Customers
Magnum Shielding of Pittsford, NY needed an alternative way to braze component parts for a new product line for its customer, Harley Davidson. Traditional bench brazing was not feasible due to the part finishing requirements.
GH Induction Atmospheres worked with Magnum to determine if a turnkey induction heating system could perform the required brazing and meet the finishing requirements. Preliminary tests showed that the parts could be brazed in GH IA's equipment and meet Magnum's requirements. These early tests also showed that the required brazing could be performed with significant energy and cost savings over traditional batch furnace brazing methods. Due to the large potential energy savings, Magnum and GH IA received funds from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to help fund the research and development of the induction heating system.
After the preliminary tests were completed, GH Induction Atmospheres developed a specialized induction-based machine to Magnum's specifications, to efficiently braze the component parts. This machine yields low cycle times and consumes energy only on an as-needed basis to fulfill the downstream requirements, which is inherent to a "pull process" as part of the lean manufacturing ideology.
Using current furnace technology, brazing one set of components requires approximately 0.5kWh. Brazing a set of components using induction heating technology only requires 0.03kWh. By using the induction heating system, Magnum Shielding realizes energy savings of 0.47kWh per joint.
Fuel cells are another area that require extensive brazing in the manufacturing process. When a manufacturer wanted to braze 200 plates in a fuel cell, GH IA was able to develop a complex brazing process using an intricate coil design and programmable sled. Significant energy savings were recognized here as well. Using current furnace technology, soldering one set of electrodes for a fuel cell requires approximately 7kWh. Soldering one set of electrodes using induction heating technology requires only 0.002kWh, which results in a significant energy savings of 6.998kWh per electrode.
| General Electric | United Technologies Corp. |
| Boston Scientific | Lufthansa Teknik |
| Siemens | Alfield Industries |
| General Motors | NASA |
| Sinicon | Chromalloy |
| Corning | Magnum Shielding |
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Turnkey Induction Heating Solutions
