Steel at forging temperature in seconds, paced to the press, with far less scale.
We develop billet heating around the material and forming operation. Your alloy, target temperature, billet dimensions and press rate determine the process window and the system we recommend.
An induction billet heater brings billets to that temperature by passing them through a coil. The billet heats from within, in seconds, and emerges at temperature ready for the press.
We use induction to deliver repeatable, non-contact heating, with the coil and cycle selected for the part of the billet or bar that needs to be formed.
Scale: scale forms as a function of time at temperature in air. A furnace holds billets hot for many minutes; induction takes seconds. Less scale means less die wear, better surface finish and less material lost.
Start-up: an induction heater is at working condition almost immediately. A gas furnace has to be brought up to temperature, and is often left running through breaks because restarting it costs more than idling it.
Pacing: the heater is sized to the press rate, so billets arrive as the press wants them instead of a batch sitting and soaking.
Environment: no combustion, no flue, and no furnace radiating into the shop all shift.
We will confirm the configuration for your material, component geometry and production requirements.
The power needed follows from how much steel per hour you must raise how many degrees, divided by a realistic system efficiency. Those three numbers plus your billet dimensions are what a supplier needs from you, and they are the inputs the power estimator on this site asks for.
Heat is generated near the surface and conducts inward. Push the power too hard and you get a hot skin over a cold core, which forges badly. Billet heating therefore uses relatively low frequencies and a coil long enough to give the heat time to even out as the billet travels.
Send a drawing, the material, the case depth or temperature you need, and your production rate. Our engineers will help define the right machine for your process.
