System and method for controlling an induction heating process

A method for controlling an induction heating process for fabricating a part by heating and forming the part, the method comprising:

• supplying electrical power to an induction coil using a power supply;
• generating an electromagnetic flux field with the induction coil;
• generating heat with a susceptor positioned in the electromagnetic flux field and heating the part held in a cavity defined by the susceptor;
• sensing trends in an amount of electrical power supplied by the power supply with a controlling element;
• and
• controlling, with the controlling element, a temperature of the part by controlling the amount of electrical power supplied by the power supply.

A method for determining when a part held in a cavity defined by a susceptor has reached a desired forming temperature, said method comprising:

• generating an electromagnetic flux about the susceptor using an inductor;
• detecting a step rise in voltage across the inductor due to a change in magnetic permeability of the susceptor;
• and
• correlating a Curie temperature of the susceptor with the step rise in voltage across the inductor to determine a temperature of the susceptor and the part held therein.