The Study and Development of the Vacuum Mixer for Investment in Jewelry Production

Abstract

Thailand is a well known country where jewelry is produced to export. The process of jewelry production needs many special skills and efficient machines. Moreover, the preparation of plaster is also important in producing jewelry. This requires various stages and takes more time to do. However, these problems can be eliminated by knowledge in engineering. Therefore, this study aimed to develop the vacuum mixer for mixing Investment for jewelry production. The vacuum mixer consists of 12 Hp 220 volts ac electric motor with the gear which has 1:40 dimension. The whole body of the vacuum mixer is made of stainless steel. The pot for mixing the Investment is 21 em. wide and 31.5 em. high. The tub at the base for placing the pot is 29 em. wide and 21 em. high. This base is equipped with a 20 m3 per hour vacuum ventilator and a vibrating motor. This vacuum mixer is operated by the electric motor which transmits power into gear. Then the gears drive the belt to make the blade stiring the Investment and water in the pot until they are well mixed together. Then the mixture is forced to the tub at the base by the valve while the air is sucked up and the mixture of the Investment is cured until all bubbles are disappeared from the mixture. After experimenting, the result revealed that the use of the vacuum mixer can reduce the steps in preparing the plaster from 8 steps to 4 steps. It can also save 52% of time allotted.