Diseño y construcción del horno en la primera etapa del proceso de termoformado para el grupo de investigación Gideter

Abstract

This technical project refers to the design and construction of an electric oven in the first stage of the polypropylene thermoforming process for the GIDETER research group. The thermal design of the furnace was carried out taking into consideration the properties of the material to be treated, among them: specific heat, density, volume and melting temperature; The heat of generation required was determined to be 2125 W for a maximum temperature inside the furnace of 240 º𝐶. Then the heat transferred inside the oven due to conduction, convection and radiation mechanisms was calculated, as well as the heat losses from the walls to the outside environment, considering the temperatures on each of the surfaces. To restrict the heat transfer to the outside of the furnace, glass wool insulation was used, as for the furnace structure, a mechanical design was carried out for the selection of the profiles and the required dimensions of the material, which was validated in a 3D design software, the safety factor is 13. Additionally, a control system was implemented for the operation of the oven for the thermoforming process, the control circuit was made using an Arduino Uno board. Materials For the manufacture of the furnace were selected based on the availability and economic feasibility existing in the market and based on the required thermal parameters. The construction of the furnace was carried out in a workshop following the steps described in the construction and assembly procedure, the electrical control and power circuit was placed on a metal panel. Finally, performance tests were carried out to characterize the parameters such as heating and cooling times.