Induction heating is based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction discovered by Faraday. Since the invention of the first induction melting furnace by a Swede in 1890, induction heating technology has entered a practical application phase. A new chapter in the technology's application began, particularly following the invention of the thyristor by General Electric (USA) in 1957 and the development of static frequency converters using thyristors in Switzerland and West Germany in 1966.
The application of induction heating technology in my country began in the 1950s, initially focusing on the heat treatment of automotive and tractor parts; however, most systems at that time relied on motor-generator sets or vacuum-tube high-frequency power supplies. In the early 1970s, Professor Wang Naosheng of Zhejiang University (now an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering) successfully developed my country's first high-power thyristor-based parallel-inverter medium-frequency induction heating power supply. This paved the way for the widespread adoption of induction heating technology across fields such as induction melting, pipe bending, and forging. In 1973, the Hangzhou Switchgear Factory began collaborating with Academician Wang Naosheng's team to manufacture thyristor-based medium-frequency power supplies. In 1985, with state approval, China imported manufacturing technology for complete induction heating systems from the West German company AEG-ELOTHERM and obtained a license to produce their medium-frequency induction heating units; this marked the true beginning of induction heating applications in my country's forging industry.