Induction heater

At FabLabRUC we have been experimenting with differnt kinds of metal casting. One of the methods is "lost PLA casting" where a 3D printed PLA model is covered with plaster and made to melt away when molten metal is poured over it.

Problem is that the metal (aluminium in this case) cools off too quickly when it contacts the plastic.

I wanted to find a method to keep the metal molten while inside the mold.

One solution seemed to be using induction heating.

A lot of people on the Internet seemed to have success with a simple induction heater circuit so decided to build one inspired by these:

A video (Danish) of an early prototype from FabLabRUC:

More about this heater and the casting process later..