Ajax TOCCO Magnethermic installed a twin-bead floating-inductor weld-preheat system for the SAW (submerged-arc weld) process at a manufacturer of heavy-duty fork/lift trucks. The system simultaneously heats two corners of a 30-foot-long, 5-ton weldment at a rate of 28 inches per minute to 250°F. The sections of the weldment that are joined are 1-inch thick. The preheat time has been reduced from two hours down to 10 seconds. Total fabrication time was reduced by over 60%, allowing the manufacturer to produce one weldment per shift versus one weldment every 2.5 shifts.

Over 700,000 BTUs worth of natural-gas-fired infrared heaters have been replaced with a single Ajax TOCCO 35-kW TOCCOtron AC induction heating power source. Each of the two inductors is positioned approximately 24 inches in front of two 1,000-amp sub-arc-weld torches. The inductors and torches move in tandem. The weldment is simultaneously heated and welded as the gantry traverses the length of the fillet.