Well thank you for reviving my interest in making my own as well. I while back I made this: which was meant to be a damn close replacement to the AMP and it worked, the board just overheated. I may try the 24V power supply you're using since you seem to be running the same board as me without problems. I think the 48VDC is causing the problems w/ my board.
Well thank you for reviving my interest in making my own as well. I while back I made this: which was meant to be a damn close replacement to the AMP and it worked, the board just overheated. I may try the 24V power supply you're using since you seem to be running the same board as me without problems. I think the 48VDC is causing the problems w/ my board.
Tsloper,Here are the primary components...
ZVS Board ($36.62) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C70G7Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5-36V Timer/Relay Board ($12.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V24WJ4S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
24V/15A Power Supply ($21.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196PXMTU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Momentary Switch ($8.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSBYNM7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
750F Tempilaq ($30.49) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PL7SEUU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Copper Wire ($17.87) - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-25-ft-8-Gauge-Soft-drawn-Copper-Bare-Wire-By-the-Roll/50372842
Cord for power supply - Lowes carries a wall plug cord that is has the L/N/GND wires exposed. Just go to where they sell extension cords and you will find it.
Feel free to ask questions. The coil winding is key. My coil is 10 turns with an ID of 15-16mm. I wouldn't go more than 20mm if you adhere to the setup above. If you aren't sure your coil dimensions/turns will work message me and I can tell you if it will work acceptably. I will need to know coil wire diameter, coil turns, and ID. The opening of the case mouth is positioned to be right about mid way in the coil.
Other timer boards can be used but make sure it supports the voltage/current needs. The timer board I used is using two N-channel FETs in parallel rather than traditional relays. It is working very well. Other ZVS boards can be used as well but you will have to take note of how much capacitance the board has when deciding the coil specs. I'm an EE btw so this project was right up my alley.
Quick tip on turning the coil with that particular wire... use a wooden dowel or similar and turn the coil as tight as possible. Once it is turned take 5-6 business cards and slide them through the coil windings. This will then give you uniform spacing between the coils. Just make sure none of the coils touch and you will be fine. At the mounting ends of the coil I just soldered the 8 AWG wire into the center of a couple pieces of 1/4" copper tubing. This allowed the coil to mount as intended with this particular ZVS board.
If you opt to mimic the wooden block approach the proper drill bit size for 223 is 13/32". You want just enough clearance that the case will drop freely but not tilt excessively. I made the base board hole under that 1/2". Everyone will have their own approaches but just make sure you dimension the case support such that the case mouth opening is about mid way in the coil.
Tim
My build uses a 48v 600w supply and it needs more current.I am finally going to dive into making my own annealer. I am currently getting different parts together in my amazon cart.
I found a 48v 600w power supply for decent price and a 1800 ZVS with built in fans. I was thinking about wiring the power supplies in parallel. I am not familiar with ZVS's or this type of supply, but I assume the ZVS won't be worked too hard so it won't be drawing much current.
Am I out to lunch with this thinking? Here are links to the products:
48v 600w Powersupply https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08W3HYLQ3/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1STPHXK2F7NH4
1800w ZVS with fans https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DVTFL14/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3UOH6UFKYX3BS
Are you thinking about using two of the 600w supplies in parallel? I've never done that with switching power supplies, but I would think they would have to be very closely matched to make it work. It would be not a lot more money and probably much less headaches to go with a single larger supply. If you're wanting to use a single 600w supply, it can work, but as mentioned you would have to be pretty careful about current draw.I am finally going to dive into making my own annealer. I am currently getting different parts together in my amazon cart.
I found a 48v 600w power supply for decent price and a 1800 ZVS with built in fans. I was thinking about wiring the power supplies in parallel. I am not familiar with ZVS's or this type of supply, but I assume the ZVS won't be worked too hard so it won't be drawing much current.
Am I out to lunch with this thinking? Here are links to the products:
48v 600w Powersupply https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08W3HYLQ3/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1STPHXK2F7NH4
1800w ZVS with fans https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DVTFL14/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3UOH6UFKYX3BS
Are you thinking about using two of the 600w supplies in parallel? I've never done that with switching power supplies, but I would think they would have to be very closely matched to make it work. It would be not a lot more money and probably much less headaches to go with a single larger supply. If you're wanting to use a single 600w supply, it can work, but as mentioned you would have to be pretty careful about current draw.
