Why Should Part Hardening and Tempering Process Use Induction Heating Technology?

 

To adapt to the working circumstances, items in the industry typically need to be heat-treated. 

The microstructure, hardness, tensile strength, and yield strength of the component parts are significantly improved after heat treatment. 

Heat treatment is therefore a crucial step in the manufacturing of parts.

Heat treatment, which is applied to the manufacturing process according to the demands of various working conditions, can comprise hardening, tempering, annealing, normalizing, etc. 

What equipment can be utilized for the hardening and tempering processes will be discussed below. 

Induction heating technology provides several benefits over conventional methods for the hardening and tempering stages of heat treatment.

Because induction heating warms conductive materials quickly, efficiently, and without using flames, it has significant benefits for manufacturing operations. Inductive power supplies, inductors with copper coils, and coolers or cooling units are common components of systems. An electromagnetic alternating magnetic field is created as a result of the current flowing through the coil. Electric current will flow through the conductive components once they are within the coil. Heat is produced when an electric current interacts with a conductive part's resistance property.

So what are the advantages of induction heating for steel hardening and tempering?

1.Flexibility:

The machines in an induction heating system don't need preheating or show-down periods; you can start or stop the equipment as needed for production.

The majority of the time, different sizes and grades of material need to be tempered at various tempering temperatures. 

However, it is challenging to control the temperature on typical equipment. 

The steel will begin to decarbonize if the bars or tubes are heated at a high temperature for an extended length of time. 

In contrast, the power output of an induction heating system regulates the different temperature adjustments. 

This is crucial for obtaining the various grade bars or tubes that are required.

2. Uniformity of structure and hardness:

The following changes to the steel microstructure will occur during the heat treatment process: ferrite, austenite, martensite, and sorbide. 

However, only when the steel is heated and cooled uniformly can the structure be altered. 

The hardness, toughness, and tensile strength will be affected if the transformation is not complete, which will prevent the material from meeting the real application requirements. 

The induction heating system will monitor and regulate each heating temperature, ensuring that the structure is properly changed and maintained in a stable state.

3. Very little up keep:

In contrast to conventional furnaces, induction heating furnaces only require annual maintenance of the induction heating coil. 

Other components merely require routine inspection.