Anneal copper tubes; formed tubes & pipes

Objective

To heat a variety of copper tubes for annealing applications; the end products are formed tubes and pipes for various industrial uses

End Product

Copper tubes

Equipment

Ambrell EKOHEAT 100 kW, 15-40 kHz induction heating system equipped with a remote workhead containing eight 10 μF capacitors for a total capacitance of 20 μF
A multiple position ten-turn helical induction heating coil

Materials

Customer supplied copper tubes (height up to 5.5”/ 140 mm and a diameter up to 0.7”/ 17.8 mm)

Temperature

1200 ºF (649 ºC)

Frequency

24 kHz

Testing

Initial testing was conducted to optimize the power delivered to the tubes. An EKOHEAT 35 kW/30 kHz induction power supply was used and the power requirements for actual production were calculated based on testing. With a 100 kW power supply, copper tubes – up to the largest diameter required – can be heated to temperature within five seconds. A prototype coil was used during testing,

Benefits

Speed: Copper tubes of various geometries heated to temperature in a matter of seconds
Repeatability: Induction offers the same result every time, which makes it ideal for a potentially high volume process such as this one
Footprint: Induction requires a minimal footprint so it’s easy to integrate into production environments
Ambrell Lab Expertise: The client leveraged the lab to come up with the right induction solution based on their production requirements

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