Fluxtrol

Induction Heat Treat: Considerations for Inductor Design

 

Source: Fluxtrol.com

Induction heat treaters know that proper coil design is crucial to increasing longevity, improving production quality, and cutting costs. Among the topics addressed in this paper about induction heat treat coil design and fabrication (presented by R. Goldstein, W. Stuehr, and M. Blackby at ASM International) are these:

  • The design and fabrication of induction heating coils over the years
  • The Variable of Flow and the Influence of Frequency
  • Control and Presentation
  • Structure, Quenching, and Cooling
The paper closes out with a case study using computer simulation to show typical temperature distributions in a single-shot induction hardening coil.
A good place to start whenever preparing parts for induction heat treating is the consideration of inductor design. The authors provide this list (an excerpt):
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Considerations for Inductor Design

Induction heat treating coils are available in many shapes and sizes and must perform a variety of tasks in a given induction heat treating application. Depending on the application, the induction coil design requirements include:

  • Meet heat treatment specifications in desired production rates
  • Be robust enough to tolerate manufacturing variations
  • Mount into the induction machine
  • Have electrical parameters that match the induction power supply
  • Deliver quench
  • Have a satisfactory lifetime
  • Have satisfactory efficiency
  • Be repeatable from inductor to inductor

In developing a new induction heat treating coil and process, the first question is whether the component will be produced on an existing system or if a new machine must be built. In many cases, the part producer’s desire is to develop new tooling for an existing machine with spare capacity. This reduces the degree of freedom and can make the induction coil design procedure more complicated because a less-than-optimal frequency or coil style will be necessitated to fit the existing machine (Ref 16).

To determine the ability to use existing equipment, it is necessary to make an analysis of the part to be heat treated. Part material, prior processing, geometry, production rate, and heat treatment specifications all play roles. The part material and prior processing determine what the minimum heat treatment temperature should be, along with how much time is allowed for cooling. The part geometry and heat treatment specifications indicate how much energy is required, what the preferred frequency ranges are, and what type of induction method (i.e., single shot, scanning) is best suited for the application. Finally, the production rate determines how much power and/or how many spindles or stations are required.

Read more: "Design and Fabrication of Inductors for Induction Heat Treating"

 

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A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry.

Personnel and Company Chatter

  • Richard Cammarano has been selected as president and CEO of Plymouth, Massachusetts-based Tech-Etch Inc., which produces precision components and parts.
  • With KKR’s recent acquisition of Hyperion from Sandvik, Ron Voigt will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of Hyperion, responsible for the strategic direction and operating performance of the company. Mr. Voigt succeeds Johan Israelsson, who is transitioning into a newly created role as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Alliances.
  • Boeing and Embraer recently announced a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a strategic partnership which proposes the formation of a joint venture comprising the commercial aircraft and services business of Embraer that would strategically align with Boeing’s commercial development, production, marketing and lifecycle services operations. Under the terms of the agreement, Boeing will hold an 80 percent ownership stake in the joint venture and Embraer will own the remaining 20 percent stake.
  • With the construction of an 85,000-square-foot facility, Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc., which produces investment castings for the aerospace, defense, and automotive industries, is expanding its New Hampshire operations .

Equipment Chatter

  • Four electrically heated enhanced duty walk-in ovens have been shipped to an automotive parts manufacturer by Wisconsin Oven Corporation, to be used for aging aluminum parts. In addition, Wisconsin Oven shipped an electrically heated three drawer oven to a supplier of the oil and gas industry. The custom drawer oven will be used for preheating tubes and cores.
  • Eighteen furnaces have been shipped to companies in six states in the U.S. and two companies overseas by Ipsen USA during the second quarter. These shipments included multiple atmosphere furnaces, plus the shipment of one of the largest vacuum furnaces Ipsen has ever built, featuring a 210,000-pound (95,254 kg) load capacity. Ten atmosphere box furnaces were shipped to a company in the aerospace industry, while one temper furnace went to a U.S.-based commercial heat treater. Other shipments included three TITAN H2 2-bar furnaces and three TITAN H6 2-bar furnaces.
  • A major US manufacturer of electronic components has placed an order for Despatch PND inert atmosphere ovens with FLW Southeast.
  • Two electric box furnaces have been supplied by L&L Special Furnace Company to a Midwestern machine manufacturer that builds high-speed cutting equipment, tools, and supplies for various industries, including industrial manufacturing, automotive, metal materials, and aerospace.
  • A 950°F (510°C) belt conveyor oven from Grieve, No. 831, has been supplied to a company to be used for heat treating springs.

Kudos Chatter

  • ThermoFusion is the only heat treater in Northern California to maintain Supplier Procedure Approval Requests (SPAR) for carbonitriding, nitriding, malcomizing, and general quench and temper work for Northrop Grumman.
  • Fluxtrol Inc. presented two awards during TPiM 2018. The Student Research Award was presented to Virginia Judge from the Colorado School of Mines, whose research was deemed by judges to be of extraordinary quality and impact to the field of thermal processing. The Academic Research Award/Scholarship was awarded to Professor Bob Cryderman and the Colorado School of Mines for excellence in academic research in the field of thermal processing.
  • Sciaky, Inc., a leading provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, recently announced that it achieved qualification with its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM®) process, stemming from the completion of qualification testing performed by Lockheed Martin Space on a multi-year development program to create giant, high-pressure tanks, which carry fuel for satellites.

 

Heat Treat Today is pleased to join in the announcements of growth and achievement throughout the industry by highlighting them here on our News Chatter page. Please send any information you feel may be of interest to manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments especially in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy sectors to the editor at editor@heattreattoday.com.

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Good Design Practices Lengthen Induction Tooling Life

 

Source: Fluxtrol.com

 

Induction heat treaters know that proper coil design is crucial to increasing longevity, improving production quality, and cutting costs. The authors of this paper on Coil Design Techniques (C. Yakey, V. Nemkov, R. Goldstein, J. Jackowski) draw on an extensive library of published case histories in induction coil design and performance evaluations and provide their own case study of an automotive CVJ stem hardening coil in order to demonstrate how the elimination of failure points and application of improved design guidelines can result in increased coil lifetimes, even in an inductor that in some circumstances can have a short lifetime.

An excerpt:

 “The quality of an induction coil is a major determinant of the cost to produce induction heat treated components. Oftentimes, the difference between a well designed and manufactured inductor and a poor performing inductor is not readily apparent. However, a high-quality induction coil can lead to substantially lower component manufacturing costs and higher profitability for the induction heat treater.”

Read more: “Best Practice for Design and Manufacturing of Heat Treating Inductors”

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