Plasma Arc Smelting Done Here

[skippy]

I think the copper hearth is for high purity melting of high temperature metals. For instance it would be a good way of melting tantalum. It's incredible to think about, achieving such high temperatures on top of a cool piece of copper, but the intensity of an arc is such that it works well.

I don't think it is necessary if you don't need high purity - I doubt they use a copper hearth for smelting auto catalyst.

 

[niteliteone]

They are easy to build if you have a welder. It's the water-cooled copper hearth that is hard to find.

i have loked to find a copper hearth picture and the only thing i have found is this http://momo.ch.unito.it/PDF/Figueroa.pdf

i have a hard time understanding what i see. is the copper hearth suposed to be the bottom of your melting chamber? couldnt this be replaced by a simple graphite crucible wraped in kaowool?

Try this link, They show they have one and a water cooled crucible as well;
http://www.globalspec.com/ds/3367/areaspec/metal_copper

 

[MysticColby]

have I heard about people on this forum who use a TIG welder to melt small batches of metals? like: graphite crucible attached to the welder's ground, then welder tip near the bits of metal to melt. graphite crucible may not supply enough conductivity, however (there's a clay bonding thing going on there). maybe just go with a pure graphite mold for a crucible?
I'd give it a try, but I only have a MIG welder and that wouldn't exactly be clean for this process. I'm also not sure how much splatter there would be.

 

[butcher]

Here is a toy one to play with.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/experimental-arc-furnace-melts-anything/

 

[rickbb]

Here's a really home made job, not that I'd ever try this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNYe8ApIbK4

 

[ericrm]

this is awsome :mrgreen: and even if i know im not the one who should say it but... that look a little bit dangerous

 

[Anonymous]

Hehe Eric everything we do is "a bit dangerous."

The danger keeps us on our toes (or it should.)

 

[butcher]

Carbon arc furnace
http://theodoregray.com/periodicTable/PopularScience/2004/05/1/Scan.small.jpg

Cheaper if you already have a welder and fire brick.
Although I would not want to splatter molten gold all over, it may be fun to play with other metals.

A cheap power supply could be made with a couple of microwave transformers.