2000 Watts Induction Heater

Induction heaters are a great piece of tool for heating metal objects that can come in handy in a DIYers workspace when you need to get things red hot without messing up the whole space.

So today we are going to create an extremly powerful induction heater totally from scratch and the good thing is that this unit is built using customized Printed Circuit Boards which makes the whole building process for you guys a piece of cake and neat aswell.

Step 1: Tools and Material Required

• List of material required for this project :
• Customised printed circuit board
• 12 AWG & 16 AWG enamel copper wire
• Ferrite cores
• 12v DC fan
• Heat sink
• Resistors
• Capacitors
• Diodes

List of tools used in this projects :

• Soldering Iron
• Soldering wire
• Cutters
• Pliers

Step 2: Designing the Schematic

The unit works as an LC oscillator and thus inducing the current into metal objects with a continiously changing magnetic field.

The input is a DC voltage ranging from 12v to 36v. At the initial stage we have the DC fuses just to make sure that thing wont blow up in case of any fault. From there the supply is split into two parts, one of which is the LM7812 12v voltage regulator that is used to drive the cooling fan to keep the mosfets cool.

The other part of the supply is then fed to the four N-Channel mosfets, a pair of which is driving the two channels that are working alternately and thus changing the DC voltage into a continiously changing electric field.

Now there are two possible configuration, we can either go with only one onboard inductor and have the output coil split into two parts which makes the design of the output coil a bit more complicated thus we decided to go with the tanks circuit configuration which offers two on board inductors and has a single output coil inducing the electromagnetic field into the object being heated.

With this design in mind we have designed the customized PCBs on easyEDA, an extremly useful platform for PCB designing

Step 3: Designing the Printed Circuit Board

As I finished the schematic I have decided to go with designing a dedicated PCB for the induction heater as it will not only help us to keep everything neat but I intended to design this unit so thats its capable of further modifications for my other DIY projects.

The idea of designing a PCB might seems to take a whole lot of efforts but believe me it worth that all when you get your hands on customized boards. So with that in mind I designed the PCB for the induction heater unit.Then i also made customised packages for inductors on the boards.

I have also added four mounting holes which will be helpful to mount the controller and also hold the cooling fan along with the heat sink above the MOSFETs.

Schematic, Gerber Files and BOM(Bill Of Material):

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nNnzaC_NfH0zacga...

Step 4: Ordering the PCBs

Unlike any other customised part for your DIY Project, PCBs are surely the easiest one to get. Yes Now once we generated gerber files of our finilized PCB layout we are just a few clicks away from ordering our customized PCBs.

What all I did is to head upto JLCPCB and after going through a bunch of options there I uploaded my gerber files. Once the deisgn is checked for any errors by their techinical team your design is forwarded to the manufacturing line. The whole process will take two days to complet and hopefully you will get your PCBs within just a week. JLCPCBhave made this project possible by their support so take your time and have a look at their website. They are offering Standard PCB, Quick-turn PCB, SMD etc so for discounts of upto 30% on your PCBs visit this link. Gerber files,schematic and the BOM (Bill Of Material) for the PCB is avaliable here.

Step 5: Assembling the PCB

As expected the PCBs arrived within a week and the finish is just too good. The quality of the PCBs is absolutely flawless. Now time to gather all the components as mentioned in the BOM(Bill of Material) and drop them in place.

To keep things flowing we need to start with the smallest component on the PCB which is some resistors, diodes and some connectors. After soldering these components we have to move towards larger components. And then we have bend the Mosfets legs and soldered it on the board.

Step 6: Attaching Capacitors and Cooling Fan

After that we have placed the capacitor on the boards. In order to cool down the MOSFETs we have placed the 12v dc fan with the heat sink sandwich in between.

But after that we have realized that this fan is not enough powerful so we have replaced it by some bigger one.

Step 7: Making the Inductors

For tank circuit we have use 24mm ferrite core and 16 AWG enamel copper wire. We have wind 22 turns on the each ferrite core in order to get suitable frequency. And then soldered it on the boards.

Step 8: Induction Coil

After placing the inductors its time to make the induction coil and for that we have used 12 AWG enamel copper wire. First we have straitened the wire and then wind it on the PVC pipe in order to get the perfect shape. And screwed it on the terminals.

Step 9: Final Results

This induction heater performed like a champ. From a metal ruller to a half inch thick rod, it took not more than a couple of seconds to heat it red hot.

The heater can work inbetween 12v to 36vDC and can handle surges of upto 2000 watts which is a suffient amount of energy to handle large objects.

Drop down your thoughts in the comments section below.

Regards,

DIY King

Comments

[ErikA33]

found the instructable for the supplied circuit board its, https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Powerful-Induction-Heater/

[Naveenbrotto]

Hi sir,

What is the i/p power to run this induction circuit to get the final result, i have not seen the i/p power rating in this project explained by you

[mikehansen6]

Hi.
I have a small one I got from amazon it great. Would I make one for me useing in knife making
The coil need to be 2” inside and 6” long let me now how much
Mike

[PraizyO]

Please sir can this project be done on Proteus so as to enable us build it in our local community

[Kainatty]

Can I please contact u

[frarugi87]

There are some questions raising from the instructable:
- You never mentioned the power supply; since you speak about 2kW I assume it is a 36V/55A
- You wrote the code of the fuse holders, but never spoke about the fuse rating; given the input, I assume 2x 30A fuses are needed

If these are confirmed, then since the connector is rated 30A; it may melt under 55A current, or at least you are at 2x its current limitation

[mervedamar]

'Hi, very goood project. Thanks. ı want to make this. But I need accounts. power calculation, frequency calculation. Could you help me?
For example, how much is this circiuts frequency?
What is the effect of the choke on the frequency?

