FEATURE I Induction

Heat Treating

Automating Your Induction Heating

Production Process
Lance Dumigan - GH Induction Atmospheres,
LLC; Rochester, N.Y.

This article takes a look at the options, process and questions that will
help you make the decision to automate your induction heating process.

&

cccpting a part into a machine (part loading), presenting the part for induction
hearing (part placement),
moving the part (or the coil) while it is
being heated (induction heating process,
Fig. 1), retrieving the part from the heating area (part displacement), and then
releasing the part (unloading) is non-trivial. While there are companies that can
handle material, and there arc companies
that can build power-supply/coil solutions,
it is the combination of all these steps that
will produce the optimum solution.

It's All About the Part

At the heart of your automated induction
heating production machine (AIHPM)
is the part (Fig. 2). It is important to
understand that not every part and
process is suitable for full automation.
High production and small and bulkfcd parts may add to the handling cost.
Asymmetric parts or parts with complex
geometrics may require a coil that spins
instead of the part. Semiautomatic
(manually fed) machines may be the
appropriate compromise (Fig. 3 ). If your
production runs are short or your product
mix changes a lot, it might not be feasible
or economical to employ automation.
Evaluating the Part
Understanding how to work with the
part geometry is particularly important.
38 May 2013 - lndustrialHeating.com

Automating an existing heating process

may require a new coil design to accommodate automation. Understanding how
to leverage multiple (coil/part) positions
and the limitations for optimization is not
straightforward.
There could be "off-the-shelf" solutions
available for your application, and some
may employ flexible automation. Repurposing capital equipment is an excellent
way of reusing CAP-EX dollars. Pay close
attention to how much customization
needs to be added onto the off-the-shelf
solution because the option can sometimes cost more than the base unit. If
repurposing is critical, you may want to
reconsider your strategic decision to automate (variability and operational value,
previously discussed).

Outsource or In-House
A good place to start is to ask, "Should
the induction heating production be
outsourced or retained
in-house?"
There arc two variables to consider in
determining if you should outsource the
production of your heat treating. One is
the strategic importance to your business.
The other is the effect on your operation's
performance. If it is determined that the
heat-treating operation is a strategic value
you offer (intellectual-property/process)
and you need to keep tight control over
the variability (production, delivery and
quality), then retaining the heat-treating

Fig. 2. Fully automated induction hardening

machine with part loading and unloading
for an automotive drivetrain part

process in-house should be strongly

considered. Other valuations of these two
variables may drive you to other options.
When you decide to automate in-house,
the questions become more complex and
you are assuming more of the risk ( while
gaining process control).

It's All About the Partner

The four basic areas that drive consideration of automating your induction heat-

Fig. 1. Automotive ball stud, tempered

with a single turn coil

company may be able to build their

own AIHPM. Saving the cost of system
integration up front is good until the
project suffers unacceptable delays. This
decision could put the market launch of
your (or your customer's) new product in
jeopardy. If you're spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars on new automation,
getting it up and running fast helps recoup
your investment faster.
First Things First

Fig. 3. Manual-loading, automated-hardening vertical scanner with integrated-quench ring

and adjustable X-Y table

ing production are product throughput,

traceability, cost reduction and repeatable
quality (Fig. 4). Automation of induction
heat-treating production will provide increased efficiency, labor reduction, shorter
cycle times, higher (process) availability,
reduction or independence from manual
operations, and greater production rates.
As you get started, defining clear,
unambiguous expectations is the most
important responsibility of the customer.
The specifications should include all the
parts that need to be heated along with
the post-process characteristics of the
part(s). Ensure that the specifications of
the A IHPM incorporate country, state,
company and plant safety, operating
standards
and
specifications. Your
AlHPM builder may request exceptions to
a small portion of one (or some) of these
specifications.
Production rate will drive the size and
complexity of the AIHPM. You can reach
the limits of physics in hearing a part using induction. The surface of the part may
be melting while the interior of the part
could still be at a much lower temperature.

