Various types of furnaces have been used for cast iron melting. In terms of tonnage, the primary melting methods used by iron casting facilities are cupola and induction furnaces. This article describes the operation and control principles of cupola furnace. It discusses the advantages of specialized cupolas such as cokeless cupola and plasma-fired cupola. Melting in iron foundries is a major application of induction furnaces. The article describes the operations of two induction furnaces: the channel induction furnace and the induction crucible furnace. It explains the teapot principle of pressure-actuated pouring furnaces and provides information on the effect of pouring magnesium-treated melts.

Induction heating has the ability to concentrate the electromagnetic field and heat within a certain area of the workpiece. This article provides a detailed discussion on the end heating of bars, rods, and billets using solenoid inductors, oval inductors, and channel inductors. It reviews the importance of computer modeling in predicting the impact of different, interrelated, and nonlinear factors on the transitional and final thermal conditions of billets and bars. The article describes the most appropriate processes to improve end heating process effectiveness. Induction bending of narrow circumferential band of pipe or tube is also discussed. The article concludes with a discussion on stress relieving of pipe ends and welded areas.

Magnetic flux controllers are materials other than the copper coil that are used in induction systems to alter the flow of the magnetic field. This article describes the effects of magnetic flux controllers on common coil styles, namely, outer diameter coils, inner diameter coils, and linear coils. It provides information on the role of magnetic flux controllers for whole-body and local area mass-heating applications, continuous induction tube welding, seam-annealing inductors, and various induction melting systems, namely, channel-type, crucible-type, and cold crucible systems. The article also describes the benefits of the flux controllers for induction heat treating processes such as single-shot and scanning.

In the metal producing and processing industries, induction melting and holding has found wide acceptance. This article provides a detailed account of the physical principles of induction melting processes. It discusses the fundamental principles and components of induction furnaces such as induction crucible furnaces, channel induction furnaces, and induction furnaces with cold crucible. The article describes the advantages, applications, and fundamental principles of induction skull melting. It also provides information on the various specific application-designed induction melting installations.

An induction channel furnace consists of a tiltable furnace vessel with refractory lining onto which an inductor or several inductors are flange mounted. This article includes a discussion on the design for holding and dosed-pouring of the iron melts, design for melting the materials, and refractory lining of furnace vessel. It provides information on the structural changes and refractory lining of channel inductors. The article also includes a discussion on power supplies deployed in channel inductor furnaces: line-frequency power supply for melting iron, and converter power supply for melting nonferrous metals. It concludes with an overview of the inductor cooling circuit.

The crucible induction furnace is growing as an alternative melting unit to the cupola furnace due to its low specific power and reduced power consumption during solid melting material. This article details the process engineering features of the crucible induction furnace. It discusses the various processes involved in melting, holding, and pouring of liquid melt in crucible induction furnaces wherein the holding operation is carried out in channel furnace and pouring operation in pressure-actuated pouring furnaces. The article examines the behavior of furnace refractory lining to defects such as erosion, infiltration, crack formation, and clogging, and the corresponding preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of these defects. It elucidates the overall furnace operations, including commissioning, operational procedures, automatic process monitoring, inductor change, and dealing with disturbances.