Induction heating for brazing for snowplough blade

Stavanger on Norway’s west coast is home to Scana Steel, a steelmaker with a world-class reputation as a manufacturer of specialist parts, including wear-resistant road maintenance equipment. In fact, Scana Steel makes the Joma 6000, a unique snowplough blade that delivers unrivalled effectiveness and wear life.

Speed up production Scana Steel’s Sigbjørn Vatland explains the blade in more detail: “Our snowplough blades are made by brazing tungsten carbide into specially profiled steel segments that are then encased in rubber. This rubber casing minimizes vibration and lets the blade adapt to a road’s contours—but obviously, the brazing is absolutely critical if the blade is to work at all.” Previously, Scana Steel used ageing ASEA rotating converters as their brazing power sources. But reliability was an issue. And spares were becoming increasingly harder—and more expensive—to track down. The pressure to find an alternative was made even more intense by the need to speed up production ahead of the peak Winter demand period.

Cut brazing times Vatland recounts what happened next: “We contacted EFD Induction and explained that we wanted a power source that would improve our productivity and quality. The EFD Induction Sinac 25/40 Twin did this and more. Its two independent power outputs meant we could effectively double our output. At the same time, the Sinac cut brazing times, boosted quality, and reduced power consumption.” But there were other benefits. As part of the overall Sinac solution, EFD Induction optimised Scana Steel’s existing coils. And since it is an application-independent power source, the Sinac can even be used for hardening applications.