Moving a part will be limited by the technology you choose. It is critical to understand the nuances involved in moving the
part in an AlHPM. When you are working with high-volume production, one or
two seconds can have a significant impact
on the production output. Optimizing the
trade-offs between handling and heating
will keep you ahead of the curve.
Evaluating the Partner

You will be evaluating your prospective

AIHPM builder in three main categories:
their induction heating expertise, their
ability to build an automated materialhandling machine and their ability to
put both of those together. Finding one
company that is proficient in all three
is unique. This will, however, remove
the burden (read: risk) of ensuring the
organization building the machine
manages the part flow, quench, cooling,
etc. the way the induction heating
company wants it. Managing a project of
this complexity with two separate vendors
assumes a great deal of risk.
Depending on the complexity, a

Before you select an AIHPM builder, there

are other operational considerations that
should be discussed and resolved.
Warranties and timing: Just as important as the duration is the breadth of,
and exceptions to, the warranties.
Repair and spares: Your AIHPM
builder should provide guidance on
what you can repair and recommend a
spare-parts list. You should attempt to
achieve as much commonality with the
other OEM components in your factory
as possible.
Training and truck rolls: If you are lucky
enough to be within driving distance of
the AIHPM builder, the term "truck
roll" may apply. Factory support will
most likely arrive on an airplane. It is
important to understand, within the
context of the warranty, who pays for
what and how much it will cost.
Implementation and documentation:
The facilities should be prepared well
in advance and be ready when the AIHPM arrives. It becomes very expensive to change things after the design
is approved (by you). The AIHPM will
most likely need some final adjustments
at your facility. This will be an exceptional hands-on training opportunity
for your maintenance people.
Verifying the Process

Your AIHPM builder needs to guarantee

process, not just handling and heating.
Your acceptance criterion needs to
be established before the purchase is
consummated. Specify the AIHPM
acceptance criteria by discussing this with
your internal team. There should be at least
two process-verification "run-offs." The
lndustrialHeating.com - May 2013 39

FEATURE I Induction
Heat Treating

Fig. 4. Fully automated crankshaft hardening machine with

integrated quench using walking-beam conveyance and (not seen)
counter-balance technology to offset coil and quench weight

first run-off will be at the selected supplier

(Fig. 5) and must have the customer
present (or a designated representative).
It should produce acceptable parts. If the
customer feels confident that the AIHPM
will produce acceptable parts on the
factory floor there should be a sign-off to
ship the AIHPM.
The second run-off will be at the
customer's factory where it is installed on
the production floor. Your maintenance
and production people should be trained
during the installation. If possible, they
should be part of the installation team,
even as early as the first run-off. Do
not allow the AIHPM to ship before a
successful first-run. It is far less costly to fix
"bugs" at the machine builder, where they
have all the talent and tools, than from
miles away on the factory floor.

Fig.6. Dual-position heating- exterior hardening (right) and interior hardening (left)

40 May 2013 - lndustrialHeating.com

Fig. 5. Semi-automated with manual loading and unloading and

automated hardening using a rotating inductor (coil)

Keeping a Record

Develop a common components list. Your

AIHPM builder should be able to accommodate most of this list (within reason).
Components like NCs/PLCs, HM!s,
pumps, valves, etc. should be common
with what you are currently using.
If the quality standard requires periodic
destructive testing and analysis of the
part, or if you need to collect data on the
heating process, you will want to consider
process monitoring. With a graphics package, the real-time heating performance
of every part can be captured and stored.
Synchronizing the data of each part's
heating cycle to the actual data will take
high-level expertise. A supplier that is
adept in understanding both the heating
process parameters and material handling
is essential. If you need to have this process monitoring system built into (or added to) your AIHPM, it will be a machine
builder that is intimately familiar with the
induction heating processes, automation
and data collection that you select.

Summary
The complexity of an AIHPM cannot
be overstated. The nuances involved in
combining material handling with the
induction heating process are not written
anywhere. The AIHPM builder should be
able to make suggestions based on their
experience.
The most basic of considerations in-

elude: how the part temperature should

be managed (time and power, temperature
or other); integrating the communications between the heating subsystem and
material-handling subsystem; whether the
part or the coil rotates; what is the best
variation and change to the rotational
speed; how is the part fed into the material-handling subsystem; how to control
the induction heating system; what are
the trade-offs between the coil design and
the most efficient method of handling
the part; how will your AIHPM builder
quench, cool and dry the part; and how to
harden and temper two different zones on
the same part (Fig. 6) or two parts. All of
these need to be addressed.
To achieve higher production volumes
while maintaining consistent quality,
find an AIHPM builder that will mitigate
risk in automating your process. Select
a machine builder with experience and
expertise in designing and automating the
induction heating process.
The machine should be designed
around part, process and production.
This unique combination will prove to be
invaluable in guiding you to achieve your
objectives. IH
For more information:
Contact Lance
Dumigan, regional sales manager, GH
Induction Atmospheres, LLC, 35 Industrial
Park Circle, Rochester, NY 14624; tel: 585-3682120; fax: 585-368-2123; e-mail: info@gh-ia.
com; web: www.gh-ia.com