The auto-magic super rZToaster, or something like that..

[rz]

hi @polykoma Thanks to you and many others for sharing your enthusiasm for this project and sorry all for an overdue update.

I'm still working on this VC IH. I've made great progress on the modularization redesign. My main three objectives above have been accomplished I built up a board from the first modularized design and got everything working after a little modifications and have a few minor things fixed for next PCB cycle already. I have to figure out how to ramp up production of these as the hardware is getting to a satisfactory point. I still haven't done any enclosure work. I'd love to work with select few makers in the community and eventually provide them with a few boards to dress up.

I don't think I'd offer completely blank boards as a kit unless you're very confident with SMD components like QFP-48 and can deal without any documentation (yet). I'd prefer to offer assembled devices without enclosures as I can at least make sure they work out the door. There are a lot of parts that need to work right for it all to come together properly. I've been eyeing those addressable RGB LEDs just like in that awesome looking Dr Dabber vape @Hogni I don't think end users really need the OLED so there are things I need to simplify before larger production runs.

I'm mostly doing this as a hobby but it's costing a hell of a lot to develop so I have to recover somehow and I really love this tech so I have been involved with other projects which will bring IH to the ppl quicker but for feedback controlled vapcap IH you're all going to have to hold on a little longer Stay tuned!

 

[Copacetic]

hi @polykoma Thanks to you and many others for sharing your enthusiasm for this project and sorry all for an overdue update.

I'm still working on this VC IH. I've made great progress on the modularization redesign. My main three objectives above have been accomplished I built up a board from the first modularized design and got everything working after a little modifications and have a few minor things fixed for next PCB cycle already. I have to figure out how to ramp up production of these as the hardware is getting to a satisfactory point. I still haven't done any enclosure work. I'd love to work with select few makers in the community and eventually provide them with a few boards to dress up.

I don't think I'd offer completely blank boards as a kit unless you're very confident with SMD components like QFP-48 and can deal without any documentation (yet). I'd prefer to offer assembled devices without enclosures as I can at least make sure they work out the door. There are a lot of parts that need to work right for it all to come together properly. I've been eyeing those addressable RGB LEDs just like in that awesome looking Dr Dabber vape @Hogni I don't think end users really need the OLED so there are things I need to simplify before larger production runs.

I'm mostly doing this as a hobby but it's costing a hell of a lot to develop so I have to recover somehow and I really love this tech so I have been involved with other projects which will bring IH to the ppl quicker but for feedback controlled vapcap IH you're all going to have to hold on a little longer Stay tuned!

It's good to hear about your progress rz.
i'm still definitely up for doing some enclosures, champing at the bit in fact!
I've been getting my 'eye in' by making some caddies for Grasshoppers, and some custom sized/featured stashes for vapcaps.
I've been investing in some essential tooling too.
I'll post some pictures in the Dynavap thread once I complete a stash I'm going to make for Drexciya.

I can only speak for myself, but the configuration of your device that I'm most interested in buying would involve an absolute minimum demand from me for electronic work/knowledge, due to the fact that all the skills I possess lie in craft/art.
I can solder, and have a decent iron, but little to no knowledge of what should be soldered to what!
I'd bet most of your other prospective customers would also prefer to just slot a working IH into an enclosure of their choice/manufacture too (unless you decide to offer a complete unit, in which case I change my bet to that being the popular option!).

I for one have never even touched an SMD!

I can definitely make a tasty enclosure though.

Thanks for the advice you've been giving me via PM by the way, I'll respond to that ASAP.
Induction heating seems to offer a great many possibilities, and your project in particular seems well suited to both a VC heater, but also an independant induction powered vape!

Keep on it rz!

 

[polykoma]

Thank you all for the warm welcomes

Yeah I could imagine its hard to solder SMD for many ppl. I'm a "german engineer" so I already dealt with SMD almost a decade ago

Great to have some update ! Sounds neat!
Personally I love the OLed (or the idea of actually seeing a specific temperature -in numbers- with the ability to change)

Also sweet news from the enclosure front!

For now I will wait for the parts to make me a PortsideMini. Oh yeah
Keep up the good work.

