Additive-Fabricated Induction Heating Coil With Integrated Cooling Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing induction heating coils face challenges in achieving consistent accuracy, efficiency, and longevity due to the complexity of their design, requiring skilled operators for brazing and the use of multiple metal pieces, which leads to heat strain and reduced flexibility in shaping for optimal heat treatment.
Innovation Solution
The use of a metal additive fabrication method to form the coil section, power supply section, and cooling medium passage as a unified structure, eliminating the need for brazing and allowing for the creation of complex shapes with high mechanical accuracy, thereby reducing heat strain and improving manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If multiple members are brazed together to form the coil section with hollow space, then the complex shape with cooling water passage can be achieved, but the brazing accuracy varies widely and consistency is difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate members into a single integrated coil section formed by additive fabrication. This eliminates the need for brazing multiple pieces together, thereby removing the source of brazing accuracy variation while maintaining the complex shape with hollow cooling water passage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical brazing process with additive fabrication technology. This substitution eliminates the skill-dependent brazing operation and achieves consistent manufacturing precision through automated layer-by-layer construction of the coil section.
2Ease of manufacture
If brazing is performed at high temperature to join members, then the coil section can be assembled, but heat strain occurs between members and to the power supply section
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the high-temperature brazing process with additive fabrication, which constructs the coil section layer by layer at controlled temperatures. This eliminates the thermal shock and heat strain that occur during conventional brazing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
By integrating the coil section as a single piece formed by additive fabrication, the patent eliminates the interfaces between multiple members where heat strain would concentrate. The unified structure distributes thermal stress more evenly throughout the component.
3Manufacturing precision
If a special jig is used to reduce heat strain during brazing, then the distortion can be controlled, but the manufacturing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the entire brazing process requiring special jigs with additive fabrication technology. This substitution eliminates the need for complex fixture setup and removal while achieving precise dimensional control directly through the fabrication process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the special jig from the manufacturing process entirely. By using additive fabrication to directly create the coil section with proper geometry, the patent eliminates the auxiliary tooling that previously added complexity and reduced productivity.
4Ease of manufacture
If brazing operations are performed manually by skilled operators, then the coil section can be assembled, but the process is time-consuming and difficult to standardize
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual brazing operations performed by skilled operators with automated additive fabrication. This substitution transforms a skill-dependent, time-consuming manual process into an automated, programmable manufacturing process that can be easily standardized and scaled for mass production.
Solution Approach 2:
The additive fabrication process is self-sufficient in creating the coil section, requiring no manual intervention for brazing operations. The system automatically deposits and fuses material layer by layer according to digital models, eliminating dependence on operator skill and enabling consistent mass production.
5Shape
If the coil section is formed by brazing multiple members, then the hollow space for cooling water can be created, but the brazed section has larger electrical resistivity and generates heat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple brazed members into a single monolithic coil section formed by additive fabrication. This eliminates the brazed joints that create electrical resistance, ensuring uniform electrical conductivity throughout the coil section while maintaining the hollow cooling water passage structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses additive fabrication to create a homogeneous material structure without the heterogeneous brazed joints. The entire coil section is constructed from uniform conductive material, eliminating the high-resistivity brazed sections that generate excessive heat during operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the mass production of induction heating coils with uniform dimensions and extended lifetimes by eliminating brazing-related issues, reducing heat stress, and enhancing the flexibility in shaping for optimal heat treatment performance.
Implementation Method 1
a coil section (3) configured to heat a treatment target (100) by induction
Implementation Method 2
the coil section (3) is cooled because its temperature increases. For preventing the temperature increased, a cooling water passage is provided in the inside of the power supply section and the inside of the coil section
Data Source
AI summary
An induction heating coil includes a coil section configured to heat a treatment target by induction, a power supply section configured to supply power to the coil section, and a cooling medium passage that is arranged in the power supply section and the coil section, and is configured to supply a cooling medium to the coil section. The coil section, the power supply section, and the cooling medium passage are formed using a metal additive fabrication method.