This chapter of the free Fluxtrol induction heating course walks through case story – wheel hub heat treating in 8 slides. View the slides below, or skim the outline and slide text.
Chapter outline
- Problem Description
- Step 1: Analysis of Inductor Failure
- Development Strategy
- Step 3: Development of New Induction Coil Using
- Tests of New Coil
Slide text
Problem Description
- Heated part:
- Single-race wheel hub Problem:
- The Customer made contact due to the following:
- Short coil life – (8,000 – 13,000 pieces) resulting in:
- Machine downtime
- Unacceptable personnel time due to extended set-up
- Scrap parts Note: Inductor repair costs not a problem in this case due to manufacturer warranty Typical process of induction heating of wheel hubs
Step 1: Analysis of Inductor Failure
- Coil failure modes:
- Copper cracking under laminations due to overheating
- Lamination degradation Previously attempted actions:
- Very high water pressure and flow rate did not solve the problem
- Partial installation of Fluxtrol “A” concentrator instead of laminations improved the situation but did not solve the problem Old coil with partial replacement of laminations with Fluxtrol “A”
Development Strategy
- Step 2. (Band Aid)
- Complete replacement of laminations with Fluxtrol “A” on existing coil resulted in:
- Lower local concentration of power in copper
- Same heat pattern and machine settings
- Coil Lifetime increased to 15,000 – 25,000 pieces Step 3. (Optimal Solution)
- Design new coil with computer simulation
- Build and test new coil lower power concentration in copper using
Step 3: Development of New Induction Coil Using
- Computer Simulation Temperature distribution in part with new coil design Predicted hardness pattern Flux 2D program
Tests of New Coil
- New coil with Fluxtrol “A” concentrator was designed, manufactured and tested in production line.
- Heat pattern and coil performance were very close to parameters predicted by computer simulation.
- Coil life and part production increased to >170,000 hits without coil copper failure or concentrator degradation.
- New induction coil after 170,000 heating cycles