Kristian
Thanks for the information gents. I will look harder for a 1kW one. That ZVS looks good to go?
If you get the coil close to right it should be fine, it seems like many others have used similar setups.Just put in my order. Ended up going with a 48v 1kw power supply and a 1kw ZVS. I also got a pair of fans, assorted switches, solenoid, a nice timer, step-down converter, and water cooling system. All in it was just over 300 Canuck-Bucks.
Hopefully it all works together fairly well. Will take a month for the slow boat from china to arrive with the components.
I would recommend the following power supply, I have build my Annealer using the 1800W ZVS board, it draws between 18A to 22A, it anneals 30.06 DA surplus brass in 3.3 secs, Lapua 308 in 3.1 secs.I am finally going to dive into making my own annealer. I am currently getting different parts together in my amazon cart.
I found a 48v 600w power supply for decent price and a 1800 ZVS with built in fans. I was thinking about wiring the power supplies in parallel. I am not familiar with ZVS's or this type of supply, but I assume the ZVS won't be worked too hard so it won't be drawing much current.
Am I out to lunch with this thinking? Here are links to the products:
48v 600w Powersupply https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08W3HYLQ3/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1STPHXK2F7NH4
1800w ZVS with fans https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DVTFL14/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3UOH6UFKYX3BS
What case are you using?I finally got my new solid state relays and a heatsink. Hopefully I won't need the heatsink, because I won't be able to cram it in the computer case without a ton of work redesigning things. Turns out it can actually matter where in the circuit your load is with these things, and the new ones came with a wiring diagram. It says I had the relay wired wrong last time, and now it seems to work fine and not generate any heat at all. I'm working a night shift where I'm basically just here in case something breaks down, so there can be lots of time for projects. I tidied up my wiring and gave it a bit of a test run with some crappy brass that I don't really care about. I made my trap door adjustable height using a short Arca Swiss rail and a cheap clamp. I tried it out with some Federal 30-06 brass and IVI 7.62 brass. About 3.2 seconds for the 30-06 and 4.7 with the 7.62. They must be different compositions to be that different on time, but they draw about the same amount of current when adjusted to the same height in the coil. Turns out my current meter is a bit off, it reads about half what my Fluke clamp on meter shows. Could be just a scaling issue. Depending on where I put the case in the coil, it draws between 12 and 14 A.
View attachment 7620676View attachment 7620677View attachment 7620678
Sorry, that was a typo. 3.2 seconds for Federal 30-06 and 3.7 for IVI 7.62x51. It's Canadian military brass, supposed to be fairly similar to Lake City.What case are you using?
Well I am having issues. First off, this is my first attempt at something like this and to be honest I was a little confused and intimidated. I managed to get it running but am having issues with my coil size and power draw. I'm running a 36v 750w power supply and have only managed to draw about 9amps at 340w. I've hit about 500F with my current coil size. I'm going to run a smaller diameter tubing to achieve a smaller coil diameter. Again this is my first go at it so I'm sure there is something I can do better. I've got a water pump, heat exchanger with fan that I will connect once I figure my coil size out.
View attachment 7641124
Grab some 1/8" or 3mm tube, wrap it 7 1/2 turns around something 1 1/8" diameter and see what that does. It seems to be the standard for these ZVF annealer boards. Any reason you went with a 36 rather than 48V power supply? I'm just relying on the "wisdom of the crowd" but that would be my first suggestion.Well I am having issues. First off, this is my first attempt at something like this and to be honest I was a little confused and intimidated. I managed to get it running but am having issues with my coil size and power draw. I'm running a 36v 750w power supply and have only managed to draw about 9amps at 340w. I've hit about 500F with my current coil size. I'm going to run a smaller diameter tubing to achieve a smaller coil diameter. Again this is my first go at it so I'm sure there is something I can do better. I've got a water pump, heat exchanger with fan that I will connect once I figure my coil size out.
View attachment 7641124
I am not the brightest when it comes to electrical. I guess I could have asked for some help but its been a while since I read through this thread. I've actually read through it a couple times but again it's been a while.Grab some 1/8" or 3mm tube, wrap it 7 1/2 turns around something 1 1/8" diameter and see what that does. It seems to be the standard for these ZVF annealer boards. Any reason you went with a 36 rather than 48V power supply? I'm just relying on the "wisdom of the crowd" but that would be my first suggestion.
