High‑Uniformity Induction Preheating for Steel Arm Production

Application: Preheat & Postheat

Industry: Manufacturing & Automation

Application Objectives:
The customer sought to replace aging induction equipment with a more reliable, energy‑efficient solution capable of delivering consistent 400 °F steel preheat in under two minutes—without sacrificing throughput or part quality.”

The challenge:
Main challenge was to heat parts of varying size in such a way, that surface temperature is 400 °F by showing consistency and reliability. Additional challenge was to go under 2 min heating cycle.

Equipment:

• Induction generator: SOLO‑16 (16 kW) & SOLO‑12 (12  kW) power supplies
• Heat station: HS‑24
• Induction coil: ID 3 in, 9‑turn helical copper coil
• Custom fixture
• Thermocouple
• Vice grip

Material:

• Carbon‑steel arm parts, 1 ¾ – 2 ½ in thick, up to 8 in long

Key Parameters:

• Max Temperature: 400 °F
• Min/Max Heat Cycle: Under 2 minutes
• Duty Cycle: Continuous

Process:
Each steel arm was clamped in a vice. The helical coil was centered over the full length of the part and energized at 12  kW. Real‑time thermocouple feedback confirmed a uniform temperature rise. Digital control maintained constant power while the SOLO system automatically tuned to the 56‑kHz resonant point. All four sample variants reached 400 °F in well under the 2‑minute limit without hot spots or discoloration.

Results and Conclusions:
The SOLO platform comfortably met the sub‑2‑minute specification, averaging 1 minute 15 seconds per part with only ±4 °F uniformity tolerances. Repeatability was high; temperature curves overlapped for all runs. The tests validated that a 12 kW configuration is sufficient for production.. If future cycle times tighten, a capacitor adjustment would allow utilization of the generator’s full 16 kW capacity.”
Replacing an older induction system with Ultraflex’s modern SOLO platform delivered faster cycle times, tighter temperature control, and improved reliability, providing a clean, energy‑efficient upgrade path without disrupting the existing process flow.

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