Traditional heat sources for blacksmithing are coal, charcoal and propane gas. You can heat the steel electrically but equipment to do this is expensive. A small induction heater starts at around $3K and goes up in cost rapidly as the size increases.
Meet ReactorForge:
More at GitHub:
Project Description
The ReactorForge project is an open source hardware platform for high power induction heating, designed for heavy use and reliable performance in real world applications.
Using fewer discreet components than most commercial induction heaters, the ReactorForge has less failure points and is easy to assemble. It is an open source project with all plans, schematics and code available under the creative commons BY-SA 4.0 license. This not only benefits the maker community and improves future designs but also makes self repair a possibility for those who have purchased kits, rather than relying on expensive factory repairs to proprietary commercial units.
The ReactorForge will be made available in a raw kit form and an ARU (Almost Ready to Use) kit that can be assembled in just a couple hours. Learn about high power electronics while building an awesome machine. The same systems in an induction heater also drive many of todays modern advances such as electric vehicles, renewable energy power inverters, cutting edge research equipment, and much more. Whether your goals are academic or you want to start using an induction heater today the ReactorForge project brings that within reach.
The ReactorForge costs thousands less than equivalent commercial models with features that are not available anywhere else. It has an easy one button/pedal interface for those that want simple to use set and forget type operation. But for those that want full control there are powerful features that let you monitor and regulate operation based on virtually any parameter. And since the entire platform is open source you have a head start to hacking the core (main control board).
Very cool - definitely added to my project list.
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