Electro Induction Annealer (video)

[Grimstod]

One of our forum members was gracious enough to let me barrow and test out his annealing machine. Its an awesome device. I love the fact that no gas is involved. I have always felt that using a gas flame introduced impurities into the brass.

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By the way does anyone know why previews for youtube videos do not work any more? I have asked this before and no one has yet to respond.

 

[Joe R]

Very interesting machine. The big question is how much is it going to cost?

My last experience with an induction stove was that it would cost over $3,000 ( including rewiring) to replace a $350 electric stove. I stayed with the electric stove.

I'm guessing this is in the $1,000+ range and it's not going to replace a $10 propane torch in my lifetime.

Joe

 

[missed]

That is a pretty slick rig, I would like to have a progressive press that will knock the primer out in one location, then anneal, so you can have one action knock two processes out.

 

[normmatzen]

To me, an electronics Engineer, this solution is absolutely beautiful! All aspect have been covered. BUT, it is under the cover of "Massive Retaliation!" It would cost a fortune to mfg these units!

I experimented with Induction annealing for a year and gave up when I saw the Annie.

I bought one of the early units and of course, with any early production, there were warts. Fluxeon worked with me and now I have a very small unit on my work bench that doesn't have a flame or need a gas supply. I can anneal 100 cases in less than 20 minutes, 10-15 if I am in a hurry! No clean-up and very consistent anneals.
Beats the h*ll out of the old drill motor, socket and butane torch
and counting to 8 slowly!

 

[Grimstod]

Yes the
Annie does look awesome. I remember when it first came out and was 1k$ at the times. I see its now 500. hmm Still I love the automation of this machine that Ed has made.

 

[R.Morehouse]

I have one of the new Annies here and couldn't be more pleased. Sold the Bench Source when I saw the induction unit work. I am sure more of this type of unit will surface before to long. I got mine with the optional foot switch. I have limited space in my reloading room and with the Annie being roughly 4" high, 9"wide & 6" deep with no flame, hoses ect to mess with it is definitely a good fit for me. It is a one at a time unit that can't be fed assembly line style but again for how I shoot it is a good fit for me.

 

[wooger]

I had an Annie and had some problems. I had asked for an updated water cooled coil but it never came. After a while I just sent it back for a refund, which I never received. I did like the level of precision that was available with the annie but even 20 cases would cause mine to overheat and burn up the coil. I went back to gas annnealing.

 

[Grimstod]

This baby has a water cooling system. It keeps the coils so cool it can be touched between each shell. I did about 300 pieces in an hour using her. The water in the tank got to room temperature but that was it.

 

[R.Morehouse]

Just did 65 300RUM cases with the Annie. It all went well, i didn't rush and the cases are 2.6 seconds each in the "heat". When the induction annealers get perfected in the near future I can see them replacing the torch... 8)

 

[Grimstod]

I spent some time on the phone with the inventor amd he used many components from the same companie that makes the Annie.

 

[Mozella]

......... snip.....When the induction annealers get perfected in the near future I can see them replacing the torch... 8)

My question is why? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Yes, induction devices eliminate the flame, but ............. why would you want to do that either for cooking or annealing?

Anyone who cooks knows that induction cook tops/ranges are horrible compared with a decent gas cook top/range.

Annealers aren't quite the same; nevertheless, any device which includes water cooling is automatically complicated. Frankly I don't see the benefit. I mean you could also heat necks with a small atomic pile, assuming you aren't afraid of radiation and have a ready supply of heavy water. The regulations and IAEA inspections would be a pain in the neck too unless, of course, you make a special deal with John Kerry that you be allowed to self inspect.

Or, with some clever engineering, you could make a mirror array to concentrate solar energy in order to anneal case necks............... but why would you do that? Anyway, you get the idea.

The point is that a propane torch coupled with a simply DIY annealer such as the "Skip Design" does a job as good as any commercial device (better than some) and it's inexpensive to build and run.

Building an induction annealer might be a fun exercise, but I don't see them replacing simple, effective, and inexpensive machines based on a propane torch; at least any time soon.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I am looking forward to the nuclear age of case annealing. Solar would be great as well tho. Ill be using whichever comes out first

 

[pressedRat]

I am looking forward to the nuclear age of case annealing. Solar would be great as well tho. Ill be using whichever comes out first

nuclear annealing is so old-school. the discerning reloader is using fusion based systems these days. lockheed martin skunkworks is working on a small device that will fit in the back of a truck. not only can you anneal 100,000 cases at a time but you can power your local community during the apocalypse.

 

[Grimstod]

......... snip.....When the induction annealers get perfected in the near future I can see them replacing the torch... 8)

My question is why? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Yes, induction devices eliminate the flame, but ............. why would you want to do that either for cooking or annealing?

Anyone who cooks knows that induction cook tops/ranges are horrible compared with a decent gas cook top/range.

Annealers aren't quite the same; nevertheless, any device which includes water cooling is automatically complicated. Frankly I don't see the benefit. I mean you could also heat necks with a small atomic pile, assuming you aren't afraid of radiation and have a ready supply of heavy water. The regulations and IAEA inspections would be a pain in the neck too unless, of course, you make a special deal with John Kerry that you be allowed to self inspect.

Or, with some clever engineering, you could make a mirror array to concentrate solar energy in order to anneal case necks............... but why would you do that? Anyway, you get the idea.

The point is that a propane torch coupled with a simply DIY annealer such as the "Skip Design" does a job as good as any commercial device (better than some) and it's inexpensive to build and run.

Building an induction annealer might be a fun exercise, but I don't see them replacing simple, effective, and inexpensive machines based on a propane torch; at least any time soon.

I am no metallurgist and only have theory to go on here. "With a gas system you are bombarding the brass with impurities while it is hot thus over time changing the metal." Could it be that electric induction introduces a method that alters the brass as little as possible yet does the job of annealing? Some quick research on major manufacturers shows that they all use Induction. Do they have a reason for this?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

The reason a mfr does it is for speed

 

[Mozella]

............ snip ...............
I am no metallurgist and only have theory to go on here. "With a gas system you are bombarding the brass with impurities while it is hot thus over time changing the metal." ...... snip ...........

Well, I'm no metallurgist either; however, I studied quite a bit of metallurgy as part of my formal education. I'm not aware of any published literature confirming this theory, are you? If so, please point me in the right direction so that I can find it. I'm curious because you put the statement in quotations as if it were copied from a book or other document.

If it's not from published liturature, I wonder if the theory is all your own developed by just thinking about it or is it something you discovered by empirical evidence?

Assuming that the act of exposing brass to burning propane must surely be doing something and that something must certainly be bad makes no sense to me. First of all, if that were the case, it seems to me that somebody would have heard about it before. After all, people have been heating brass with propane for a long long time. And we're not talking about welding here, or brazing, or even soldering where joint contamination might be a genuine concern.

Furthermore, if heat, brass, and impurities were a concern from a structural standpoint, it would seem that smokeless powder burning inside a cartridge case would be the last thing brass would want to experience. Perhaps we should all be shooting air guns powered by argon.

 

[Grimstod]

I think you completally missunderstood the post. Those were questions. Lol. Anyway you have a great point about the firing process. But does the chamber get hot enough to anneal the brass? Most mettals only change or except forine contaminants when they are hot right?

 

[jimcasey01]

What is the purpose or intent of the quotation marks, if not to denote a quote?

 

[Grimstod]

Guess I just shouldnt have used then. Sorry for the missunderstanding.

 

[jimcasey01]

Peter, not trying to cause a rukus, just to make sense of it all. Prior to the sun rising, my brain is in a fog so to speak. I do not do mornings well.