Inductoheat, Inc., an induction heating equipment manufacturer, recently delivered an induction hardening and tempering system to a leading supplier of driveline components. This machine was designed specifically for hardening and tempering hub spindles and ball races.

The equipment is comprised of a STATISCAN IV unit for induction hardening and a STATISCAN II unit for induction tempering. The part goes through an eight station cycle using the following material handling features; four pneumatic linear transfer 180 degree grippers, two pneumatic accept / reject arms and a continuous feed conveyor.

Each of the eight stations adhere to the following responsibilities; Station 1: parts are automatically loaded, Station 2: pneumatic part locator and check, Station 3: induction hardening O.D. of hub shaft, Station 4: I.D. auxiliary quench cooling, Station 5: pneumatic exist and acceptable parts are transferred onto the tempering system conveyor, Station 6: parts travel through a channel coil for tempering, Station 7: conveyor quench cooling and Station 8; automatic part unload for accepted parts or exit conveyor for rejected parts.

There are two induction power supplies for this compact system. The hardening inverter is a UNIPOWER UP12 power supply which provides 200 kW @ 10 kHz and a STATIPOWER SP16 power supply offering 50 kW @ 10 kHz for the tempering portion. Allen-Bradley PLC controls with touch-screen HMI interface, and process monitoring offers superior process control and monitoring capabilities assuring the highest quality and repeatability, according to the company's press release. For system cooling and part quenching, an integrated closed-loop water recirculation system is included.