Fluxer Heaters, induction heaters for Dynavap

[mr_cfromcali]

Nice, but the seat of the magnetic lid seems to be pretty loose, better do some longtime testings while carrying around in a bag or whatever. Just for the purpose to use it on the go.

> "Nice, but the seat of the magnetic lid seems to be pretty loose,"

Sigh...

Just a reminder that this is a prototype. In this case (no pun intended) the tactile switch is a few millimeters to the side of where it used to be, so when I made the video I had to cheat and nudge the lid to the side to get the tip to clear the pre-existing hole. So - good eye, lol! The video was intended to show the ease of using the on/off switch, and the overall effectiveness of the heater. I did not want to drill a new case at 4am. I was also tired, stoned, and a bit giddy from the success of having the SMD board work on its first attempt, so, um, also forgive my poor production values and weak story line

I'll be building more testing units from this current circuit board in the next week, so there will be better opportunities to see if subsequent units and their lids meet your needs. The magnets are strong and actually do a good job to keep the lid on - on par with the many mainstream e-cig box mods based on this same enclosure. But they are only magnets, and it isn't intended to be a "sport" unit, just a very portable one. I'll post more pics (God help us all!) before you can even try to order one, so look it over and decide for yourself if you want one. This may not be the right device for you. I don't know

Speaking of more pics, here are a few more of the current circuit board and the stencil setup I was using last night for hot air reflow soldering. For a very early attempt at reflow soldering (which is pretty damned amazing, tbh!) I think this initial SMD board turned out very well:

The DIY setup I made fo applying solder paste via a stencil.

My first SMD circuit board. It isn't perfect, but it's fine for a first attempt, and it works well.

Flux Deluxe pulled apart to show the SMD circuit board (with on/off switch and bi-color LED) as well as the battery management system and PWM relay arrangements. Everything fits together very neatly.

A closeup if the Deluxe's business end. The small gold rectangle in front of the work coil is the thermal fuse to protect against over-heating. It's a very tight arrangement, but so far it seems to be working just fine and is not exhibiting any heat-related issues. We'll see what the field testing reveals.

Another shot of the Deluxe's interior.

A side-by-side of the through-hole PCB build (left) and the SMD PCB build. The PTC power fuses are visible in the lower right corners of both circuit boards.

A closeup intended to show the height difference of the through hole vs. SMD components.

That's it - just some IH circuit board porn.

 

[Fat Freddy]

Speaking of more pics, here are a few more of the current circuit board and the hot air reflow setup I was using last night

Nice photography but other than that I have no idea what I'm looking at.

But very glad you do!

.

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Nice photography but other than that I have no idea what I'm looking at.

But very glad you do!

.

Fair point. Sorry, I'll add some captions in a few minutes.

 

[stardustsailor]

Is the tactile switch really needed ?

Spoiler: Well...

You can make a prototype to test a version without a tactiIe switch.
Instead of the tactile switch ,you can have a design of some sort made with pcb traces ,
that are sorted by the cap.The cap itself is used as the switch "actuator ".
The traces can be gold plated or even silver -solder covered .

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Is the tactile switch really needed ?

Spoiler: Well...

You can make a prototype to test a version without a tactiIe switch.
Instead of the tactile switch ,you can have a design of some sort made with pcb traces ,
that are sorted by the cap.The cap itself is used as the switch "actuator ".
The traces can be gold plated or even silver -solder covered .

It's needed for my sanity! But you do make an interesting point...but the downside is that there is no cushioning with that method, and you'd have to keep the tip in contact with the traces (no springs to help the tip follow movement.)

I think I'll leave the no-switch version available for some one else to pioneer.

 

[LongDraw]

Gotta say, really impressive how you were able to fit everything in. Both look extremely nice and cleanly put together.

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Hi all,

As we approach the end of October, I want to give you an update on the two upcoming Fluxer Heaters portables, and what you can expect in the next few weeks.

Both portable designs are essentially done, pending the final component, which is @stardustsailor 's VHF (very high frequency) noise filter. My testing so far has been both productive and reassuring: I've found and corrected a few minor issues, but overall both heaters have been performing very well, and I haven't seen any real issues with the current builds.

They certainly seem stable enough for field testing, and unless field testing turns up something terrible, I see a clear path to their release next month. On to field testing!

But first...

