Super Kiln A+ on test

The first test firing went extremely well. Assembling the Super Kiln took a long long day but the result was well worth the extra effort. All the components bolted right on which is always nice and more importantly worked to the point they exceeded expectations. Insulation of the heat was great with the Super Kiln coming up to temperature quickly and retaining the temperature well. Randall did an excellent job assembling the special insulation, taking care at every joint that it fit perfectly and be joined by a gasket. Even the doors have special built in gaskets that can be replaced as needed.

This image displays the inside of the Super Kiln through one of the bung holes. At this point the Super Kiln is about 1600 degrees Fahrenheit with a signed copy of my rendered design which is available for viewing on the google 3D warehouse.

The chain drive assembly fit well and functioned as it should with the exception that when it was at high speed and unbalanced it began to wobble. This is potentially a problem, Typically the rotational speed should be low however stability of very hot and heavy things is important and a new design Incorporated into the Iris element will solve the problem.

The electrical took a long time to put together even with the special boxes. It does look clean though.

Randall had a spare kiln that is not currently being used which furnished us with a thermocouple and a computer interface. In order to have immediate and total control of the kiln temperature I temporarily spliced in the controller to the Super Kiln. More testing on kiln demands are needed before the control box can be effectively built.

The next element is the Iris. This piece will open and close permitting the operator to shape the glass even with the doors closed. First though I have instructed Randall to play with his new toy, this is important to the development of the next few elements and new ideas that may be helpful. I am joining him to drop our first glass tomorrow.