[liquidhandwash]

Nice project, have you plans to sell a kit or finished product? I know guys in who make knifes could possibly be interested.

[starphire]

For heating larger pieces of metal, you'll probably want a more powerful induction heater with a larger, water-cooled coil that can handle the heat. Similar circuit design, just with more robust transistors and coil. This is pretty low power, best for quickly heating small parts. You can buy assembled boards for various power levels for not that much money, and put them together with your own power supply and case.

[Petersonlh]

Due to some disability issues, I dont believe I'd be able to make that...I am interested in buying a finished o mostly finished product from you.

[starphire]

These are easy and inexpensive to buy fully assembled from dealers in China. If you don't mind waiting for shipping, do a search for induction heaters on aliexpress. Your cost will probably be even lower than building it yourself, the design and quality will be about the same as this.

[wclapie]

Nice. Reminds me of working days! Thousand pound water cooled induction furnaces!
LMBO. Love it!

[JayH25]

This looks more like an advertizement for JLCPCB than an Instructable? A super-vague component list and very detailed instructions on hot use the JLCPCB website. This should be titled "How to go to the JLCPCB and order a customized board." Looked interesting, but ended up being of little use unless I wanted to get "customized" circuit boards.

[DIY KING 00]

Sorry guys the link for the gerber files and the documents for the PCBs and components is updated in the step 4 (Ordering the PCB).

[DIY KING 00]

Sorry guys the link for the gerber files and the documents for the PCBs and components is updated in the step 4 (Ordering the PCB).

[DIYhenos]

HI DIY KING 00, big fan here! I love your work.
can you please advise types of electronic components you used in maing this project.....like for example type of capacitor, transistor & other stuff.

[ismailmajed]

Hi dear sir
i am zein from horizon
would you please answer me on the questions related to the 2000 w induction heater please?
you can find my questions by oppening the attached photo.
i will be appreciated for help.
thanks for help in advance. ZEIN

[JohnC430]

U1, U2 ==> l1 AND l2: USE 300uH;
However remember, you also need to have a DC power supply that can supply the current for this. 25V at 80 Amps.
Better settle for a lower power like 1 KW 24V at 40 Amps.
Also take into consideration the comments above from:

RomasP

7 hours ago













Sorry but this is very bad implementation of ZVS drive. I do not
recommend to do this. LM7812 absolute maximum input voltage 35V, no
way to use 36V supply. With resistor 220 ohm LED will blow at any moment
(current over 40 mA at 12V from 7812). Zeners must be powerful and at
least for 10 -12 V, not like these 0.4W 6.2V. At 12-15 V supply this
"device" can work some time, not in very good regime, but this is waste
of good transistors. Please change elements according almost any normal
ZVS drive schematic on internet

[FloridaJo]

LM7812 any manufacturer should be fine.
5MM LED - Yes, any LED that has a forward current of 20ma (50 ma max) should be fine.
220 - You are right, the designation shows a 1/4 watt 1K resistor, not 220 ??? Author?
XH-2H - Yes, that is a connector for the fan. I would use a high CFM fan like
Sanyo Denki 9GA0412P3J01
Standoff (for electrical coil) this from Mouser should work: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Keystone-Electronics/24408?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtrde5aJd3qw%252BllydFDFR6guiPEgGSZiiE%3D
1N821A should be fine. It just has lower impedance than the 1N821 (10 compared to 15)
U2, U3 should be L1, L2 for sure. Mouser part 871-B64290L0659X035 should work fine. He shows how to wind them.

[ShannonW49]

I may be able to help with some of your questions. (numbers from picture)

4) any 12 volt regulator should work. It is only driving the fan and LED, so just make sure it can handle the amps your fan requires.
5) The LED is only to show the unit is on, so any kind of LED would work.
6) Not sure the values of the resistors - Seems like 1k ohm would be better. I say this because the resistor in series with the LED (at 12 volts) would need to be higher than 220 ohms, more like the 1k ohm range. I would bet it is supposed to be 1k.
7) any fan will work. Just make sure it is big enough (if stuff starts getting too hot, smelling bad or letting smoke out, its not big enough) and you can hook it to 12 volts and make it work.
9) These are standard standoffs, meant to support PCBs above a base. They are being used here as connectors, not their intended purpose. They are metal and tall enough that you can connect the thick wire to easily. The exact measurements are not needed. Use what you can find, or use a different type of connector that you are familiar with that can handle large amperage.
11) 1N821 vs 1N821A - they are the same zener diode, only the "A" version is 10 ohms where the no-A version is 15. Either should work, I would think.
12) Not sure, I didn't catch what henrys the inductor was.
13) The exact size and composition of the PCB doesn't affect how the device works. I would go for the cheapest option. Choose what is prettiest to you. Or make your own (that's what I do). Or use perf board. Or drill holes in thin plywood and then wire components up manually with wire under the plywood. Or plexiglass.

Hope this helps.