More on that final component, the VHF signal filter

I am very grateful to SDS for sharing his VHF filter design with me/us, as I believe it will go a long way towards making these IH devices more reliable. And as a guy who will be selling these very soon, that's a huge consideration.

For those who didn't click the above link and/or don't understand what this thing does, I'll try to make it simple: the on/off signal that comes from the tactile switch (the switch under the coil) has a lot of noise associated with it. The MOSFETs in the heater and PWM relay circuits react to this noise electrically with a series of very rapid, stuttering, intermittent "start/stop/start/stop" events. This is hell on the MOSFETs in both the heater and the PWM relay, and it can easily kill any or all four of them. And if it kills one it might as well have killed all four, as you need to pull a MOSFET to find out if it's failed. SDS's filter 'debounces' the input signal from the tactile switch - it eliminates the noise, which isolates the actual on/off signal and in turn saves the MOSFETs a lot of unnecessary and damaging stuttering starts-and-stops. So the filter is a key piece of gear, and one I want these heaters to have if at all possible.

As it happens, SDS's filter design is both very clever and extremely small: the filter's circuit board is approx. 1cm x 1cm, and in that space there are 5 electrical components with a total of 12 soldered connections. If you want a visual of what it's like to work with tiny components on a surface that small, imaging using tweezers to arrange 5 grains of rice within a 1cm x 1cm square that's partially covered in glue, and in addition to keeping the rice grains separated and pointed straight, you also need to keep the glue from forming puddles, as those could short out. And the grains of rice should only get glue on their ends. Finally, a few of the grains of rice can only point one way (and their directional markings are only visible with a magnifying glass).

It's a pretty demanding PCB to build, and needless to say, I found this pretty fucking challenging, lol.

I had a batch of micro PCBs made, along with a corresponding soldering stencil. When they arrived, I tried to place the components on the microscopic PCB and reflow solder them. I'm a good tool user and pretty game at trying new things, but after several miserable attempts I admitted to myself that this required a more delicate and precise touch than I have. I wasn't convinced I could make these at all, never mind reliably or efficiently. Luckily, though, there are production houses one can pay that will make this sort of thing for you, and that lead me to a new adventure, researching PCBA (printed circuit board assembly). To make this shaggy dog story a little shorter, I found a place to do this assembly and have contracted with them to make an initial batch of these filters for me; I even think their prices are reasonable, all things considered. And now that I've worked out the specifics w/them, I can always order more if/when I need them.

The lead time for getting these made is ~30 days. I submitted my order last week, and since then they've made the circuit boards and are waiting for the components to arrive. I was told I can expect my finished circuits to be ready to ship by November 20. That's 3 weeks from now, and once those arrive I will finally have everything in house and be ready to make some heaters!

Next steps

I am revising the PCBs for each device to include the connections for the VHF filters, so my next PCBs will be true final candidate boards. Happily, the boards will also function fine without the filters, so they can be used until the filters get here. The Deluxe board is done and submitted, the Mother Fluxer will be next, and should be submitted today or tomorrow. When I get these boards back I will build them out into some field test units - that should be next week, I believe - and some of you can expect to hear from me about that soon.

If all goes to plan, I can see production units for both heaters shipping out in early December. I think that's as an honest estimate based on what I know at the moment. I wish it were sooner, but realistically, I want these to be the killer app for heating vapcaps, so I need them to be as reliable as possible. A few more weeks in the oven, so to speak, should only make them better.

I'll share more info about how to order and pay soon.

Finally, please contact me if you think you want to be on the list for either portable. Or both! Neither list is very deep at the moment (which is fine), but I expect to make some broader announcements about these devices very soon, so the lists will likely (and hopefully!) get longer. If you've already contacted me, thank you! And if you want to check in and make sure I have you on a particular list, feel free to do so.

That's it for now. Thanks again for your feedback and support

 

[LongDraw]

Awesome news Mr_C, can't wait to see the finalized version. Think these are gonna make a great additon to the induction heater optons, especially with all the add ons you have included for safety and durability.

 

[stark1]

Dr Fluxer, would you please post your latest incarnations, please.

Also, if you decide to make your mini portable with the coil aligned parallel to the longest axis, please
Put me in for one?

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Dr Fluxer, would you please post your latest incarnations, please.

Also, if you decide to make your mini portable with the coil aligned parallel to the longest axis, please
Put me in for one?

This is a bit like asking to look at pictures of my kids, right?

