This Boring Company II

(GO TO PART I)

Finally got to install the temperature probes. I began by drilling/reaming a vertical hole from the heat face, so even if it was crooked, the start point was correct.

After that, a bigger hole was drilled on the other side to accept a ceramic separator that came with the probe:

To make space for the probe dome and cables, a sharp scrapper was used:

And it looks like this:

The ceramic retainer is attached to the metal plate with screws, with their head on the inside, so they can’t work loose. Also, dual nuts where used:

Now looks like a partial eclipse:

In the meantime, the plasma cutter arrived, and made my life much easier by allowing me to cut simple shapes with zero effort. So, a 3D model of what I wanted was made:

That was transferred to CAD, and then lasercut some MDF stencils to gide the plasma torch:

Other project stencils, but you get the point.

And panels where made.
Plasma cutting by hand (with stencils) is tricky for internal shapes, and thus, all holes had to be tweaked with a file for the modules to fit.

I am slowly getting better at welding (and thick sheet metal helps):

After power sanding:

First test fit alongside the oven:

The control box is upside down. xD

Nuts where welded to hold the cover:

And tabs where added to hold the box away enough from the oven side:

And then the integration began:

Power cabling:

A quick note on fiberglass covered power cable. You MUST crimp the ends before cutting the fiberglass, or it will unravel and create isolation issues. I did mine with some brass tube and parallel pliers:

Since I was not in the mood to make more holes in the box, I opted for the easy cable routing:

And no, the heatsinks can’t get hot enough to damage the fiberglass cable or the silicone cable, altough the second one might get sleeved up to the probes at some point. Let’s say it is workshop friendly as long as there are no kids around. XD

When you want a compact unit, things like this happen:

Testing the power section to ensure everything is ok:

I left it cooling overnight and then installed the timer. It is NOT connected to the power section, it’s just a convenient place to have a programable clock/alarm.

The controller also has a double circuit switch to deactivate the SSR’s, so the oven power is OFF but I can still monitor the temperature.
The oven now just requires some external quartz tube supports, but it can be used as is for now.

See ya!