Development of "HD Thermogenerator": An Ultrahigh-Speed Heatup Compact Furnace

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (President and Director: Satoru Katsuno; Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture), and Yutaka Electronics Industry Company Ltd (President & CEO: Toyoichi Morita; Headquarters: Kariya-City) jointly developed an ultrahigh-speed heatup compact furnace (product name: HD Thermogenerator), which allows uniform and short-time hardware heating in manufacturing processes of automobile plants.

The process of heating engine parts and other hardware at automobile plants previously required prolonged heating with large furnaces, and this was causing calls for speed-ups and smaller footprints. Also an issue experienced when engaging in short-time heating with induction heating (IH) system furnaces was product defects, stemming from non-uniform temperatures on the articles' surfaces. These were resulting in demands for an approach that can both resolve the temperature ununiformity and achieve shortened heating time.

By applying superheated steam (i.e. a high-temperature steam over 200°C) or hot air to products in combination with electric heaters, the HD Thermogenerator can heat products in its entirety at a uniform temperature, and requires only one-tenth of the time needed by previous furnaces.

The HD Thermogenerator will be marketed by Yutaka Electronics Industry from November 2015, with a goal of selling 500 units per year.