Design and fabrication of low-cost electrical resistance based metal melting furnace for casting applications

Casting is an ancient technique used for making various parts. There are various types of furnaces used for melting metals and alloys, working on different principles. In this work, an electrical resistance based low-cost furnace is planned to fabricate for melting metals. The objective is to design and fabricate an electrical metal melting furnace of 3.5 kW rating with operating temperatures up to 10000C. Further, the furnace was aimed to be able to hold the melt for required amount of time. Both electrical and mechanical aspects of furnace design were presented. Finally, the fabricated furnace operation as discussed and its heating performance was tested by melting aluminium. Its operation was discussed to suit the heating requirements for various metals and alloys.