An induction heater from AliExpress heats up pliers in a couple of minutes
This miniature device with quite high power is simply a godsend for a small workshop. Using this induction heater, you can heat metal workpieces to red hot in a matter of seconds, which is useful both for tempering the metal and for hardening it. If you need to harden a knife blade, there is nothing easier.
Will need
- Induction heater 1000 W - http://alii.pub/5wee3o
- Powerful power supply 12-36 V - http://alii.pub/5wee3v
- Water pump - http://alii.pub/5wee4u
Introduction to the heater and a few words about the characteristics
The delivery of the induction heater itself consists of 2 parts: a board with sealed electronic components and an inductor (solenoid, induction coil).
The board is laid out reliably, wide traces with several transitions between layers indicate the declared power.
The control circuit is based on a push-pull generator with self-excitation using powerful mosfets.
The induction heater can operate on voltages ranging from 12 V to 48 V.The manufacturer also claims that the heater works perfectly even when the voltage exceeds 53 V. Accordingly, the higher the supply voltage, the more power the heater is capable of delivering.
No-load consumption is 3 A when powered from 24 V and 6 A when powered from 48 V.
The coil has a diameter of 40 mm.
Checking the induction heater in operation
The first step is to assemble the heater. The entire assembly comes down to screwing the solenoid to the printed circuit board.
Test check for 16 V power supply.
When running for a long time in idle mode, there is no heating. We use a coil with lamps to verify the generation and operation of the heater.
Let's raise the voltage to 25 V and try to heat the steel rod.
Everything is fine. If you power the heater with no more than 24 V and use the heating process for a short time, then in principle no cooling is required.
But if you want to “squeeze” maximum power out of the heater, you will have to modify the cooling system. You need to run regular water through the coil tube.
This can be done using a mini pump or simply connecting everything to the water supply.
Naturally, the block should be used not at 24 V 20 A, but at 48 V 30 A. There should always be a reserve in terms of current.
It is also advisable to force-cool the board itself with radiators using a cooler.
And so, the test is from 48 V.
Incandescent lamps are already much brighter. The steel rod heats up faster and stronger.
Well, now it’s time to heat up a larger object - steel pliers or pliers.
The time spent warming up is about 2-3 minutes, which is very cool.
A huge advantage of electrical heating is that the metal is not exposed to other oxides from combustion products, say, gas or coal. Also, the warm-up time itself is significantly lower.