 

[rz]

@polykoma there are a lot of factors that affect the reading from an IR sensor largely the emissivity of the measured object (think shiny new cap vs charred black one) along with other quirks of the sensor itself such as being introduced to a temperature gradient. This sensor (MLX90614) does a lot to compensate but it is not optimized for each and every cap so the temperature reading is not exact (though it is somewhat precise). For this reason I don't treat the number as a temperature reading, but a value that is largely influenced by the temperature of the end of the cap (not necessarily tip chamber temperature) and to avoid any meaningless debates, I may as well just put a gauge or some 1 to 20 value. Anyway, I'm keeping the OLED for now though it probably won't be in any version I try get assembled for me. The reading has a wide enough range to be useful in a feedback loop, so the result is still the same

Portside mini parts are great. I only recently put together a purely manual driven IH with a @Pipes style switch and I must say it's a fantastic experience. Very convenient. I personally love the versatility of a manual vape and often keep my VC afloat with 3~5 second boosts between hits depending on how hot the hit was. As long as I'm somewhat consciously tracking the thermal state of the VC I get the boosts right and can drive it really well but I do get out of sync every now and then either charring or having to boost again and again to get back to temp or wait for the click down cycle etc and it gets fumbled specially if I'm distracted which tends to happen This is what the temperature feedback solves. I usually start off on the cooler side, and bump up my hit by about 10 degrees till I find a spot like. it does a pretty good job at hitting the same spot for consecutive hits and bumping up a few behaves accordingly. Currently taking a cold cap straight up to top temps is risky as the VC is too far from thermal equilibrium (fins still haven't absorbed enough heat yet) that there's a tendency to overshoot. Probably a software tweak to slow down initial heat up from cold caps would solve this and I look forward to getting back into software optimizations after the HW design settles. SW will probably be the focus of initial alpha builds while I work on getting the board a little more assembly-friendly as I sure don't plan to hand assemble about 150 components (~85 unique) on more than a prototype here and there.

 

[-dab8-]

I saw this mentioned on reddit again and was curious as to whether any progress had been made. Does anyone have any news?

 

[Hogni]

@rz, I guess?

 

[polykoma]

+1 on update

 

[rz]

Sorry guys I'm way overdue for an update. Not at home now so no screens hots etc. . I've had a lot of other things I've had to focus on recently, but always making progress (surely but slowly) with this proj. I redid the mosfet layout to improve thermal characteristics. I got a new oscilloscope which already helped tune my frequency detection mechanism, I got some glass tube samples, o-rings and silicon tube which work well to hold the tube in place without transferring too much heat to the IR sensor. I experimented with a thermocouple placed inside the tip and applied some corrective algorithm to the IR readings to 'callibrate' it to a closer representation of chamber temperature. My new faster USB based charging circuit is working well. Recently I've had some slowdows due to kids school vacation and helping my dad get into better shape/health. I've been sketching out some options to assemble a chassy/enclosure out of PCB. Im trying to make a few interlocking exterior panels that can either be a standalone enclosure, or partially used with other enclosure parts(/community built). Will take some time though, but I'm still on it meanwhile keep your eyes open for other rZ efforts you may soon enjoy

 

[Copacetic]

Sorry guys I'm way overdue for an update. Not at home now so no screens hots etc. . I've had a lot of other things I've had to focus on recently, but always making progress (surely but slowly) with this proj. I redid the mosfet layout to improve thermal characteristics. I got a new oscilloscope which already helped tune my frequency detection mechanism, I got some glass tube samples, o-rings and silicon tube which work well to hold the tube in place without transferring too much heat to the IR sensor. I experimented with a thermocouple placed inside the tip and applied some corrective algorithm to the IR readings to 'callibrate' it to a closer representation of chamber temperature. My new faster USB based charging circuit is working well. Recently I've had some slowdows due to kids school vacation and helping my dad get into better shape/health. I've been sketching out some options to assemble a chassy/enclosure out of PCB. Im trying to make a few interlocking exterior panels that can either be a standalone enclosure, or partially used with other enclosure parts(/community built). Will take some time though, but I'm still on it meanwhile keep your eyes open for other rZ efforts you may soon enjoy

Good news rz

I'm glad you're still pursuing your IH.
I recently got a used PortSide Mini and have to admit that it has taken over VC heating duties. (at home at least, even the Mini is still too big for out and about)
induction heating really is as good as folk have been saying, and the efficiency is amazing.
I've been going several days between charges, but I'd gladly give up some battery life in favour of smaller size, so I'm very much looking forward to the rz toaster!

 

[MrPatrickMr]

Hope to see some Updates some day
still searching for induction heating with temp control.

