Induction heating has many different applications, such as melting, heating stock for forging, and heat treating. This article begins with a discussion on the types of power supplies, namely, solid-state power supplies and oscillator tubes. It provides information on system elements, including cooling systems, power supplies, heat stations, work handling fixtures, induction or work coils, and quench systems. The article discusses the influence of system elements on induction heat treating system design. It also deals with the general theory, types, and applications of induction coils.

Hardness testing equipment is important as all results from the induction equipment are graded by the hardness testing equipment. This article includes maintenance tips and points to consider regarding hardness test equipment, power supplies, controls, programmable logic controllers, computer systems, water cooling systems, fixtures and machines, air-operated or pneumatic devices, coils, and quench systems. It also presents simple rules that need to be applied while moving the equipment from one location to another.

This article provides a brief description of load conditions for single-shot heat treating, vertical scanning, and brazing and soldering. It discusses the various power components used in power supplies. These include capacitors, integrated power module, transformers, and various switching devices, namely, silicon-controlled rectifiers, insulated-gate bipolar transistors, and metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. The article also provides information on frequency-multiplication harmonic-induction power supplies, namely, push-pull and half-bridge inverters and full-bridge inverters. Series resonant and parallel resonant circuits and their tuning calculations associated with output networks are also discussed. The article describes the frequency range of simultaneous dual-frequency induction heating power supply, and discusses the advantages, applications, and technical background of independently controlled frequency and power (IFP) induction heating power supply. It concludes with a description of the developments in control systems for modern induction power supplies.

This article provides information on single-shot and scanning, the two types of induction heat treating processes that are based on whether the induction coil is moving relative to the part during the heating process. It describes the effect of the frequency of induction heating current on the induction coil and process design, and the control of heating in different areas of the inductor part. The article reviews three main tools for adjustment of coil design and fabrication: coupling gap, coil copper profile, and magnetic flux controllers. It examines the method of holding a part and presenting it to the inductor during the initial inductor design. The article provides information on coil leads/busswork and contacts that mechanically and electrically connect the induction coil head to the power supply. It concludes with a discussion on flux and oxide removal, leak and flow checking, silver plating, and electrical parameter measurement.

This article describes the applications of induction heat treatment of metals, including normalizing, annealing, hardening, and tempering and stress relieving. It discusses the simulation techniques of the electromagnetic and thermal processes that occur during induction heat treating. The article explains the finite-difference method, finite-element method, mutual impedance method, and boundary-element method for the numerical computation of the induction heat treating processes. It also discusses the direct and indirect coupling approaches for coupling the electromagnetic and heat-transfer problems. Modern computer simulation techniques are capable of effectively simulating electromagnetic and thermal phenomena for many processes that involve electromagnetic induction. The article considers the challenges faced by developers of modern simulation software.