Apparatus and method for joining metal pieces

摘要

According to the invention, the rear end of a preceding metal piece (1) and a front end of a succeeding metal piece (2) are heated, pressed and joined prior to the finishing hot rolling. An alternating magnetic field running through the metal pieces in the thickness direction thereof is generated in an end region on opposed faces of the respective metal pieces by a plurality of inductors (3) to perform heating. A synchronous control of phase is performed in such a manner that the current having the same phase flows in a coil of each inductor (3).