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Induction Heater Cable Cooling System (Cost-Optimized Design)
Induction Heater Cable Cooling System (Cost-Optimized Design)
Manufacturing Engineering Co-op — Stein Industries (Fall 2024)
Designed and prototyped a closed-loop water recirculation system to replace a commercially purchased cooling unit used for induction heater cable thermal management.
Impact
Impact
Replaced outsourced cooling system with in-house design
Reduced system cost by ~33%
Validated functional cooling performance through prototype testing
Improved serviceability and maintenance access
Added safety interlock to prevent operation under cooling failure
Engineering Challenges
Engineering Challenges
Required integration into existing induction heater cavity constraints
Needed corrosion-resistant, serviceable fluid system
Must maintain sufficient flow rate for cable cooling under continuous operation
System reliability critical to prevent overheating damage
Required retrofit compatibility with existing equipment
Technical Breakdown
Technical Breakdown
Designed closed-loop water recirculation system (tank, pump, radiator, piping) for induction cable cooling
Full CAD model + BOM + fabrication drawings completed for retrofit integration
Selected and integrated pump, filtration, and heat exchange components
Built brazed copper tubing network for sealed fluid transport
Applied DFM to reduce sheet metal weld complexity and simplify assembly
Integrated flow switch interlock into heater control system for overheat protection
Prototype built and validated under operating conditions
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Full-cycle engineering development from concept through prototype and validation, including fluid system design, manufacturability optimization, and integrated safety controls. Reinforced the importance of DFM and iterative physical testing in electromechanical system design.
SolidWorks • Fluid Systems • Brazing • Controls Integration • DFM • Prototyping
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