I don't think I posted these to this thread. These are the current designs, taken last week:

Sorry to keep trotting out these same two prototypes. I'll be building some new ones when the next circuit boards arrive.

This post from last week has the current features lists for both portables: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/f...heaters-for-dynavap.33573/page-9#post-1318521

Also, if you decide to make your mini portable with the coil aligned parallel to the longest axis, please
Put me in for one?

Will do. Thanks.

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Hi all - it's almost the end of the work week here, and I have a few Friday afternoon updates to share:

VHF filter for tactile switch: This is the last missing piece for both heaters, and I am working hard to get it finished. I have several updates on this rather critical little filter.

First, it's worth repeating/restating the need for this filter. If you are unfamiliar with ZVS IH reliability issues caused by failed MOSFETs, take a few minutes and read @stardustsailor 's excellent description of both the problem and his elegantly engineered solution: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/v...ating-bits-n-pieces.33216/page-2#post-1310853

Since he generously made his solution available to all who would like to implement it, I decided I wanted to include it in my heaters. His circuit is very tiny: five components with a total of 12 solder connection sit very close together on a 1cm x 1cm PCB.

I ordered a small run of circuit boards and the appropriate components and tried to solder one up, but despite several game attempts my builds have not gone well. The filter's components are extremely tiny and hard for me to place and solder. My hands are pretty steady, but I couldn't place and solder these particular components, as they were just too small for my current setup and abilities.

Since I couldn't make these myself, I decided to try having someone else make them, so I placed an order with a PCB assembly house. This has become its own adventure - - and I've had to resolve a few unexpected issues. I think we have worked past those, though, and with a bit of luck they will be able to complete my order in about 3 more weeks. That should provide one source of these filters.

After placing the order, it dawned on me a few days ago that I could probably "remix" the filter myself and make the tiniest components a size or two bigger, big enough that I could place and solder them in my shop. Still very small, but the size of a grain of rice instead of a sesame seed, and that's a big difference. And I really like having the ability to populate my own control circuit boards, since I don't want to be dependent on yet another long supply chain for a critical component. Sigh...better a late thought than never, I suppose.

I completed my "embiggened" take on SDS's filter last night and ordered up a batch of slightly bigger filter PCBs, along with some reworked Deluxe and Mother Fluxer boards that will accept both my filter and the ones the assembly house is making. I expect to have a lot of these filters, so I hope I (eventually) sell a lot of heaters, lol

I expect to have the new parts and PCBs in a week or so, and that will be my first opportunity to build out a complete heater. That will be an enormous milestone, and it should lead directly to making field test units, some (hopefully minor) bug fixing and then - finally! - production units!

So...pretty good news, I think!

With these developments in mind, I am going to hold off on making Deluxe field test units until these latest PCBs arrive. This will allow me to build out complete (and perhaps final) devices, and I would prefer to see my field testers put those devices through their paces.

Flux Deluxe updates:

I want to share a bit more info on the custom etching option for Flux Deluxe enclosures.

https://vacavapes.com is the company I plan on using for custom etching the Deluxe's Alpinetech 1590B cases. I've exchanged emails with Jeff, the owner of vacavapes.com, and if anyone would like to purchase a custom etched Alpinetech 1590B case for your Deluxe he'd be happy to work with you/us to make this happen. I believe he will also be offering a discount for Fluxer Heater customers, but we are still working out the details of that. Please take a look through his site and feel free to email him with any questions about cases and custom etchings.

Two notes: 1) keep in mind the Deluxe needs a 25mm x 25mm space in the upper left hand (or lower right hand) corner for the hole, and 2) Vacavapes can also etch cases with user submitted art. Ask them for more details.

The plan for using a custom case with your Deluxe is this:

1. Order a custom case from Vacavapes, and pay them for it.
2. Tell them to send the finished case to me (I've discussed this with vacavapes, so they are aware of the plan).
3. Buy a heater from me and let me know that a custom case is coming; there will be a discount for providing your own enclosure. I will install a heater into your custom case and send the case to you when it's ready.

At this time I don't know how much lead time Vacavapes needs to etch a case, so that's something you will need firm up with them.

I'll have more info on this once we get closer to production, but I know some people are interested in this, so I wanted to share what I know now with you. If you know you want one of his custom cases, you can go ahead and get one going now. Just keep in mind that it must be an Alpinetech 1590B (without a voltmeter cutout!) - as that's the only case that will work.

