23rd April Update

Been working a bit on the controller over the last few days;  I managed to get the "create programme" feature added today.   Originally I wanted the user to only use the external PC based software to create the programmes, and then to remotely upload them using Bluetooth, but, having had some time to think about it, I realised that not all users could or would even want to do that,  so,  I have added the option to add new programmes via the keypad.

I think the vent system will need to wait for version 2 as it would need too big a change to the way the programmes are stored.

to be continued... ;-)

Thermocouple Chips

Recently purchased some AD559 CQ thermocouple  chips from Ebay, these were sold at around 4x cheaper than the standard retail price!   I don't honestly know what to make of these yet,  one of the chips looked very suspect - so that will definitely will not be used.  the picture shows the 8 purchased (back row) with the one at the front as the test control chip, which I used to make comparisons.

I think what I will do is put them into the boards and feed in some simulator temperatures and see how they compare to the real deal.

9th Sept. Update

I've done most of the code conversion now and also drafted out a couple of new bits of functionality;  one idea was to include a "costings" feature,  this would allow you to enter a cost per kWh of electricity and then it would keep a running total of estimated units used per firing based on the amperage draw of the kiln.   And one of the other ideas would be to allow the controller to automate the process of triggering a vent system.   I think once these are added and tested with the larger chip, and it proves to be "rock solid" code then I think I will be finally happy with the feature set.

I have drafted out a rough UI for the editing of the programmes;  this will probably take a bit of time to implement but hopefully, it should be fairly intuitive to do from a users perspective.

In parallel to these tasks, I will try and look at creating some supplementary documentation to accompany the controller.

More to follow..

3rd Sept. Update

Had a bit of free time to look at the controller last week and I've been looking at swapping out the 8k pic microcontroller for a 96k one;  the foot-print is the same so it should work;  to do that so far I've re-written 2000 lines of code from the previous version;   one of the sticking points for me with the old code was the lack of programme editing without the use of the PC and Bluetooth link, but with the bigger chip that shouldn't be an issue now as the plan is you will be able to do that through the 4 buttons on the front panel.

more to follow..

All Fired Up Again!

Wow! has it really been that long since my last post!   unfortunately I've been so busy with other projects I've had no time to spend on the controller, which is a shame.  But I did manage to spend a small amount of time installing some cables so I could run the kiln on full power in order to fire some more ceramic work for my father-in-law. Everything went really nice and smooth;  very pleased with the results!

I've posted a couple of pictures to show the set-up;

I managed to find a nice sized box to house the PCB. 

The upper layer of finished bisque fired pieces.

More updates coming soon.

Successful Test Fire!

This was the set-up, not very child or pet friendly!

Early yesterday morning I set it off on a suitable Bisque programme and it ran for most of the day, it finally finished around 10pm;  It worked very well and I was very pleased with it.  Some of the results can be seen here.

I had to do a few code tweaks the night before, as the actual firing code had never been properly tested since all the new code was added.

So I'll carry on trying to get the very last bits completed.

Lots of Soldering Fun!

(18th Oct.) I've just spent a few hours tonight soldering up some components to the other boards;  I've been waiting over a month for some of the parts from China - which still haven't arrived!  so, I just jumped in and soldered the stock parts I had in my component boxes.