Nice work. Hornady brass tends to heat far faster than Lapua or Norma. You'll probably have similar findings.Ive hooked up my water pump and can now run one after another without the coil getting hot.. Got it down to 7 seconds for my Hornady 300PRC and 300WM brass. I might bump up the time 1 second or less. I also need to find the sweet spot for my 6.5cm brass and make a trap door to drop the cases out of the bottom.
Using 750 F green , 900 F white and 1000 F rust tempilaq.
View attachment 7642105View attachment 7642106View attachment 7642107View attachment 7642108
What is the resolution on your timer? I can only zoom in so far and can't tell if there is a decimal point showing. You should have at least 1/10 of a second control of the time...Update: 1/8" tube with 7.5 wraps at 1" ID gets my 300WM brass white hot in about 10 seconds. I have to get a few fittings to plumb in the coil and pump and that part will be done. The pump will be set next to the fan and plumbed in. It will run through the heat exchanger on the rear fan. Next thing will be messing with case height and time, I might try a tighter coil to. All in all a pretty cool project.
I have definitely learned a lot from this. Thanks for the input.
View attachment 7641915
I haven't been able to get it down to the 1/10 of a second. Of course it didn't come with instructions....I am tinkering with it and should be able to get it figured out. I have a different one on order but it's a little over a month out. The one I'm currently running is not my first choice but figured it would get me going.What is the resolution on your timer? I can only zoom in so far and can't tell if there is a decimal point showing. You should have at least 1/10 of a second control of the time...
I figured out how to adjust the time in 1/10th of a second increments. Thanks for asking, otherwise I'm not sure I would have dug into it.What is the resolution on your timer? I can only zoom in so far and can't tell if there is a decimal point showing. You should have at least 1/10 of a second control of the time...
Your welcome...glad to help from the peanut gallery...I figured out how to adjust the time in 1/10th of a second increments. Thanks for asking, otherwise I'm not sure I would have dug into it.
Thanks
I am in the process of rebuilding my annealer into a full size tower computer case. I chose the full tower option so that I could use the 3+ CD drive bay space for an integral case feeder (as opposed to mounting it to the top/outside of the computer case). Also, a complete redesign of my case holder assembly and the coil mounting method to switch from adjusting the height of the coil (in my old design) to an adjustable height case holder.I am sure I will make upgrades and improvements in the future like a bigger power supply. I would also like to set it up in an old computer tower to clean it up and reduce the overall footprint.
Mine is spread out on a 12"x24" piece of plywood. I don't think I could fit everything into the enclosure you found on Amazon.
Im working on getting an old computer tower.
View attachment 7646941
The more/less turns is going to change the frequency that the ZVS switches at.Can someone school me on how the amount of turns in a coil effect current?
I am using 1/8 copper tube, power supply dialed down to 40 vdc. I am using a mechanical relay to switch my ZVS. I had a coil with 7 turns and approximately 15/16 ID running well. It had 1/4" clearance to the case. It would get a case glowing in 5 seconds.
I had read that the closer the coil is to the case the more efficiently it heats. So I bent up a second coil with 7 turns and a tighter ID giving 1/8" clearance to the case. It is certainly more efficient, will get a case glowing in 2.5 seconds. My issue is, it is arcing at the contacts on my relay really bad during operation with the tighter coil. I suspect I am pulling too much current over the contact. I am not tripping any breakers or the powersupply. But I am on the short track to having a fire with this one.
Does current go up with more or less turns? Does current go up with a tighter ID? I suspect I already have my answer to the second question.
I would appreciate anyone who could spell this out to me in crayon.
The more/less turns is going to change the frequency that the ZVS switches at.
The tighter diameter (closer to the brass) is the main factor in what is driving the current up.
Does frequency go up or down with the amount of turns?
Nice job! have you had any issues with the shaft on the dropper servo getting hot from being close to the induction field? I had a pivot pin on the trapdoor setup on mine in a similar location and it eventually heated up enough after a few hundred cases to bind up on the plastic. I changed it for a delrin shaft and that solved the issue. I do like the servo idea though and really like your mounting solution, I've filed that away to maybe use later onBeen lurking here for awhile and thanks to this thread I got my MGNZ annealer board last week and everything packaged into a mid-tower ATX case. Only issue so far is that the temp limit for the induction capacitors doesn't kick in, even though the temp reads over 60C.