Mother Fluxer updates: I submitted a final candidate PCB for the MF today as well, so I expect to be able to build out complete versions of both heaters as early as next weekend!

Fluxerheaters.com web site updates: I spent some time trying to make the site clearer, and also added more pictures of both upcoming portables. The site needs some more work, but I expect to get to that next week while the circuit boards are being made.

I think those are all the updates I have at this time.

TL;DR: I expect to have a lot of parts on hand by next weekend, so with some luck I will finally be able to build out some "feature complete" heaters. Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Some might find this interesting (and some not), but I missed my opportunity to add it to my previous post, so here it is, solo.

I was griping about how small some of this stuff is to solder, and since this thread could use another picture, I decided to illustrate this point. So here you are.

On the left is a properly scaled picture of my redrawn input filter PCB, and to the right of it is @stardustsailor 's original PCB. Note the size of the solder pads on his board, and how close together they are! Placing those components requires a very steady hand, or perhaps a robotic one. Sadly, it proved to be beyond my abilities to place the components on this board, so I had to concede defeat.

The left PCB is my riff on SDS's design. In contrast to SDS's, mine is practically built for comfort. I can make this one on my work bench, though, and that will be good enough.

That's all for now. Cheers!

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Came home tonight to find that DHL had dropped off my latest PCBs.

This batch is special, because it not only includes final candidate PCBs for both the Deluxe and the Mother Fluxer (more on those later tonight or tomorrow), it ALSO includes the first PCBs for @stardustsailor 's tactile switch input filter, which I discussed in the post above. That post had a mockup, this post has the real deal.

Check 'em out! These aren't the ones I contracted to have made - those are still a few weeks out. These are the alternate batch I made when I realized that I could make the components a bit bigger so I could solder them myself.

Bare input filter PCB:

Populated input filter PCB (the eagle-eyed will see 0805 sized caps on larger 1206 sized solder pads. I ordered the wrong size components, but the 0805s work will work fine.)

One more comparison, so you get a sense of scale:

My first batch: 25 of these little buggers, which was how many PCBs I ordered. That will get me started.

So this is sort of a teaser post, but it's an important one, as this is the first time I've been able to assemble these input filters! Until now they have only been theoretical; now, they're real. The next steps are to wire up a Deluxe and a Mother Fluxer using their "final candidate" boards and see if these input filters work.

If they do...we will be "feature complete", and a LOT closer to being done.

I will probably get to that (or get started on that) later tonight.

More to come.

 

[Skunkport]

Just checking, the engraving company will engrave your design on the lid side of the box right? Or do we need to specify?

 

[analytika]

I love the baby octopus almost as much as I do your post!

Baby Cthulhu.

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Just checking, the engraving company will engrave your design on the lid side of the box right? Or do we need to specify?

I believe they will do lids and possibly whole enclosure. You will need to talk with them - the owner is very helpful and does excellent work.

This is his IG page, which he shared, and which has a good portfolio of his work:

https://www.instagram.com/vacavapes/

I am having a custom lid made (just sent the art last night), so I can report back when it's done.

Finally, it's worth noting that he uses a chemical etchant, not a CNC process.

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Back with some more updates!

The short version: the input filter works (@stardustsailor "genius status" gets an additional ribbon and an oak leaf cluster )

The Flux Deluxe is feature complete, and seems to work pretty damn well Time to build some heaters and get them in the field for testing, so these things can ultimately see the light of day.

I have a lot of pictures and a video to share.

But first, about those vents holes: Real world use revealed that the first version of the Deluxe got too hot when used with the lid on. This makes sense, as the heat had no where to go. D'Oh! Unfortunately, this was tripping the thermal fuse after a few uses, which was frustrating. To remedy this I had to add some air vents near the work coil, which brought the temp back into range. I also increased the value of the thermal fuse. The result is a unit that is safe and works as you expect it to, but still shuts itself down quickly if/when it gets too hot. BTW, if that happens, just take the lid off and wait ~10 seconds. The thermal fuse resets as soon as it has cooled off. It also makes audible noises when tripped and again when it resets. It isn't quite as loud as a vapcap, but it's a similar idea.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pics of a new prototype I built last night, and a new video I put together today. Let me know what you think.

The Flux Deluxe, complete with SDS's tactile switch VHF input filter (on bottom of PCB, to the right of the PWM relay, under the yellow tape):

A closeup of the SMD components:

The Flux Deluxe:

It isn't shown in these photos, but the LED changes to red when the heater is actively heating.

