PID Controller Oven

Small ovens are frequently used in class room experiments for the determination of temperature coefficients of resistances, capacitances, zener diodes, and also for studying the leakage currents of semiconductor devices at various temperatures. Conventional arrangement with oven fed from an auto transformer and thermometer type temperature measurement is unsatisfactory due to the long time it takes the oven to heat or cool, large time constant of mercury thermometers and difficulty in setting and maintaining a particular temperature.

DESCRIPTION

The unit is a high quality PID controller wherein the temperatures can be set and controlled easily. The P, I and D parameters are factory set for immediate use however the user may adjust these for specific applications as well as auto-tune the oven whenever required. The steps for these are given in the user manual. The controller can be used for both small oven, up to 200°C or a larger oven up to 600°C. The controller uses thermocouple as temperature sensor.

SPECIFICATION OF THE OVEN CONTROLLER

The controller is designed around Autonics Temperature Controller Model TZN4S. Although this is a very versatile piece of equipment, below is a summary of the specifications that are relevant to the present application.