My Computer Controlled Powder Coat Oven
By Bill Shaw
My 'free' powder coat oven.
Well, since so many have asked, I thought I'd put together some pictures of my powder coat oven. It started out life as a standard electric kitchen oven. After a long and successful career in the Drufva's kitchen, it was retired to finish it's life in my workshop as a powder coat / epoxy cure oven. It also gets pressed into duty as a surface mount reflow oven when the boards are too big to fit into my Artic oven :-) You can find more info about surface mount reflow here...
http://articulationllc.home.comcast.net/~articulationllc/sm0402.htm
I coat small to medium sized parts in this oven. The biggest I've done so far is the 16" wheels from Amy's Audi. The 16's just barely fit by propping the door closed. A 17 inch wheel will not fit. This oven also works well for epoxy curing. The 2 stage temperature profile can go out to 18 hours, the single stage 'bake' profile can go out to months.
The oven is controlled by a Reflower Lite, which is a temperature controller designed for my prototype surface mount reflow ovens.
The Reflower Lite does a fine job of controlling this oven. Temperatures are consistantly accurate, no guesswork.
I basically removed all the factory wiring and all the things I didn't need. Normally the back is all closed up but I've removed the covers to show the wiring. L1 and L2 come in from the oven's power cord to the relay. Switched L1 & L2 come out of the relay and go to both heating coils in parallel. I also have an indicator light on the stove's backsplash for confirmation that the coils are powered up. Neutral goes to the indicator light and the stove's case. Check your local building codes about this before you try this at home!
230 VAC is dangerous and can kill you. Stoves get hot and can burn you. I am a trained professional, do not try this unless you are absolutely sure of what you are doing!.
The Reflower monitors the temperature of the item in the oven and controls the temperature according to the user-defined temperature profile. It is calibrated during initial set-up for optimal performance with the specific oven being used
The Reflower can be purchased from Articulation LLC.
Bill Shaw is an engineer with 28 years of design experience in embedded hardware and software. As the owner of Articulation LLC, he offers his extensive experience in product development, electronic prototypes, software engineering and project management to assist other companies in bringing their ideas to market. Call today for a free consultation and quote.
Bill Shaw
bill@ArticulationLLC.com
Articulation LLC
176 Dennison Road
Westbrook, CT 06498
860-399-5334
For information on the TempTell Reflower see:
http://www.ArticulationLLC.com