Induction heating is used as a heat source in a wide variety of applications. Oftentimes, applications of induction heating or ideas of where induction heating could be used are developed by people who are experts in the product or process rather than induction heating itself. In other cases, induction heating processes were developed by highly skilled individuals whom have since retired or moved on to another company without fully transferring their induction heating knowledge.
Fluxtrol’s consulting fills that gap. The team of the Centre for Induction Technology (CIT) has provided consulting for energy efficiency, electromagnetic safety and the overall feasibility of potential induction applications, with magnetic flux control as a central theme.
What consulting covers
- Feasibility. Can induction heating do the job, and in what form, before money goes into equipment?
- Energy efficiency. Where power is lost in the coil, bus and circuit, and how controllers and design changes reduce it.
- Electromagnetic safety. Understanding the fields an installation produces and how shielding with magnetic flux controllers can reduce them.
- Magnetic flux control. Selecting and placing soft magnetic composite concentrators, shields and cores; see Fluxtrol SMCs .
- Process knowledge recovery. Rebuilding understanding of an induction process whose original developers are gone, using simulation and experiment.
How an engagement works
Fluxtrol works from a consultative approach: understand the problem, then solve it through computer simulation, prototyping and tests. In practice the path mirrors the coil workflows . For a new idea, that means a clear application description and simulation of the concept. For an existing process, the team uses simulation to describe it, acquires data in an experiment, draws the coil, and compares model to measurements before proposing changes. Simulation is covered under modeling and optimization , and tests run in the laboratory described on the prototyping page .
Why magnetic flux control
Theoretical studies and the practical experience of the Fluxtrol team show how important it is to pay attention to magnetic flux control. A robot-mounted hairpin coil with and without a concentrator has become a classic demonstration: the section with the controller heats more. The same principle underlies results in tube welding, melting and heat treating. See the technical article Magnetic Flux Control in Induction Systems .
What customers say
A University of Cambridge researcher said Fluxtrol was very good to deal with, both in providing initial design and manufacturing advice and in the wider context of implementation, including cooling and power supply design. Retech credited Fluxtrol’s concentrators and design assistance with improved performance of its cold crucible induction melting furnaces. More comments are on the testimonials page .
Start with free resources
The free online induction heating course , the FAQ and the glossary cover fundamentals before a first call.
Talk to an induction expert
Describe the process, the part and what is not working. Contact Fluxtrol to discuss consulting.
Real-world results
Magnetic Flux Control in Induction Systems
Paper on the concentration, shielding and redistribution of magnetic fields with SMC controllers.
- Accurate heat pattern control
- Improved inductor parameters
Free Online Induction Heating Course
400-plus slide course for users, designers, coil builders and managers.
- Technique, coils and simulation
- Magnetic flux control and SMC application