I drilled and tapped everything, but if I was to do it again I would probably drill through fully. The center board screw I would still drill and tap.
I only have a drill press and Dremel, so going that deep in gummy material is difficult.
Homemade Induction Annealer
- Thread starter TSloper
- Start date
I only have a drill press and Dremel, so going that deep in gummy material is difficult.
Pushing hundreds of amps through thin PCB traces does not seem ideal to me. I think this design from that thread I posted earlier is a good way to do it:
This is basically the same circuit as the chineez "ZVS" boards, but re-arranged such that, to the extent possible, the power components are cooled by water. For example, the capacitors are soldered directly to the copper pipe filled with water. There is also a fan blowing across them with a gap between to actually allow air to get through. It's nice that the fan doesn't blow smoke in your face as the powder residue/lube/whatever cooks off the brass.
2¢
This is basically the same circuit as the chineez "ZVS" boards, but re-arranged such that, to the extent possible, the power components are cooled by water. For example, the capacitors are soldered directly to the copper pipe filled with water. There is also a fan blowing across them with a gap between to actually allow air to get through. It's nice that the fan doesn't blow smoke in your face as the powder residue/lube/whatever cooks off the brass.
2¢
Electrically not connected yet, have the basic machine sitting in top on my Dillon XL650.
Some items sourced used, or open box from e-bay. I have a buddy that's going to help me get the plug wired for the power supply, currently at a stopping point until after July 4th.
The plan is to universal deprime, and anneal on one pass (the first pass) before tumbling fired brass.
Some items sourced used, or open box from e-bay. I have a buddy that's going to help me get the plug wired for the power supply, currently at a stopping point until after July 4th.
The plan is to universal deprime, and anneal on one pass (the first pass) before tumbling fired brass.
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I have been using this for 3 years now. I have mine on a timer and rotated my coil so the cartriges can sit upright in a wood block (5 at a time). Much better than the hand torch method.
Hei... I have the same one but I can't get it to work with the timer... Mine is the model that once pluged, the fan starts and keeps on going non stop. If i wire the timer (intercepting the negativ) it doesn't do anything. The timer functions but has no effect on the annealing process. I still have to manul push the button and all..
Right. My fan run's continuously which it should ,to keep it cool. i have a 5 second delay between cases before the next heat cycle which i have to trigger for the heat. Depending on the case mfg either 3.5 seconds or 5 and the ambiant temp. All good
Can I ask you how exactly have you wired the timer? If it's not too much trouble can you send me some photo? I can't get it right... Thank you
Can I ask you how exactly have you wired the timer? If it's not too much trouble can you send me some photo? I can't get it right... Thank you
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Thank you
ok... So you connected the negative of the annealer to the negative from the socket ;the positive of the socket to the timer and the positive of the annealer to the timer right? What I don't understand is where have you connected the push button... You've said that the fan runs continuously like mine and the timer manages the annealing function intercepting the push button... How? Where did you go with the 2 push button wires?Thank you
Just hold the button on the unit and it will start when the timer activates the output. I have a 5 second off time to move to my next cartridge that is in my 5 station holder. Also I misspoke about the fan staying on all the time. It start s when the timer activates and you have to have the button pressed to anneal.Thank you
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Thank you
. I thought that you managed to wire the button directly into the timer so it wouldnt be necesary to hold it. I just bought mine and the fan keeps on going once plugged.. Maybe its the updated version... But did I understand corectly the wireing procedure? Negativ from socket to negativ annealer and positive from socket and positive annealer to timer? It's correct?Just wire up a socket to the output side to plug your hot rod into and run hot and neutral to the input. Then program the controller.Thank you
120vExactly my setup
Yeah 120 not 220
. Mine is dc... I have to power it with an phone charger at 5 VYeah 120 not 220
. Mine is DC... have to power it with a phone charger...Attachments
Yes. Different controller. I also give my hot rod a break after like 50 cases and just plug it it to constant power to let it cool down. Not sure on the duty cycle but why cook it.Yeah 120 not 220
Yeah 120 not 220
I do the same pretty much. I don't think that it's a problem if used for more than 50 cases at a time but why risk it. On you tube they say that they use it with no problems for much longer but... I'm not a competitive shooter, I don't have to prepare 4-500 rounds at a time. I do 50-70 rounds than I give it a break
I could use a little word of encouragement. First off, I don't see how at this point in my build this would work. Looks like a direct short waiting to happen. I am trying to build this as a stand alone unit that will mount on top my Dillon XL650. It looks pretty, but in not convinced it will work as is. Here's a few pictures. Fans run constantly as I wired them separately in parallel to a USB. Well that's update from one month ago. Have not wired the timer, or DC power supply connections yet.
1. Copper coil very close to the tool head I had built for this project. Even then the aluminum plate everything is mounted to would need opened up in the area of the coil to keep a direct short from occurring with the nearby copper coil. Might have to go non-electrical conductive on that tool head. What do you think?
1. Copper coil very close to the tool head I had built for this project. Even then the aluminum plate everything is mounted to would need opened up in the area of the coil to keep a direct short from occurring with the nearby copper coil. Might have to go non-electrical conductive on that tool head. What do you think?
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I think a stand alone annealing proecess is what i would do.Less complicated than trying to intrigate into the dillon system.
