modular oven

[gomer950]

like most of us space is big problem. has anyone come up with a good idea for a modular oven? i'm thinking somthing like lego simple. i'm thinking somthing with 2 kinds of panels, one with the heat elements and one that is just insulating panels. what size and shape should they be? how to conect them? cost? ect, ect, ect......

[chromo]

The cost would vary for everyones own design and no 2 the same I'm sure. Otherwise I would say about the same cost as any oven the same as your max size, perhaps a few dollars more for some extra's.

Simply make all the floor panels interlock, put the heating elements in the floor. Run a power strip on the wall behind the oven, control the strip with the heater controls. Plug in the elements as needed to the power strip.

Make your floor, back, front, top, panels all the same size. Depth front to rear will be same as side panels, height will be same also.
Now snap together and plug in the sections you need for the size you want the oven to be.
How to seal all these panels to prevent lots of heat loss will be tricky. You would want the top sections laying on the front/back walls, perhaps channels to interlock, this is for support. With a modular oven like this then your only option is probably to load from the side, you need the front wall to support the top. You could run a solid beam, but you need one for about every size you might assemble, or you could bolt sections spliced together, too much work and time.

[baz]

i don t really get the idea ,even if the oven is modular you still need the space .
if you hve a 6x6x6 modular oven or a 6x6x6 non modular oven once assembled
they both need 6x6x6 space .

[gomer950]

my idea about this was portablity and space savings. yes, a modular and non modular would take up the same floor space, but when not in use you could tare down the panels and stack them in a corner untill needed again. and with a modular unit you could put together only the size you need saving heat up time and electric cost. whats the point in heating up a large oven to do a few small parts. if you had enought panels you could assemble 2 or more ovens if you needed different temp's or some multi process. and as long as you have the proper electric outlets you could take the mod units to a work site. lets say your buddy had a large part preped in his shop and it was raining or snowing outside. you wouldent want to take the parts out in the elements. you could take the equipment to the work site easily.

the idea of a modular system sounds simple, but you have to put a lot of thought into panel designe. first we would need to work out panel locking systems. since they would only be filled with insulation i would think that you could could build a very strong wall that could span a large distance because they would be light. next would be panels with heat elements and thermocouples. where would conections be and how could they be set up quickly, easily, and SAFELY. and i would build a small electrical box that had all the conections externaly for the conections to the oven once built. it would contain the heat controler and other controle components.

all of this could get pretty fancy and technical very fast, but we could start out very simple. later add mor options like multi temp probes for better temp control, panels with windows, interier lights, ect,ect,ect.....

maybe now more people will be on the same thinking track as me.

[nuttyman]

I saw an iven that someone built on a trailer that was approx. 8' x 5' x 6' tall that had a spray rack that rolled out of it. It was totally portable & was quite cool. bring the oven & spray booth to the client!

[chromo]

I get the idea Baz been thinking on it myself some before this, might have posted things, not sure.

"i don't really get the idea ,even if the oven is modular you still need the space .
if you hve a 6x6x6 modular oven or a 6x6x6 non modular oven once assembled
they both need 6x6x6 space "

While that is true, think of a 20'X8'x5' oven and space. Along the back of a shop wall?
In 20' wide I can store 3 cars side by side, each 6' wide. So if I need a 4' long oven I roll out 1 car and have room for 6' or a bit more. If I need a 7-12' oven I roll out 2 cars and set up the oven.
Rarely I would need a 20' wide oven, but for a truck/van frame I might, so just roll out 3 cars and I got my 20' wide space. In most cases a 4' wide oven will probably do, so make the main permanent space to fit the 4' oven and when needed roll the cars outside to make more space, hopefully not in bad weather LOL.
In real shop case, I would hope to just compromise my storage and work space, instead of 2' clear all the way around 2 different cars end to end, push them bumper to bumper, no work area left but it's only while baking one frame or so and not that big a problem when rarely needed. Tear down the oven and roll back the cars and have the normal work area for them again.

My Problem is not space, it's money. I got more land than I need for cars, but not enough money to build a large enough shop for the cars I have! And I buy more cars all the time
Maybe if I stopped buying cars I could save the money to build the shop. But the only fun I ever have now is when I buy another car.

Maybe I should just scrap all the cars and get a new girl friend
She would probably cost me less money in the long run LOL.

[jrow]

gomer950,

Not that big of a problem if I understand you correctly. Build the bottom unit with all your heating and controllers attached. Build it with a removable top. The top box would not have a bottom in it, and could just be set on the bottom box and fastened. Use angle stock on one side of the corner and flat stock on the other and just bolt the two pieces together! Where the bottom connects to the top just use flat stock and run bolts through the flat stock to bolt the top to the bottom! 3/16" wall steel stock would work great. You will have to be d$mn accurate with your construction or you will have to contend with a lot of leaks.

John

[baz]

ok, i get the point and i understand the need for such an oven . i was looking at it from a full time use of an oven , i m using mine almost everyday . i think for a part time use a modular oven would be a good solution

[gomer950]

the first thing i thought was to make 2'x2' panels. small and light and easy to move around. would only take a 2'x2'x as many tall as you have (when not in use).

[gomer950]

building a panel that will lock together to make a straight wall is easy. have have thought of many forms of these. my bigest promlem is how to make a corner without the need for a special corner panels. and how to also make the top and bottem work out around the edges. the next big problem is keeping heat loss to a minimum at the joints. 2 flat edges with insulation material in the middle would work, but is there a better way that the edges could be shaped that would solve all the issues of heat loss and conections between different walls.

this is a good problem for all you mathmatitions and desigers out there. any good ideas that you can think of or have seen someplace? if you can post any pic's to help your expination would be a major help to me, i'm a very visual person.