Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

My oven build.

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic23182.aspx

By RyanParle - 4/22/2017 7:30:00 PM

Today I made a start on my composite oven, which I will use to cure pre-preg parts as big as an entirefront end of a mini. I would have liked to make it big enough to fit a roofpanel but it would be too big to fit in the space I have.


The main housing is made entirely of celotex / kingspan and is designed so that it can be dismantled and flatpacked when it's not going to be used for a while. 


I started out with 6 sheetsof 50 x 1200 x 2400 celotex these were cut down in to 2 sections of 1700 x 1200 used for the front and back, 2 sections 1000 x 1200 for the ends and 2 sections at 1700 x 1000 for the base and top. The lid is designed to simply sit on the top and the other edges are all morticed so that they interlock with a snug fit and the whole assembly is pretty much self supporting, although I will use something to secure the sections in place. Here are some images of it so far:


http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/b0c143c2-4e92-4730-aaf0-78c5.jpghttp://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/7f9b1f4a-544c-49e1-8fb9-e77b.jpghttp://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/710d05bc-f810-4f82-94e1-0f97.jpg


I ended up with a spare sheet and some decent size offcuts which I may use to make a smaller oven for use with smaller parts, this way I save on electricity costs be heating a smaller area. I will make it using the same methods.


Tomorrow I plan to tidy up the edges and add some re-enforcement with aluminium foil tape, which will hopefully minimise the wear & tare from dismantling and assembly. I may also make a start on mounting the element and fan motor, but this will require some fabricated steel and I'm not sure if I have any suitable material knocking about. I will also have a go at getting the vacuum fittings installed. 


The electrics will have to wait as I still need to get an enclosure for the control circuits, some wire, terminals and switches. I would also like a little advice on how to connect a safety shut off to prevent things getting too hot if something goes wrong with the control system. I have looked at a range of thermal cut out switches but have not managed to find one that can handle the current to run the element, so I can't simply wire it in series with the main power feed. Does anyone have any advice here? I have considered using a relay, but need to explore my options here.


Looking at the size of it I might have to re think my plan of a removable lid for access, at 1150 mm deep it would be difficult to get smaller parts in and out, so I may look in to a door on the front panel, however this would involve some kind of frame to support the door, this would add a fair bit of weight and complexity therefore making it more difficult to dismantle / reassemble.

By RyanParle - 5/21/2017 2:41:47 PM

So Iv'e made some progress on the oven build, mainly on the control box and the mounting for the element & Fan.

The control box uses an Omega CN7500 series Ramp/Soak PID controller with a 25A SSR on a large heatsink, I intend on adding a 60mm fan to the box to provide some cooling, but this requires a small PCB for a 12v PSU, at the moment my element shouldn't pull much more than 10A so the SSR wont be working too hard. I will also put ring terminals on all of the internal wiring, I have just placed an order for them so will get this sorted soon.
http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/6cb0e685-a925-40de-af99-df69.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/b43bab95-eee7-4587-9be9-0697.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/6d763d5b-45ef-4f71-be3a-8b53.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/4601746b-de00-40af-a10f-244f.jpg


The element / fan mounting was inspired by another DIY oven project I have seen on this forum, however I chose to square everything off to save on materials. The fan blade I purchased turned out to be too large in diameter to fit inside the element so I chose to shorten the blades by 7mm which worked a charm. 
Currently the thermal cut-out switch is simply mounted in series with the element this will prevent the whole thing getting too hot, but will not stop the process, I will be looking for some cable with more conductors to run between the element / fan / thermal cut-out and the controller, this way it can be wired so that the thermal cut-out will switch off the power to the whole system, thus stopping the entire process.

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/f6e1b8c8-bbb0-453c-b49e-b309.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/44350114-ee85-43a1-a911-0f01.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/821c84c9-eb19-41eb-b6c7-f306.jpg http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/5e55444f-bafd-4da6-b1cb-74a4.jpg


I have tested the whole system out and it all appears to work as it should, I just need to install it in to the oven housing and start doing some testing and PID tuning.