Induction Furnace Request for Bids
Main > Digital Fabrication > RepLab Tools > Induction furnace
Overview
Induction Furnace
You may have heard us talk about 'recasting civilization from scrap metal.' Refined metal can be mined in abundance from heaps upon heaps of industrial detritus in junkyards and fencerows. This will have to do until we can refine minerals directly and smelt them to pure metal.
I look forward to the day when our induction furnace chews up our broken tractors and cars from the paleoindustrial order and spits them out in fluid form. This will allow us to cast machine parts using molds printed by open source ceramic printers. We see the induction furnace, hot rolling, forging, casting, and other processes critical to the fabrication component of the GVCS.
An induction furnace requires a high frequency, high-power supply (between 20 and 50 kW ($1600 on eBay)) , and the melting chamber proper. We might be able to buy a complete turnkey system for around $5k used and run it from the LifeTrac generator, but if it breaks we’re dead-in-the-water with either an inability to repair a closed-source technology ourselves or a high repair bill. A single blown component that is inaccessible to our repair efforts could turn a working power supply into worthless junk. Thus, it is worthwhile to tame this technology by open-sourcing the design. This is the robust and cost effective choice.
Seeking Designers
We are looking for a consultant or developer to produce a design according to specifications below. We are offering between $100 and $3000 for a design, depending on its level of completion. This request will be posted on eLance and other outsourcing sites. If you are qualified to produce a design, please submit a bid by emailing opensourceecology at gmail dot com. We’re open to other suggestions on tactical and strategic aspects.
The bids will be judged on the demonstrated skill of the bidder and on the extent of design completion. The complete design would include all of the following:
- Design of an induction furnace circuit scalable up to 50 kW in units of 1 or 5 kW
- Design allows for power and frequency selection
- Power source may be either 1 or 3 phase electrical power.
- Specifications of a cooling or heat dissipation system
- Adaptable design specifications for primary coil windings
- Geometrical design of melt chamber and basic power transfer calculations
- Melt chamber includes provisions for loading and pouring.
- Complete bill of materials
- Fabrication files for circuit and other components
- Sourcing information for components
- System design and process flow drawings
If the proposed design specifications turn out to be unfeasible, design criteria will be modified accordingly. However, dismissals of the feasibility of the project that are not carefully reasoned and supported will be ignored.
We have a $5k commitment to prototype an open source induction furnace. We are choosing to alot $3k for design work, as we believe that the remaining $2k would suffice for the furnace's physical components: about $1k for the electronics, and $1k for the furnace chamber.
Responses
See this project's Project Notes
Maas Tech
Please check out our website for a list projects we have done before:
There are lot of other projects in our website you can check out them.
Sergey Cobin
My name`s Sergey Cobin. I am a head of engineering group from Ukraine, “Sigma electronics laboratories”, Research Department of State Donbass University. Our group works at the area of power electronics. For present we develop three chief directions. 1 AC and DC Drives for power range from 1kW to 125kW; 2. Induction heating invertors for power range 5kW to 250kW; 3 AC Stabilizers for power range 10kW to 50kW. I try to get you answers for your questions. 1.I have been developing induction heating systems for power range from 5kW to 250kW for frequency from 2.4 kHz to 66kHz . 2 All systems is real systems, not papers. I finished at October 2009 similar project for power range 50kW and frequency 4 kHz by the order private firm “Ukraine export” , for melting of silver scrap. Melting processes take about 30-40 minutes for 25 kg for high-scrap charge, and 70-90 min for 40-50kg high-scrap charge. Preferably ratio for output power of invertor to weight of scrape is 1.5-2kW/ kg. 3. I send you some promotion material in attachment. 4. I can develop and calculate of cooling system, as for this project it will be water forced cooling, water discharge is 3 liters /minute. 5. I have experience as for inductance heating for metal-melting applications, usually for melting of ferrous metal used packed heater. 6. I haven`t break down project to present, all my projects has success. As for spent time, I can divide it next manner – control circuit design, constructions and key calculations- 20%, power circuit design and constructions- 30%, inductor construction design- 15%, cooling systems design- 15%, melting chamber design- 10%. 8. I don`t use Arduino platform for building of control but I use Atmel controllers for design of control systems. If I will get the Arduino I can do this development. 9. I will propose you exact components and materials. If you can`t get it in USA, I can propose alternative variants. As for manu facture of printed boards for project I will send you gerber files for printed board manufacture. In addition as for printed board I can send you finished goods by air post. I`d like to say that control systems is inexpensive systems, components and materials costs about $50. But power part of the project has much more cost. I will get you all necessary suggestion for manufacture it at home, but you will need some experience of building of power electronics systems, experience of welding and furnace, experience of using of measurement instrument as for oscilloscope, voltmeter and ammeter. This experience is 50% of success at realization of the project. 10. For 50kW output power, single phase 240V input power supply is incorrectness selection. Most probably your generator will get overload. Usually we use a three phases input power supply from 10 kW to higher load. Modularity will be OK!. Before starting of project you will need to clarify of purpose of your project. I t means that heating for melting differs from heating for pressing and other induction heating technology. It`s differ technologies and differ tasks. If it`s possible than please choose one of it. At first for calculation I will need to know maximal and minimal weight of charge of the heater, kg and desired heater capacity, kg/hour. Do you plane to do heating of ferrous metal or non-ferrous metal? It is clear, you can break the project into phases for test of circuits but it will take more time than 25 days. I suppose that for installations work you will need about 20-40 days, manufacture of inductor, reactor and melting chamber takes about 7-15 days, starting up works takes about 3-7 days, maybe delivery of materials and components takes 10 days. In other words, realization of the project takes about 2-3 months. You will need oxy-acetylene welding and cooper-silver solder for manufacture of cooling systems, inductor, reactor, cab-tire cables and other power elements . I will plane to divide the project on stages. After realization of an each stage I will send you information for realization next stage, step by step we will do all project. Yours sincerely Sergey Cobin
