Inductotherm Corp.

Adam J Westerland

Satyen N Prabhu

Bradley Winters

A renewable energy powered thermal processing system is formed from a renewable energy source operably connected to an inverter via a charge controller. In one embodiment, a solar renewable energy source is operably connected to the inverter via a solar charge controller. The inverter is connected to a renewable energy storage device and further conditions the current for the thermal processing power supply, which then delivers energy to a thermal processing unit. A supplemental renewable energy source, such as wind, may further be operably connected to the inverter via a supplemental charge controller. As such, the thermal processing unit can be powered solely by renewable energy directly or stored renewable energy within the renewable energy storage device to provide a standalone, grid-independent renewable energy powered thermal processing system. Optionally, a grid tie may further selectively connect the system to an external power grid as a backup source of energy.

Renewable energy powered thermal processing system

Apparatus and method are provided for life cycle wear monitoring of a consumable refractory in an electric induction furnace used for heating and melting materials by accumulating laser imaging data of the refractory's inner surface periodically over the refractory's life cycle while the furnace is utilized in a foundry environment and processing the accumulated imaging data for comparative analysis with previous laser imaging data of the refractory's inner surface.

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Hainesport, NJ, United States of America

Adam J Westerland