DIY Annealing Machine Torch Method

[tabascoz28]

Got this done today. I think I'm 80 dollars in. I haven't done a batch but the hard part's over at least. Can't be harder than eyeballing all my cuts and using the most cost effective parts laying around the house, drilling holes all on top of my washer.

With the help of a fellow calgunner who printed the gear/wheels for this to work correctly and some cheap motor/electronics on amazon.

https://vimeo.com/509589664

[baih777]

Sourcing the wheels is the hard part.

[tabascoz28]

Yeah, I couldn't do it. I don't have access to aluminum rods, nor do I know how to work with plastic or gears/housing. Technically I would have probably used wooden wheels...

[Meety Peety]

Back before 3D printing was so common we used Delrin and aluminum. Only downside was it can be hard to find short pieces of delrin and its pricey by the foot. It was best to split it among a few friends. But now you can just 3D print components pretty easily. Buuuuuuut I'd be curious about how much heat is transferring to the wheels in your set up. I'm half curious about printing some parts for my old DIY annealer, as I could definitely improve some things on it now a days. But I have an AMP now and print accessories for that instead lol.

[bummer7]

Nice job!

I made my own DIY case annealer while sheltering-in-place last year.

I purchased a regular propane torch head from Home depot. think it was the $12 model. But wasn't happy after using the torch head with a propane bottle attached and hanging off the mounting bracket, Didn't feel I got enough leeway on adjusting the flame on different size cases. While the setup worked, I later added a 4-ft hose between the torch head and the bottle. This gave me a lot more adjustment on the torch head and distance between the case and flame.

No access to Delrin or similar materials. for the Wheels, I just glued up pieces of 3/4-inch plywood for the wheels, cut them to shape, and painted them using left over gloss black.

[tabascoz28]

I like how everyone used what they had, like drawers, plywood, computer cases... I really didn't want to run a belt system but metal is the way to go. The guy that made my wheels is sending me aluminum ones and if I aim it diagonally outward it should be ok.

[Wykyd]

Nice I built the simpler one where you put 1 piece at a time. It works great but I sure would like to upgrade to your style.

The person you got the wheels from, do you know if they are willing to share the 3d printer file? I can print them just need the file.

[tabascoz28]

He is. For his work and help I paid him and let him know I'd help spread the word for his endeavor whatever it might be. I don't want to volunteer his design for free but I'll ask him for you, but trust me, it's reasonable.

[silent_20]

I'm planning on building this one from thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4751599

[Wykyd]

I'm planning on building this one from thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4751599

Ya I saw that too. I just thought its a lot of plastic parts for a high temp setting. I may still try it.

Sorry to kinda get off topic OP!

[DGoodale]

Here's mine I made a few years back.

[xfer42]

9-1-2020 7-42-26 PM.jpg

Ill try to get the STLs up on thingiverse in the next day or so. I just hate documenting stuff. I wouldnt call it complete, and I probably wont maintain it anymore.

The gearbox consists of:
1 JYG-370 12v 20rpm worm gear motor
3 8x22x7 (608ZZ) bearings
PLA printed parts

The torch holder is just a piece of aluminum round stock faced off on a lathe, drilled and tapped on both ends, and bored out on a mill (just big enough to get a torch head through).

The bracket mounting the aluminum torch holder is a piece of flat steel with a 1/4 slot milled down the center. I think you can buy something similar (T-slot L bracket?). Theres probably better ways to do it, but I had the parts on hand to make those.

Ive done a few thousand .223 cases on it. The only heat problem is with the extraction of the case. When the brass drops into the groove of the lower wheel, it sits idle against the wheel and has time to transfer heat. On mine, I lined it with aluminum flashing. That solved any heat problem. The heat from the torch goes straight up and doesnt hit the wheels (as long as its tilted slightly).

I did make aluminum wheels for it because heat is a problem with smaller cases, like 300blk. Those are in transit to the OP (2 wheels, rubber lined).

One of the many projects I have going on is a cheap, arduino nano controlled, water cooled, automated induction annealer complete with a 20x4 LCD display. IRF540N MOSFETs will allow the 5v output of the arduino to switch the 48V induction heater on and off. Id like to use a servo ($1 each) instead of $10+ solenoid to eject the finished cases. Ive got a mock up of it now testing the IR switch for the hopper (near the brass thing next to wheel) and case feed (cases are not happy with current flow). It will have to be rebuilt. Its more to test placement of parts. Hoping to finish this at ~$150. The first annealer really satisfied my needs to anneal anything, so this is just for the hell of it (also so I can run it in the house and watch it do stuff like a water fountain). Id like to see this kinda stuff all over the place for cheap. I cant believe the price of the manual induction solutions.

The mess of parts:
20210210_231333.jpg