What always strikes me when I look at your setup, is that the proximity of the coil to the large aluminum tool head might potentially cause issues with heat build up in the tool head itself (as well as excessively long heating times with the amount of energy being dumped into the tool head instead of just the brass case). I know aluminum is not a ferrite metal, but neither is brass and heating up the brass is the primary goal of this mechanism.
You mentioned maybe using a non-conductive tool head (3-D printed?) and that might be a solution...
You mentioned maybe using a non-conductive tool head (3-D printed?) and that might be a solution...
I have made a video looking at the Annie Annealer by Fluxeon, which may be useful as a reference for someone looking to DIY their own annealer. I traced most of the circuit out, and the schematic link is below. The tricky part for their system would be sourcing the transformer core. You could actually make your own Litz wire and wind it yourself. Otherwise, you'll see plenty of similarities to other DIY Royer circuits. I thought there were some weird build quality issues, but it certainly works.
https://github.com/techdregs/Annie_Anenealer
https://github.com/techdregs/Annie_Anenealer
I gave up on building one. I just bought this and it works fine. The duty cycle is not the greatest but it works.
Those induction coils are easy to build out of solid copper wire. You can build whatever diameter you want and it came with several to boot, so I’m sure it could. If you need something hot that thing will do it.
No timer just a good eye..A timer would be easy to make on the AC coming in but I just watch the case for the right color. It takes a few to get the hang of it on some junk brass
Hi! Did you manage to solve the restarting of the Cortrol board (i presume you are using the arduino and MGNZ board). I am having the same issue and looking for ways to solve this..
Sorry I have not been on here much. I could run 5 plus a minute with water cooling. Never had it get hot except when my water pump quite working. I ran a small heat exchanger with a computer fan pulling air from inside the cabinet out across the exchanger. I ended up upgrading to an AMP this summer and sent my annealing unit to my brother in Colorado. I will admit my homemade unit was easier to feed and quite a bit faster. The AMP is all manual where the unit i built was setup with a case eject.
If its encouragement youre looking for, then go for it!
After completing my automated unit, I think you will be better off building a standalone machine for annelíng than integrating it into the press. but if you really want to go for it: I would also be worried about the aluminium tool head. Maybe get it machine from delrin, or 3D print from some high temp material. Also, the coil can be covered with fiberglass sleeving (very cheap from ali express) which should resolve the potential shorts you are worried about.You should remake your coil without the piece hanging down. Then it should have clearance to the top of the toolhead. Something like this:
Well, it was fun while it lasted. I replaced the power supply back in June of this year with a 48v 1200w unit. It worked like new at that time and has set idle until today. I was annealing 6.8 cases at 4.1 seconds. The amps would get to roughly 13.25 and power would get to 640 in that time frame. It worked well for over 100+ cases. I would run small batches to avoid heating issues. It seemed to stay cool. Then it began to "loose power". It wouldn't achieve the 13-amp load or 640 power reading. The case necks wouldn't reach a faint glow anymore. I tinkered with the power supply setting it lower to 46-47v. Now it takes 6.0 seconds and runs 11-12amps to reach a dim glow on the neck.
My question is do I have a failing power supply or a failing ZVS? Or something else?
My question is do I have a failing power supply or a failing ZVS? Or something else?
Have you tried again after letting the power supply cool off? It may have just been derating due to heat. Also check the caps and mosfets on your ZVS for the same. There's a reason mine looks way overbuilt. If you run them constantly, stuff heats up, and you can't maintain the power levels like that without adequate cooling.
Yes, I tried it again on another day and it was would not reach the 13+ amp load, even testing with larger brass at a longer duration. I will test once more though before removing ZVS. A new ZVS board is on hand now so I will swap that next as the power supply is nearly new.
Do you know what your current draw is on this? Fellow aussie and just built mine. Playing around with 3mm coils at the moment, but I can't seem to get below 8sec for 6.5CM brass.
I'm seeing around 13amps currently. Going to try some 2 layer coil designs.
I also bought a 6mm 2 layer coil from AliExpress that I'm going to give a try.
Edit:
Looks like I have cracked the code for my own setup.
I just wound this coil and did a quick test (no water etc connected) and it had a 6.5CM case neck glowing in a few seconds.
So I don't think I will bother trying the one above now.
Specs:
3mm copper, insulation pre-installed (yes I have fibres in my fingers, thanks for asking) and wound around a 25mm mandrel (3D printed), so probably ~26mm ID.
2 Layers
Inside Layer - 4 turns
Outside Layer - 3.5 turns
Aside from making the new coil, there's some other changes that could be affecting this.
1) I changed from approx 12 AWG wire to 10 AWG wire. I doubt this has made any difference though as the old wire didn't even get warm, so it wasn't struggling to carry the current.
2) The ZVS is just sitting outside the case for testing. This could have had an impact as there is zero metal near it. I previously had the coil running through a metal cover with a 3D printed plastic cover over it with smaller holes to stop shorting. I've cut a much bigger hole now and will use a 100mmx120mm 3D printed cover so it should not impact it now.
Also, for those of you who can't find a solution to fit beefy wires to small components like the current sensors, here is what I did.
Snip a connector and fold it over on itself. I added some solder afterwards to make it a bit more solid and able to carry the current.
The red lines are where I snipped.
Conveniently, the connector ends up with a bend in it so you can install them opposite ways and they have plenty of clearance.
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