Vent holes help things cool after a sesh.

Flux Deluxe introductory video:

Thanks for your support! More later

 

[Diggy Smalls]

Looks great. Nice improvements made to it, and I do enjoy that form factor a lot.

 

[Gray Area]

Edit: Make sure you got me on the list for one of these pls... I'll drop you a pm soon to be sure...

 

[mr_cfromcali]

This will be quick, but I wanted to tell you that I'm finally building out some heaters for some of you folks.


These are some Garolite (epoxy resin) insulators. These sit between the PCB and the case floor:

These are some circuit boards from the first batch:

Waiting on enclosures, so it may be a few more days before I can start shipping these, but they will be shipping ASAP! I think they're done I want to get these out there, but I need to confirm that before I get too committed to this PCB. That said...I'm pretty confident this is v1. We'll see if the testers agree.

More to come tomorrow.

 

[Hippie]

Nothing fluxes like a fluxer!

Really enjoying seeing this project come to fruition

Did you decide on a battery level indicator?

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Nothing fluxes like a fluxer!

Really enjoying seeing this project come to fruition

Thanks! I'm enjoying this part, too! It feels like it's been a long gestation, and I'm very eager to see people actually use these things, lol.

Did you decide on a battery level indicator?

Well, I concluded that if I ever wanted to ship this heater - and I really do! - the battery status indicator would have to be a v2.0 thing. Sorry if this is a deal breaker for some folks - really, I am sorry - but this Deluxe train is leaving the station soon, and all of the announced features are on board The status indicator will sneak in when I have time to develop it, but that could be a few months.

Still building out the first batch, BTW, though I need to stop for now. I have a few more steps to go on this first batch, but I'm already looking for ways to make the process more efficient and quicker. Even with a good PCB, there's still a lot of "hands on" building that goes into making these.

Thanks for the kind comments. More later.

 

[pxl_jockey]

@mr_cfromcali This is such great news, it’s really impressive to me the progress you’ve made in this short time. I mean these 2 heaters aren’t even the same as the prototypes you introduced in the beginning! And now, barring any unforeseen issues, it seems you’ll be offering TWO of the very best quality IHs available. EDIT: All of this, my opinion only!

As for the battery indicator, it’s my understanding that the charge level is easy to tell by the length of time it takes your VC to “click”. I know many folks making their own or using a Pipes kit either don’t use it or stick it in the enclosure. I always thought it was because it’s not strictly necessary as they switch out their batts when heat-up time begins to suffer. Maybe not, if people really want that, you will know I’m sure.

It’s wonderful these will both be ready for the holidays!

 

[mr_cfromcali]

Thanks, @pxl_jockey ! I really enjoy diving into projects like this one, and it's nice to see this one reach this point. I didn't go into this with a timeline in mind, but getting both of these heaters done in time to make someone's holiday list is pretty cool. Hopefully you folks testing them - and especially ultimately using them - will like them.

Speaking of "both" heaters...I've been so focused on the Deluxe that I didn't even start building out the Mother Fluxer "final candidate" boards I received until last night! Here's a pic from their first batch:

If you look closely you notice the Mother Fluxer circuit now includes SDS's tactile switch VHF input filter (the small green PCB soldered onto the lower left of the main PCB, below the blue PWM relay). That was the last thing it was missing, so it's now feature complete and ready for some field testing.

I'll be building out some Mother Fluxer field test units this week, as time permits. The list for these is very short at the moment, so if you think you want a MF, let me know. I may have room for another US-based MF field tester, too.

BTW, I've updated the info on the Fluxer web site, so this is an accurate feature list for both heaters:

https://fluxerheaters.com/portable-heaters

I know some folks signed up for email notifications on the Fluxer site, and you may have been wondering why you haven't received anything yet. To this point I've been holding off on talking these up (apart from this thread). I will begin those soon, as I get ready to launch these.

Finally, thanks for your patience while I figure out the final details for getting these from me to you (shipping, customs, acquiring a business license, etc.) I'm still getting up to speed on that end of things, and trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge. I have a lot of knowledge to acquire.

Thanks for your support! More to come.

 

[stark1]

Hello, Dr Fluxer.

In the spirit of Black Friday it would be great if Fluxerheater launch an Xmas BF Sale!

This would coincide with Fluxerheater’s Grand Opening of business.