[TheForge] microwave heavy metal session OT somewhat

Mon Feb 16 10:16:00 2004

I don't know.  There are certainly payments for using microwaves not =
found
in induction furnaces (filament warming, high Voltage concerns and costs =
of
purchasing high Voltage Components and insulation, additional losses of =
the
high Voltage components).  And the microwaves can fry your body, whereas =
(so
far as this non-user of an induction furnace can see) such problems =
don't
exist in the furnaces.

I think that it's a better mouse trap<G>.  People went to lengths to =
build a
better mouse trap, but then found that the users would rather throw out =
a
cheap mouse trap than clean dead mouse bodies out of a quality one.

Now, I can see a fondness for localized heating or for just surface =
heating.
But can't see how this would make a marked improvement over other =
methods
(hey folks, step in and educate me!!). =20

In jewelry this could be of use (as the web page indicated), but such a =
load
would be very hard on the magnetron without a circulator.  Now, having =
said
that, it looks, from the web page, that they went to some length to =
optimize
the process, and possibly they found the right mix in the crucible so =
that
the magnetron is moderatly happy.  They will arc and sing if too high a
mis-match occurs in the load.  If you ever hear a maggie sing, you will =
know
that sound<G>.  It is possible to monitor the secondary or primary of =
the
transformer and determine if the load is bad in certain circumstances.  =
Some
things just don't show through until you get an arc<G>.

Then again, as one responder said, you aren't heating up a bunch of =
nitrogen
in the air<G>.

My "jury" is still waiting on additional information before deciding.

I repair dead microwave ovens at lunch, sometimes for fun, sometimes as =
a
favor.  There's not much in them, other than the control panel and
microprocessor.  And they have gotten much better over the years, and =
more
tolerant of bad loads.  I've only replaced one magnetron because someone
left a spoon in one, one too many times.

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] =
[mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 8:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [TheForge] microwave heavy metal session

Yeah, I've been lurking here, wondering about that.  Induction furnaces =
are
well known.  Why would microwaves be more attractive? Bruce NJ

>>> [email protected] 2/12/2004 4:31:05 PM >>>
<snip>

Though it is possible to use microwaves for metal heating, for large
quantities, or continued application, he recommends using rf induction
heating. =20

The microwaves will penetrate until they see metal, then the metal will
conduct, and internal heating will be by conduction.  With induction
heating, you can get real internal heating. <snip>

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML or had =
an
attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how to post in
Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---
_______________________________________________
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
theforge mail list group photo site is http://www.photoaccess.com
Login:  [email protected]
password:  anvil
___________