Energy-Saving Renovation of Steel Plate Induction Heat Treatment Machine Completed, Cutting Power Consumption by 22%

Date: July 14, 2026

A well-known domestic steel processing enterprise has fully finished the energy-saving technical renovation of its Plate induction heat treatment machine set recently. The whole upgrade project was undertaken by our professional induction heating R&D team, targeting the high energy consumption, low power conversion efficiency and uneven plate heating defects of the original outdated induction equipment. After one month of on-site debugging and continuous production verification, the renovated production line achieves a comprehensive power saving rate of 22%, greatly reducing the enterprise’s thermal processing operating cost while stabilizing the metallographic quality of medium and thick steel plates, setting a typical green transformation benchmark for the plate heat treatment industry.

Before renovation, the factory’s two sets of steel plate transverse flux induction heating machines adopted traditional thyristor power supply and ordinary copper coil inductors, which exposed obvious pain points in long-term mass production. First, the old power unit had low power factor, heavy line loss and large standby power consumption; under light-load production conditions, the overall electrothermal conversion efficiency was only about 68%. Second, the original coil lacked optimized magnetic field simulation design, leading to uneven temperature between steel plate edges and the middle section, requiring repeated supplementary heating and wasting extra electric energy. Third, the open-type circulating cooling system had high cooling water power consumption and poor heat insulation structure of the equipment rack, causing massive radiant heat loss to the workshop environment. Coupled with rising industrial electricity prices and stricter national dual-carbon emission reduction standards, the outdated induction equipment became a major bottleneck restricting the factory’s profit margin and green production certification.

plate heat treatment furnace

Aiming at the above multiple energy-wasting defects, our technical team customized a full-process integrated energy-saving transformation plan covering power supply upgrade, inductor optimization, cooling system reconstruction and intelligent control iteration. The core transformation focuses on four major technical breakthroughs. Firstly, replace all thyristor intermediate frequency power supplies with high-efficiency IGBT digital variable-frequency power cabinets. The new power unit keeps power factor above 0.97 under full load, eliminates reactive power loss, and lifts electrothermal conversion efficiency to over 90%. Secondly, redesign transverse flux induction coils through finite element magnetic field simulation, adopting layered wrapped high-conductivity oxygen-free copper and integrated magnetic shielding structure, which balances the heating temperature difference of steel plates within ±3℃ and avoids energy waste from repeated reheating. Thirdly, transform the open cooling circuit into a fully closed constant-temperature water circulation system, matching energy-saving variable-frequency water pumps and heat recovery devices; cooling auxiliary power consumption drops by nearly 35%. Fourthly, upgrade the original single PLC controller to an AI closed-loop temperature intelligent system, which automatically adjusts output power according to plate thickness, moving speed and material grade, realizing zero idle power consumption during material gap intervals.

After formal acceptance and 72-hour uninterrupted load test, the renovation effect reached all preset targets with outstanding economic and environmental benefits. Calculated based on the factory’s daily output of 120 tons of quenched and tempered steel plates, the unit power consumption per ton of steel falls from 660 kWh to 514.8 kWh, saving nearly 17,424 kWh monthly and over 209,000 kWh annually. Converted by industrial electricity price, the enterprise can cut more than 146,000 RMB in power cost every year, and the total renovation investment can be recovered within 7 months. In terms of environmental performance, the equipment eliminates excessive heat emission to lower workshop cooling load, and the reduced power consumption annually cuts carbon dioxide emissions by about 165 tons, helping the enterprise smoothly pass the low-carbon factory audit. Meanwhile, uniform induction heating effectively reduces steel plate deformation and rejection rate, lifting finished product yield by 1.8% and bringing additional production revenue growth.

Industry insiders said that steel plate induction heat treatment equipment is widely used in engineering machinery, shipbuilding, pressure vessel and new energy equipment supporting sectors. A large number of early-generation induction lines still operate with low energy efficiency. This energy-saving renovation case fully proves that targeted upgrades of IGBT power supply, optimized magnetic field coil and intelligent closed-loop control can achieve dual gains of energy conservation and quality improvement without replacing the whole production line.

Next, our company will further promote standardized energy-saving transformation solutions for steel plate induction heat treatment machines, providing customized green upgrade services for domestic and overseas metal processing manufacturers, helping global heat treatment industries reduce energy consumption and advance low-carbon sustainable manufacturing.