Hey guys so I know this question had been asked before but it was a looong time ago and in sure PID's have changed in the mean time. So I'm fleshing out the details for a diy electric heat treat kiln build for heat treating and annealing stainless/carbon steels. Ramp/soak is a must. Usb support I don't care for so much. I'm leaning towards the Auber SYL-2352P. Can anyone recommend a cheaper model that will do the job? I've never used a HT oven so I'm not sure how many steps and segments etc are needed for it to be effective. I'll post the build once it's done. Thanks.
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Ramp/soak PID recommendations for heat treat kiln build
- Thread starter AshMade
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- May 12, 2015
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- 12
Just a generic answer for you. Most of my steels use two ramps, and two soaks.
ramp up to first soak, hold based on manufacturer specs, ramp to quench temp and I'll usually hold there for 10 minutes to make sure temps are stable.
There's are other procedures that require more steps and holds, but I don't think I've ever used even ten segments with steel.
Now, if you're sentering zirconia, you'll need 50 segments, or more!
ramp up to first soak, hold based on manufacturer specs, ramp to quench temp and I'll usually hold there for 10 minutes to make sure temps are stable.
There's are other procedures that require more steps and holds, but I don't think I've ever used even ten segments with steel.
Now, if you're sentering zirconia, you'll need 50 segments, or more!
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I agree with Busted. I rarely do anything but ramp to the austenitization temp and then hold for the soak time. You don't need a complex controller for that.
Occasionally, when doing both carbon and stainless, I use two steps of set points and soaks. The first for the carbon blades and use a 1 hour soak. I pull the blades after around 15 minutes and quench. If all went well, I hit the SKIP STEP and it rises to the stainless temp. Once at temp I put in the foil packets.
I always ramp at 9999.
You will see some HT specs calling for a pre-heat soak, but in knife blades that is a very rare need. Just heat to the desired temp, put the blades in, and soak the desired time.
I usually just program 1 hour for the soak. That way I can come to the oven and know how long it has soaked before I put the blades in. I usually want the oven to sit at temp for 15 minutes before putting in the blades.
Occasionally, when doing both carbon and stainless, I use two steps of set points and soaks. The first for the carbon blades and use a 1 hour soak. I pull the blades after around 15 minutes and quench. If all went well, I hit the SKIP STEP and it rises to the stainless temp. Once at temp I put in the foil packets.
I always ramp at 9999.
You will see some HT specs calling for a pre-heat soak, but in knife blades that is a very rare need. Just heat to the desired temp, put the blades in, and soak the desired time.
I usually just program 1 hour for the soak. That way I can come to the oven and know how long it has soaked before I put the blades in. I usually want the oven to sit at temp for 15 minutes before putting in the blades.
It seems from my reading the biggest need (desire) for a ramp is on cooling. When a good anneal is desired and the process calls for X degrees/hr cooling. Other than that, ramp isn't one of my big needs. I'll sometimes use the 1725°F soak, then ramp up to 1975°F. Since I remove the blade from oven after 1725°F soak for plate quench it's not a problem to punch in the 1975F rather than rely on ramp process.