DIY automatic case annealer

[montana_charlie]

This Aussie has made one which is probably just about as simple as one can be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e862MYQUj-Q

His final build ... with paint, and everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-C-i0Kr2jU

[silverjay]

Used his plans to make one and love it. I added an additional guide to the left of the case feeder and it feeds every time.

[1066]

Skippy's made a good job of developing the rotary pan annealer but he would be the first to tell you, the real kudos must go to this chap for the original concept.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msgcZyYeTqM

It's real easy to copy and develop an idea but we shouldn't loose sight that it's that initial flash of inspiration that should be remembered and applauded.

Here's an example - here's a home build from 2013 with some good original features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0TlctbLT3w
And here's an almost direct commercial copy (2015):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldENRhKLfiI

[Hickory]

I think I would build the housing about 5" higher along with the "case hooper" that would allow for a single row of cases over the pickup wheel. This way it would pickup a case every time and not miss picking up a case every now and again.

[1066]

I think I would build the housing about 5" higher along with the "case hooper" that would allow for a single row of cases over the pickup wheel. This way it would pickup a case every time and not miss picking up a case every now and again.

I'm not sure where you mean, I can't see any of the cases miss feeding.

[Hickory]

I'm not sure where you mean, I can't see any of the cases miss feeding.
There are 4 videos, keep watching.

[montana_charlie]

It seems to me that the notched case feeder and the annealing drum both have to turn at the same speed ... one revolution per 'so many seconds'.

So, a single motor (which can be adjusted for the annealing speed) could turn the feeder and the drum, with them being ganged together to turn at a 1:1 ratio.

That eliminates one motor and one controller from the materials list, and only adds a drive belt and a couple of pulleys.

[smokeywolf]

Sweet. Of course I'm too proud to copy that design.

smokeywolf

[1066]

It seems to me that the notched case feeder and the annealing drum both have to turn at the same speed ... one revolution per 'so many seconds'.

So, a single motor (which can be adjusted for the annealing speed) could turn the feeder and the drum, with them being ganged together to turn at a 1:1 ratio.

That eliminates one motor and one controller from the materials list, and only adds a drive belt and a couple of pulleys.

I think there's considerably more work with a single motor design - To keep the feed and the drum in sync you would need a toothed belt and sprockets or gears, which ever way you go you would need a sub-chassis with shafts and bearings.

With a two motor design the drum and feeder are both mounted directly on the gearbox stub as a self contained unit. The feeder, with a two motor set up, must be running slightly slower than the drum to prevent two cases eventually being fed together. If it's running a little slower it's not a problem to miss one every 10 or so revs.
The DC speed controllers are cheap, less than $5 including shipping.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-DC10-60V-PWM-HHO-RC-Motor-Speed-Regulator-Controller-Switch-20A-New-/291341338166?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d54c0636

[Handloader109]

I don't reload thousands of 223s so I'm going simpler and cheaper and building a manual version. Dropping the case isn't that hard, and your annealing about 6 a minute. If it works well, I might add the auto drum.

[lancem]

Got the parts to build one, just need the time.

[MtGun44]

Neat design.

Bill

[bbqncigars]

The only thing wrong about that design is that it doesn't deal with the wide span of cases like the horizontal blade type annealer. I bought a 'blade' and assembled mine to handle 25-20 brass on the small end, and 50BMG brass on the big end. The difference is torch position and blade speed (soak time). I think it would be difficult to have a 'bowl' annealer that could handle both those cases without major mods. Short enough to handle the little guys, and the big boys will be unstable. Set for the big ones, and the small ones will be completely inside the bowl. I'll just keep hand feeding my cases into the cutouts and be happy that that's all I have to worry about.

[kbstenberg]

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the 25 rpm motors I was looking at draw .098 amp.
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[lancem]

First one should be more than enough, I'm planning to just use my battery charger as a power source if not just my 12V deep cycle battery that I use for my trap throwing machine.

[1066]

Just the cheapest wall socket adapter will do. Even the voltage is not too critical so doesn't need to be regulated, 10-14 will be fine.
The PWM speed controllers take virtually no load and usually operate between 9-30 volts.
The little geared 12v motors again take very little load, will run well on anything from about 4v to 14v and will run several hours continuously off half a dozen pen cell batteries if needed. My machine has a .2 amp fuse in the main feed and not blown one yet.

[kryogen]

6 seconds just like i do mine..... I use a socket and drill, I just count and watch the line. Works.

An auto annealer would have a use if you want to win a world record and are psycho about everything, or if you have many thousands to do....
Gets quite expensive if you just want to anneal your brass once in a while.

[firebrick43]

So a question for those with more motor control experience. My initial thoughts was why use two motors. The wheels should turn 1:1 rpm to function with the best efficiency. So I thought I would machine a second spindle and drive it with a small timing belt. Well I soon realized this would increase the cost over a second motor/speed controller.

So my question is can I use a single pwm controller (it has the amp capacity) and wire the motors with a y cable? If my rudimentary understanding of dc motor theory is correct it should work but may cause one motor to run slightly different speed. I thought by machining small grooves in the spindles an oring could "tie" the spindles together.

[dragon813gt]

Are the plans available online? Looks like I can easily build this one

[Lars-K]

Plans can be found here: http://shootingaustralia.net/forum/reloading/9587-skip-s-case-annealer-black-betty
You have to register to see the drawings.

[1066]

So a question for those with more motor control experience. My initial thoughts was why use two motors. The wheels should turn 1:1 rpm to function with the best efficiency. So I thought I would machine a second spindle and drive it with a small timing belt. Well I soon realized this would increase the cost over a second motor/speed controller.

So my question is can I use a single pwm controller (it has the amp capacity) and wire the motors with a y cable? If my rudimentary understanding of dc motor theory is correct it should work but may cause one motor to run slightly different speed. I thought by machining small grooves in the spindles an oring could "tie" the spindles together.

My thought on this are:

You can drive the motors with a suitable single PWM controller but two similar motors are very unlikely to give you exactly the same speed - if the motors are just slightly out of sync you will several revolutions where no case is picked up or several where it double feeds. A lot of hassle to save the cost of a separate controller for each motor.

I don't think machining grooves in the spindle will work, "o" rings of 2"-3" Dia will usually be 1/8th or more thick, they will need more radius or deeper grooves than could be machined into a small drive spindle without slippage.

You could fit a cam on both drive shafts, to operate microswitch's and using logic and a bit of clever wiring get the faster motor to pause while the other catches up every now and again - again, it would be an interesting project, but a lot work to save $5 on a separate PWM controller.

[firebrick43]

Um maybe I misstated the spindle part. Ment hub so it would have sufficient diameter and could grove it for a good fit. The main reason I am thinking like this is not to save 5$ but to eliminate fiddling with speeds trying to matching the speeds. The pwm display is liable not to match each other due to difference in resistance and load in the motors requiring fiddling causing out of sync conditions.
I think i I am going to try it and if it doesn't work I can add the second controller later if it don't pan out.