"steamer" wrote in message
...
--Hey, anyone out there got an induction melting furnace? I'm
suddenly wondering if these are any good for melting aluminum, brass, etc;
i.e. do they depend on the material being melted having a magnetic field
to grab, or will nonferrous stuff melt just as well?

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : "The Faceless Conglomerate
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : you can trust...
http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

Yep, a 50 KW unit, motor generator type. Three generations of induction
furnace power supplies yielded solid state devices, which are almost 100%
efficient. The second generation, motor generator types, are only roughly
half that level of efficiency, and the early models, spark gap with
transformers, are down around 25% efficiency.

Induction melting and heating requires proper selection of frequency,
depending on the desired effect. Large induction furnaces are capable of
melting at line frequency, but as the size of the furnace decreases, the
frequency must rise. Even non-conductive items can be heated by using
extremely high frequencies. Some companies (Lepel) specialize in heating
only, not melting.

Harold