Need help building/buying a simple heating box

Need to warm thousands of plastic housings to press an object into without snapping the plastic. We found that warming them up and placing them in a machined jig and using an arbor press is the most practical.

The issue I'm having is a cost effective way to place these housings in perhaps some kind of warming box so the operators can pull them out, press and repeat. The housings just need to be warm to the touch, otherwise they melt.

Any cost effective way to have something that can be put on a table where we can load a handful of housings at a time while keeping them warm?

Thanks!

 

An old dumb Toaster oven controlled by an off the shelf temp controller should be pretty cheap

example, probably not the exact one you want :
https://www.automation24.com/pid-temperature-controller-novus-n1030-pr-8103000002

 

I'm not that savyy unfortunately. Hoping for maybe a few cheap components I can jerry rig

 

Not sure your budget, but a lab oven sounds like exactly what you need. You can find them for a couple hundred bucks on Fleabay.

 

Just what size are your parts ? How many parts ?

Does this need to be a continuous cycle ? Heat and press one batch at a time?

 

Thousands but only one part assembled at a time. The housings need to be warm otherwise they break. One person using a press, one part at a time.

 

From the sounds of your process I'm thinking an enclosure is going to create a bottleneck. Why not a heating bed?

Hell, off the top of my head I bet one could be built from 3d printer parts, or really any lab grade heating pad.

 

Would a heating bed melt the plastic if left for too long? The part needs to be heated throughout and not just the bottom.

 

It would help if I had video or pictures so I can visualize this more.

Are the plastic parts organized or are they sitting loosely piled in a box? How often are the operators grabbing a part? Would it be easier to heat the metal jig that's on the press?

 

Depending on the size, built a tent with a space heater inside. or duct the heat into the tent.

The tent may be an enclosure similar to the plastic yard storage.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/WELLFOR-Br...yl-Resin-Storage-Shed-UV-Protected/5014822217

 

How about a cooler with a plant heating mat? They have thermostats

$25 VIVOSUN 10"x 20.75" Seedling Heat Mat and Digital Thermostat Combo Set, UL & MET-Certified Warm Hydroponic Heating Pad for Germination, Indoor Gardening, Greenhouse

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Seedling-Digital-Thermostat-Standard/dp/B016MKY7C8?crid=17EWL4NLQCWXK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mvFAJrElwfBcTnMgt6TPynGyJ2UnCeMTOESNvCgAoqGK7ayrE8K3fQLosvHhK12djD7M7aZNfsUPBB0EzAOwZu0SqyBU5QaaOc_XLNZdWxHNwP0bJb6_keCfjtdpjF7-RFwcD-Xe74LqPE7S-gwUJWQkpawLAaqULqIL986AcHPr8x9wLVbN5l35dgmfeIcCpKNTD2vjRH2HiVaw9DuKoQ.mcAF1MIbn6X2Oiu8oqiyJsDwRaPWSPwuL4zdFABgpqo&dib_tag=se&keywords=plant+heat+mat+for+seed+starting&qid=1712023103&sprefix=plant+he%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm

that’s as easy and cheap as you can get

 

Can they be put in a water bath that is heated to a specific temp?