 

[polykoma]

@mr patrick: Oh heyy! Another german here! Sei gegrüßt

@rz: We are licking fingers for an update! Maybe you want to make a preorder list so it puts a little "Pressure" to your shoulders - if desired ;D
Sometimes I need a little push myself, haha. Jk.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Could you hit the Dynavap with it inside the induction coil for constant TC'ed heating?

 

[polykoma]

Any updates here ? Corona may gave you the necessary free time ;D I hope you are healthy!

 

[seanuleh]

Hey rZ, have been following this since the start and super excited. Seems things have slowed down a fair bit. Would you perhaps be interested in open sourcing your progress and sharing your source code and schematics with the community to take over from here?

 

[Summer]

I doubt rZ is coming back. His last post was 9/2018.

 

[rz]

Hi all. Fortunately I'm still alive, and so is my prototype

Unfortunately, I lost my dad almost a year ago. He passed due to liver failure after a long decline. I took over many of his responsibilities towards both my immediate and extended family which, along with increasing responsibilities at work, put almost everything else in my life on hold.

I've been supporting my mom financially and am finally almost at the end of some asset restructuring that should provide her with some passive income and take the load off of my cash flow. I've also transitioned from IT/System admin/accounts manager to leading developer operations, cloud architecture and security. I've completely restructured my companies deployments on the cloud using modern standards (terraform, best practices, etc..). Fortunately my work-related efforts are starting to pay off, as I've got quiet a lot else I need to pay off.. could be worse, so no complaint here

I'm fortunate that my wife's career has also been developing nicely since her return to work after our third kid started pre-school. This has helped a lot with my ability to support my wider family for a while, though meant a lot more juggling with kids.

All of the above ended up being a bit too much for me. I had to learn to deal with anxiety levels I was not yet familiar with, which forced me to compromise on things like 2am soldering sessions that I used to love. By the time I'm done for the day now, I'm lucky if I get the occasional IH QA session, a beer, or some netflix.. I often opt straight for bed.

I would LOVE to progress with this IH specially as it's heating profile is very different to any manual IH I've used due to it's temperature feedback (however inaccurate it may be, it exists and works rather well to some degree, pun intended).

@polykoma thanks for the support. I wish a little push were enough.. The progress I made at the time was due to this project being a bit of an escape for me. Working till 1~2am was MY quiet time (Often, at the time, after spending all day with my dad at the hospital..). I didn't take on any commitments (waiting lists, etc) as I knew it was not sustainable. My priorities have been shaken up, and it will take some time till I can get back into things. I moved into a new house two years ago, well overdue for renovation (bathrooms, pipes, etc..) and I've only put in sprinklers, lawn, and changed the toilet seats.. my 'lab' space has turned into a joint office as we've shifted to mostly working from home.. and I've hardly even unpacked half of it..

@Summer I'd love to prove you wrong with more than a message, though that may take a bit more time. I think my work-related commitments are about to double down for the next few years. I may manage to pull off an early retirement then, and afford to get back to this hobby

@seanuleh I've shared a lot of the fundamental elements involved in my design. I don't think the source code is what would hold anyone back. A large part of my time on this project was spent on learning about battery charging, balancing, and safety circuits. It was a sandbox for my curiosity. IR feedback and frequency detection (sampling, for insertion detection) were the interesting additions to IH tech that I discussed openly in various threads here. The circuits themselves aren't anything that a relevant engineer wouldn't be able to pull off. I had some issues to iron out still, and fortunately I see the community is making it's own progress and I'm waiting eagerly for someone to implement feedback as it's really a game changer. I'm likely to support their efforts gladly by discussion or by getting onto the waiting list I don't foresee myself anytime soon having the capacity to complete my project myself..

Unfortunately, I also dropped out of some other projects I was involved in..

@Pipes I sincerely apologize for dropping off the map. I felt really bad about not being around, though I saw your progress and am glad you marched on! (You still never sent me your # - I really wanted to reach out and chat, and still do!).

I hope this isn't the last you've all heard of me. As I mentioned, I've at least sorted my moms life out a bit, so hopefully I may be able to revert some attention back to my own.. I hope to at least be able to be on here a little more

I Hope you're all hanging in through these crazy times. Happy Induction Heating!

-rZ

 

[kel]

All very cool and interesting, you should talk to MAD:

Induction Heater - MAD Heaters - Innovative Dynavap Accessories

Hello Everyone! I’d like to introduce MAD Heaters with our first product, the Sense. Our goal is to deliver high quality induction heaters and accessories for the Dynaverse and take these products to the next level. I’m going to start off with a huge thanks to everyone in the beta group for...

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