Annealing PE with induction???

Joined
Mar 31, 2020
Messages
130
Points
88

Location
USA
Does anyone know if you can anneal photo etch using an induction stove top? I’m in the process of bending a good amount of photo etch, and I am reading that you should anneal photo-etch when you are working with complex curves and bends. I am familiar with annealing larger PE with open flame, and using an electric stove burner to anneal finer, more intricate photoetch, such as stairs, grilles, etc. However, I have an induction stove top. I am wondering if I can anneal with an induction stove cooktop.
 
From what little I know, only of the photoetch material is magnetic. Maybe use a cast iron pan in between but I'd worry about controlling the heat.
 
Generally speaking the majority of photoech material for scale models comes in thicknesses of 0.2mm ~0.3mm. Such thin materials don't require annealing for further bending. Also, some of the manufacturers photoetched patterns for easy bending. In case you don't have such a pattern, you can score them with a sharp awl point or knife.
Annealing the fret or just part will bend it so it will be difficult to flatten it again. Also, it will oxidize it and will make it difficult to clean up.
I've used in the past PE bending tools for complex bending tasks and they worked well, you just need to follow the proper order of bending parts.

1698591574321.png
 
I tried annealing some scrap P/E with a torch and it did warp the sheet. I tried using an iron pan as the “hot plate “, and it worked to a degree but I didn’t want to destroy the pan or stovetop. I will follow advice Jimsky and skip annealing the metal. Thanks to you and Pebbleworm for your suggestions.
 
Back
Top