I've uploaded the 3D printer files, linear rail code, and front panel cut .svg to Thingiverse here:
Induction Annealer Thing: 4930540
Still need to add some different case shelf diameters and a non-linear rail mounting option.
The computer case houses everything listed on the MGNZ parts list including a mounting spot at the top for the auto-feeder. I added a 2nd Arduino to control a small linear rail stepper for height adjustment for the case shelf.
View attachment 7683838View attachment 7683839View attachment 7683840
I haven't had an issue.... yet. I'm a bit concerned how close some of my screw locations are, as well as that servo shaft. It was ok after 75 or so cases in a stress test. But I need to run a longer session to see if I should space those further out from the coil.Nice job! have you had any issues with the shaft on the dropper servo getting hot from being close to the induction field? I had a pivot pin on the trapdoor setup on mine in a similar location and it eventually heated up enough after a few hundred cases to bind up on the plastic. I changed it for a delrin shaft and that solved the issue. I do like the servo idea though and really like your mounting solution, I've filed that away to maybe use later on
Have you had any issues with the N FETs going out from like static from being touched I know they’re notoriously fragile. I just ordered all the parts off Amazon and it came up to $129. I refuse to pay $1395 for an “inductor”Here are the primary components...
ZVS Board ($36.62) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C70G7Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5-36V Timer/Relay Board ($12.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V24WJ4S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
24V/15A Power Supply ($21.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196PXMTU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Momentary Switch ($8.99) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSBYNM7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
750F Tempilaq ($30.49) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PL7SEUU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Copper Wire ($17.87) - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-25-ft-8-Gauge-Soft-drawn-Copper-Bare-Wire-By-the-Roll/50372842
Cord for power supply - Lowes carries a wall plug cord that is has the L/N/GND wires exposed. Just go to where they sell extension cords and you will find it.
Feel free to ask questions. The coil winding is key. My coil is 10 turns with an ID of 15-16mm. I wouldn't go more than 20mm if you adhere to the setup above. If you aren't sure your coil dimensions/turns will work message me and I can tell you if it will work acceptably. I will need to know coil wire diameter, coil turns, and ID. The opening of the case mouth is positioned to be right about mid way in the coil.
Other timer boards can be used but make sure it supports the voltage/current needs. The timer board I used is using two N-channel FETs in parallel rather than traditional relays. It is working very well. Other ZVS boards can be used as well but you will have to take note of how much capacitance the board has when deciding the coil specs. I'm an EE btw so this project was right up my alley.
Quick tip on turning the coil with that particular wire... use a wooden dowel or similar and turn the coil as tight as possible. Once it is turned take 5-6 business cards and slide them through the coil windings. This will then give you uniform spacing between the coils. Just make sure none of the coils touch and you will be fine. At the mounting ends of the coil I just soldered the 8 AWG wire into the center of a couple pieces of 1/4" copper tubing. This allowed the coil to mount as intended with this particular ZVS board.
If you opt to mimic the wooden block approach the proper drill bit size for 223 is 13/32". You want just enough clearance that the case will drop freely but not tilt excessively. I made the base board hole under that 1/2". Everyone will have their own approaches but just make sure you dimension the case support such that the case mouth opening is about mid way in the coil.
Tim
I’ve only managed to get about halfway through the thread and it may be later down below where I stopped reading but has anybody thought about setting the case in water therefore negating the heat traveling down the brass with the coils that aren’t exactly correctly wound? Yes I know I’m late to the party this thread but started two years ago but nonetheless I am and electronics geek, ham radio operator, gun nut this is the best of two hobbies combined if you could only do it on the back of a Harley Davidson it would be the best of all three worlds.
I’ve only managed to get about halfway through the thread and it may be later down below where I stopped reading but has anybody thought about setting the case in water therefore negating the heat traveling down the brass with the coils that aren’t exactly correctly wound? Yes I know I’m late to the party this thread but started two years ago but nonetheless I am and electronics geek, ham radio operator, gun nut this is the best of two hobbies combined if you could only do it on the back of a Harley Davidson it would be the best of all three worlds.