Segmented Contact Heating Furnace for Uniform Workpiece Thermal Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for heating formed parts in the automotive industry, such as induction and conduction heating, face challenges with high energy consumption, tool wear, and inability to achieve uniform heating with varying material properties across different areas of a part, particularly in complex geometries.
Innovation Solution
A method using a furnace with at least two heating units, each comprising multiple pressure pistons with heated contact surfaces that can be moved vertically to contact the workpiece, allowing for efficient contact heating with high heat transfer coefficients, enabling uniform heating of complex shapes while minimizing tool wear and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If induction heating is used to achieve high heat transfer coefficients, then heating efficiency is improved, but inductive coupling drops drastically above the Curie point and heating becomes irregular
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into multiple independent heating zones with separate heating elements (induction coils or radiant heaters) positioned at different locations. Each zone can be controlled independently to compensate for the drop in inductive coupling above the Curie point, ensuring uniform heating across the entire workpiece surface even when magnetic properties change.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the workpiece are heated with different intensities and temperatures according to their specific requirements. The system applies local quality control by adjusting heating parameters in each zone to account for variations in material properties and geometric features, ensuring that areas with different thermal conductivities or mass distributions receive appropriate heating.
2Reliability
If conventional furnaces are used to achieve uniform heating, then heating uniformity is improved, but energy consumption increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The furnace heating system is divided into multiple independently controllable heating zones, each equipped with its own heating elements and temperature sensors. This segmentation allows for localized heating adjustments, reducing overall energy consumption by focusing heat only where needed while maintaining uniform temperature distribution across the workpiece.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts heating parameters (temperature, power level, heating duration) based on real-time feedback from temperature sensors and the specific thermal requirements of different workpiece regions. This parameter optimization reduces energy waste while achieving the required heating uniformity.
3Productivity
If induction heating is used for complex geometries, then heating speed is improved, but heating uniformity deteriorates due to varying plate bar geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system uses multiple segmented heating zones with independently controllable induction coils positioned to match the complex geometry of the workpiece. Each zone is optimized for its specific region, allowing fast heating while maintaining uniformity across varying cross-sections and features.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality heating by adjusting induction power and coil positioning for each geometric feature of the workpiece. Areas with different mass distributions, wall thicknesses, or geometric complexities receive tailored heating parameters to ensure uniform temperature rise despite varying geometries.
4Use of energy by moving object
If heated tool plates are used to heat workpieces, then contact heating efficiency is improved, but tool service life decreases due to surface deformations and cracks
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using large heated tool plates, the system employs multiple smaller heated elements or induction heating zones distributed across the heating surface. This segmentation reduces the thermal stress and elastic deformation on each individual heating element, preventing surface deformations and cracks while maintaining high heat transfer coefficients through direct contact or proximity heating.
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 achieves heat transfer coefficients greater than 2000 W/m2/K, allowing for efficient and uniform heating of workpieces with varying material properties, reducing energy consumption and tool wear, and enabling the creation of parts with specific structural requirements.
Implementation Method 1
a first heating unit heats up the first side of the workpiece and a second heating unit heats up the second side of the workpiece... contact is made between the first side of the workpiece and the contact surfaces of the at least two pressure pistons
Implementation Method 2
in order to heat up a workpiece, for example, an eddy current is induced in the workpiece
Implementation Method 3
an eddy current is induced in the workpiece... heating is very irregular
Data Source
AI summary
The subject innovation relates to a furnace and a method for treatment of at least one workpiece in the furnace, wherein the workpiece is heated up in a chamber of the furnace by at least two heating units which are each associated with a workpiece having a first side and a second side, and whereby a first heating unit heats up the first side of the workpiece and a second heating unit heats up the second side of the workpiece. Further, each heating unit comprises at least two pressure pistons with heatable contact surfaces that are arranged next to each other and with the same orientation. Contact is made between the first side of the workpiece and the contact surfaces of the first heating unit, and in that contact is likewise made between the second side of the workpiece and the contact surfaces of the second heating unit.