Induction brass annealer redux

[RegionRat]

The real questions are we really need the water circuit for our machine? Can not we simply replace the tube with a thread full of copper? it simplifies the concept enormously Indeed our machine at the base is planned for a crucible which causes it huge heat But for the use we do not do so so much heat A copper wire full of 3mm2 will be easier to work and set up what does the community think

Not a good idea.
With most things we do in thermodynamics and energy, we will rarely see perfect efficiency. We have these fractions of loss in even the best processes.

When we are talking about throwing around even just a few hundred Watts to anneal a piece of brass, it only takes a tiny fraction of inefficiency in the electronics and coil to build up significant heat if we don’t manage it.

So, if you were only going to cycle the machine a few times, you could probably get away with that before you had to stop and let it cool down, but most of us don’t want a machine that will overheat after a small run. We want one that can stay balanced and run for as long as we have brass waiting to be processed. Thus, we use the smartest designs we can afford to avoid waste heat, and we use cooling where it makes sense to keep the process rolling and to avoid killing the life of the components.

 

[Fire Dog]

I'm considering doing one of these.

[MEDIA=youtube]jLRgDZeYQ-M[/MEDIA]

You will NEVER be sorry and save yourself a ton of time and trouble with all the work involved to make this homemade annealer that started this thread... No water cooling and dedicated electronics. Check out the video on AMP's site... Really amazing to see the steps involved in making their product, the music sound track is good too.
I have had mine for years and do a bit of sideline work annealing for others as well as my own stuff... I clean and anneal every time before reloading my cases... For the others that won't pay the 5¢ I charge then I tell them it should be done at least every 5 loading's as the brass work hardens and neck tension suffers... Most listen to that...

 

[Gina1]

Gina,
What is size of your enclosure? (Width x Depth x Height)
My guesses based on your pictures.. It looks like your annealer is about 20-inches wide.. It looks like your plenum height for you radiator under the electronics level is about 8-inches tall.. It looks like your control panel above the plenum is about 7-inches tall. And it looks like the footprint of your electronics shelf is about 18-inches wide by 14-inches deep. Am I roughly correct on your dimensions?
Thank you

Frank...
Sorry I did not get back to you earlier. The annealier in the video was mod 2 design. I built it with lots of room for any changes I may have wanted later on. The build could have been made smaller (ie.. 48 volt power supply mounted vertically) Your build layout is up to you. Some builders have made their annealers narrow to as to fit on the loading bench and not take up much room. (using old computer cases).
Any question... feel free to pm me
Gina

 

[itchyTF]

You will NEVER be sorry and save yourself a ton of time and trouble with all the work involved to make this homemade annealer that started this thread... No water cooling and dedicated electronics. Check out the video on AMP's site... Really amazing to see the steps involved in making their product, the music sound track is good too.
I have had mine for years and do a bit of sideline work annealing for others as well as my own stuff... I clean and anneal every time before reloading my cases... For the others that won't pay the 5¢ I charge then I tell them it should be done at least every 5 loading's as the brass work hardens and neck tension suffers... Most listen to that...

Since I like to tinker, I certainly would be sorry blowing that much $ on an annealer. To each his own.

 

[justinp61]

Since I like to tinker, I certainly would be sorry blowing that much $ on an annealer. To each his own.

The one in my post that Fire Dog quoted will cost $200-$225 to put together depending on which induction heater you buy.

I've just started playing with a torch and a rechargeable drill for annealing to see what the results are. I like it so far as I'm not see the spring back I was on the necks and shoulders without annealing. I don't load enough to justify spending a lot of money on an annealer, but I do load enough to use one. from time to time.

I like to tinker and fabricate too, but sometimes for me pressing the simple easy button is better than overthinking something.

 

[Ajnova75]

I attempted to use the 1800 watt power supply for discussed in the last few pages. No success as it just trips the power supply. I upped it to a 48volt 20 amp supply and the same thing trips it. Is it the coil size? Is it something with the contractor/varsitor setup? Help!!!!!!

 

[Gina1]

I attempted to use the 1800 watt power supply for discussed in the last few pages. No success as it just trips the power supply. I upped it to a 48volt 20 amp supply and the same thing trips it. Is it the coil size? Is it something with the contractor/varsitor setup? Help!!!!!!

check to see that your coil is not shorted also check your wiring.

