Welding Power Supply-2016

Welding power supply - Wikipedia Page 1 of 3
Welding power supply

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A welding power supply is a device that provides an electric current to perform welding. Welding
usually requires high current (over 80 amperes) and it can need above 12,000 amperes in spot welding.
Low current can also be used; welding two razor blades together at 5 amps with gas tungsten arc
welding is a good example. A welding power supply can be as simple as a car battery and as
sophisticated as a high-frequency inverter using IGBT technology, with computer control to assist in the
welding process.
Contents
◾ 1 Classification
◾ 2 Power supply designs
◾ 2.1 Transformer
◾ 2.2 Generator and alternator
◾ 2.3 Inverter
◾ 2.4 Other types
◾ 3 References
Classification
Welding machines are usually classified as constant current (CC) or constant voltage (CV); a constant
current machine varies its output voltage to maintain a steady current while a constant voltage machine
will fluctuate its output current to maintain a set voltage. Shielded metal arc welding and gas tungsten
arc welding will use a constant current source and gas metal arc welding and flux-cored arc welding
typically use constant voltage sources but constant current is also possible with a voltage sensing wire
feeder.
The nature of the CV machine is required by gas metal arc welding and flux-cored arc welding because
the welder is not able to control the arc length manually. If a welder attempted to use a CV machine to
weld with shielded metal arc welding the small fluctuations in the arc distance would cause wide
fluctuations in the machine's output. With a CC machine the welder can count on a fixed number of
amps reaching the material to be welded regardless of the arc distance but too much distance will cause
poor welding.
Power supply designs

The welding power supplies most commonly seen can be categorized within the following types:
Transformer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welding_power_supply 12/28/2016
A transformer-style welding power supply converts the moderate voltage and moderate current
electricity from the utility mains (typically 230 or 115 VAC) into a high current and low voltage supply,
typically between 17 and 45 (open-circuit) volts and 55 to 590 amperes. A rectifier converts the AC into
DC on more expensive machines.
This design typically allows the welder to select the output current by variously moving a primary
winding closer or farther from a secondary winding, moving a magnetic shunt in and out of the core of
the transformer, using a series saturating reactor with a variable saturating technique in series with the
secondary current output, or by simply permitting the welder to select the output voltage from a set of
taps on the transformer's secondary winding. These transformer style machines are typically the least
expensive.
The trade off for the reduced expense is that pure transformer designs are often bulky and massive
because they operate at the utility mains frequency of 50 or 60 Hz. Such low frequency transformers
must have a high magnetizing inductance to avoid wasteful shunt currents. The transformer may also
have significant leakage inductance for short circuit protection in the event of a welding rod becoming
stuck to the workpiece. The leakage inductance may be variable so the operator can set the output
current.[1]
Generator and alternator
Welding power supplies may also use generators or alternators to convert mechanical energy into
electrical energy. Modern designs are usually driven by an internal combustion engine but older
machines may use an electric motor to drive an alternator or generator. In this configuration the utility
power is converted first into mechanical energy then back into electrical energy to achieve the step-
down effect similar to a transformer. Because the output of the generator can be direct current, or even a
higher frequency AC, these older machines can produce DC from AC without any need for rectifiers of
any type, or can also be used for implementing formerly-used variations on so-called heliarc (most often
now called TIG) welders, where the need for a higher frequency add-on module box is avoided by the
alternator simply producing higher frequency ac current directly.
Inverter
Since the advent of high-power semiconductors such as the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), it is
now possible to build a switched-mode power supply capable of coping with the high loads of arc
welding. These designs are known as inverter welding units. They generally first rectify the utility AC
power to DC; then they switch (invert) the DC power into a stepdown transformer to produce the desired
welding voltage or current. The switching frequency is typically 10 kHz or higher. Although the high
switching frequency requires sophisticated components and circuits, it drastically reduces the bulk of the
step down transformer, as the mass of magnetic components (transformers and inductors) that is
required for achieving a given power level goes down rapidly as the operating (switching) frequency is
increased. The inverter circuitry can also provide features such as power control and overload
protection. The high frequency inverter-based welding machines are typically more efficient and provide
better control of variable functional parameters than non-inverter welding machines.
The IGBTs in an inverter based machine are controlled by a microcontroller, so the electrical
characteristics of the welding power can be changed by software in real time, even on a cycle by cycle
basis, rather than making changes slowly over hundreds if not thousands of cycles. Typically, the
controller software will implement features such as pulsing the welding current, providing variable
ratios and current densities through a welding cycle, enabling swept or stepped variable frequencies, and
providing timing as needed for implementing automatic spot-welding; all of these features would be
prohibitively expensive to design into a transformer-based machine, but require only program memory
space in a software-controlled inverter machine. Similarly, it is possible to add new features to a
software-controlled inverter machine if needed, through a software update, rather than through having to
buy a more modern welder.
Other types
Additional types of welders also exist, besides the types using transformers, motor/generator, and
inverters. For example, laser welders also exist, and they require an entirely different type of welding
power supply design that does not fall into any of the types of welding power supplies discussed
previously. Likewise, spot welders require a different type of welding power supply, typically
containing elaborate timing circuits and large capacitor banks that are not commonly found with any
other types of welding power supplies.
References
1. Leakage inductance
◾ http://www.millerwelds.com/education/articles/articles31.html - Miller Electric news release on

IGBT technology for welding inverters 8 April 2003
◾ http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/support/process-and-theory/Pages/inverter-based-power-
detail.aspx -Inverter Based Welding Power Supplies for Welding Aluminum By Frank G. Armao,
The Lincoln Electric Company ( Lincoln Electric tutorial on inverter-based welding machines )
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welding_power_supply&oldid=746210032"
Categories: Arc welding Power supplies
◾ This page was last modified on 25 October 2016, at 23:24.

◾ Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms
may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a
registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Welding Power Supply-2016

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Welding Power Supply-2016

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Welding Power Supply-2016

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Welding power supply - Wikipedia Page 1 of 3

Welding power supply

Power supply designs

Generator and alternator

◾ http://www.millerwelds.com/education/articles/articles31.html - Miller Electric news release on

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welding_power_supply&oldid=746210032"

Categories: Arc welding Power supplies

◾ This page was last modified on 25 October 2016, at 23:24.

You might also like