and target values for power, current and voltage?

 

Thank you very much in advance!

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