Making a large frontloader--cost?

[David Patchen]

We're annealing-constrained where I work and I was wondering how much (roughly) it would cost to make a large front-loading annealer. When I say large, I'm thinking 6' wide, 3' deep and 3' high. We have removable steel shelves in our current one and I'd plan the same for this and given the height I'd want elements in the floor to help reduce top to bottom variance.

Yes, I know I can buy one from WetDog, etc. that will be excellent, but I'd like to see what the cost is if we built it ourself. Anyone make such a beast? thoughts on costs? thx

[Scott Dunahee]

I built a 4' x 8' x 1' fuser last year and it came in at around $15k, including the electrical work, labor, materials, elements, everything, really.

Oh yeah, an annealer that big is gonna DRAW amps, so you'll need big service available. The fuser I built is around 34 cubic feet and it draws 100 amps on 208V 3 phase delta.

You're looking at 48 cubic feet, and granted you won't need 1 kw/cubic foot, but whoa.

BSD

[Scott Dunahee]

whoops, my bad

You're looking at 54 cubic feet and assuming 600 watts per cubic foot, that's around 32kw, or about 135 amps at 240V single phase. How much amp space do you have in your panel?

BSD

[David Patchen]

Was the $15k doing it all yourself?

Also--no fusing going on here, 1000F probably max although you'd want it to get there within 45 min.

Not sure of the amps available in the power panel. That might be an issue...

[Scott Dunahee]

We had the electricians put in the 125 amp disconnect that we hooked up to. It took 2 guys 10 weeks of nights and weekends to get this done and we're already experienced at equipment building. We also already had the requisite tools - Welder, horizontal bandsaw, beam trolly and chain hoist, as well as space to put it together. This was for a client, so labor ran about $4k. I would charge more next time, but this was the first time I'd built something to this scale and I wanted room to screw up.

I think if you had a competant crew, all the tools you'd need, space to construct, did not value your time and knew an electrician who would comp the install, you MIGHT be able to buiild it for $5k.

BSD

[Jon Myers]

I built three annealers last year 37 cuft each. Fiberboard walls. 14kw. Almost 40A @208 3 phase or almost 60A @240 single phase. They get hot in 45 minutes and recover nicely when opened. It shouldn't cost you more than six grand in materials. Jordan

[Brian Gingras]

gut feeling is $4K-$5K, depending on your ability to find deals on relays, controllers, elements, etc.

[Doug Chaussee]

I built the one in our shop which is about the same size as what you mentioned. It ran me about $1600 in total. My labor is free as usual. It draws 28 amps with 240 3 phase, goes from cold to 925 in less than an hour. There are 6 elements and well insulated doors. There are shots of it on our web site in the studio section.

[Peter Bowles]

I built one several years ago and saved dollars and time using commercially available concealed elements. If you can find the right sort of size they can be pretty cheap to buy and the installation of them is very easy.

They might be a touch slower than wound elements to get to temp but that was fine for our application.

Pete

[Wes Hunting]

Two years ago I built a casting oven ( 4' x 4' x 3' inside dia.) top loading, on wheels. 4 coils with mulite arbors, 3 inches fiber, cast floor. Goes from room temp to 1600 in one hour. Total cost $2400.
I run it on my GB4 which I already had, so I had no need to purchase a controller, but did have to buy the relays.
I know this would be overkill for your needs but I thought I'd throw it in for an idea of general cost.

[Glenn Randle]

It's amazing at the cost range in this thread. Some folks seem to be able to get it done for 10% of the costs of others.

When I built my first studio, in 1993, I built the entire building (24x32), full studio w/ 150 lb furnace & 2 annealers & 2 glories, 24" lap grinder, a GB4 and all the tools to do it for about $10,000. So, I couldn't imagine spending $15,000 on an oven that's the size of sheet of plywood.

A roll of frax is only about $60.

Making good glass doesn't have to cost a fortune, but you can if you want to. It all depends on how resourceful you are.

[Kraig Richard]

Hit eBay for electric parts and save a bundle. regester as a seller to research previous sales prices