 

[itchyTF]

Run a piece of paper between the turns of the coil. Should be no binding. I think it works better than trying to see touching.

 

[Ajnova75]

Run a piece of paper between the turns of the coil. Should be no binding. I think it works better than trying to see touching.

No coils touching

 

[Ajnova75]

check to see that your coil is not shorted also check your wiring.

No coils touching and I’m gathering it’s wired correctly. I had the original ZVS hooked up the same way it ran fine. I did have the top and bottom reversed on the other setup. That is if you look at the unit from the front the top of the coil comes out on the right side connection and the bottom to the left.

 

[itchyTF]

Direction of the coil doesn’t matter. Might be a shorted FET/transistor. Did this board ever work?

 

[Dave M.]

You will NEVER be sorry and save yourself a ton of time and trouble with all the work involved to make this homemade annealer that started this thread... No water cooling and dedicated electronics. Check out the video on AMP's site... Really amazing to see the steps involved in making their product, the music sound track is good too.
I have had mine for years and do a bit of sideline work annealing for others as well as my own stuff... I clean and anneal every time before reloading my cases... For the others that won't pay the 5¢ I charge then I tell them it should be done at least every 5 loading's as the brass work hardens and neck tension suffers... Most listen to that...

With Gina’s fantastic guidance and advice, I build an induction annealer based on her design. It works awesome and it’s super flexible. The total cost of all components as purchased is under $300 and with some time and careful attention to detail; anyone can build their own annealer. I’m not trying to say I fully understand everything that is happening inside the coil; but with trial and error one can develop a super consistent program to anneal brass in under 7 seconds per piece.

Dave M.
(Michigan)

 

[dskogman]

No coils touching and I’m gathering it’s wired correctly. I had the original ZVS hooked up the same way it ran fine. I did have the top and bottom reversed on the other setup. That is if you look at the unit from the front the top of the coil comes out on the right side connection and the bottom to the left.

My first board was bad. QC on these things is not great.

 

[Ajnova75]

Direction of the coil doesn’t matter. Might be a shorted FET/transistor. Did this board ever work?

No not once

 

[itchyTF]

No not once

Do you have an ohmmeter? What is the writing on the largest transistors, probably the ones attached to a heatsink.

 

[Frank Kalisz]

Frank...
Sorry I did not get back to you earlier. The annealier in the video was mod 2 design. I built it with lots of room for any changes I may have wanted later on. The build could have been made smaller (ie.. 48 volt power supply mounted vertically) Your build layout is up to you. Some builders have made their annealers narrow to as to fit on the loading bench and not take up much room. (using old computer cases).
Any question... feel free to pm me
Gina

Everything is good. I made my enclosure big too - plan is to gradually fill in components with my play money over next few months. I sadly cannot find any IMR4064 powder so I can’t put anything together for a while in any case. Thank you, Gina.

 

[Gina1]

Same here. I have powder, primers, and brass. but only 400 bullets. Saving those for when matches (NBRSA) start up again here in Southern Oregon.

 

[oliverpsmile]

Same here. I have powder, primers, and brass. but only 400 bullets. Saving those for when matches (NBRSA) start up again here in Southern Oregon.

It is everywhere - very few people on the ranges. When a primer drops, I go all the way under the bench to retrieve it. Never happened before.

 

[Ajnova75]

Do you have an ohmmeter? What is the writing on the largest transistors, probably the ones attached to a heatsink.

Yes I have an ohm meter. I have to check that when I return home from a business trip tomorrow.

 

[VenatusDominus]

Yes I have an ohm meter. I have to check that when I return home from a business trip tomorrow.

I’m in the process of building two GinaErick annealers (one for me snd one for a buddy), so ordered two of everything. I got the first one put together and powered it up. it immediately fried my SSR rated at 40A. I Did a lot of checking and rechecking wiring. Finally swapped out the ZVS board with the other I had ordered and it worked perfectly. So one of the ZVS boards was DOA. It was replaced by Amazon for free. Hope to complete my build this weekend. Sounds like you may have a bad ZVS board.