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Encyclopedia > Welding power supply
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A high output constant current welding power supply for use with GTAW and SMAW

A welding power supply is an electrical device that provides an electrical current to perform welding procedures which require electricity. Typically welding requires high current, over 80 amps, and can go above 12,000 amps 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 modern machine based on silicon controlled rectifier technology with additional logic to assist in the welding process. Shielded metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is also known as stick welding or manual metal arc welding (MMA) and is one of the most common forms of welding. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... Arc welding Welding is a joining process that produces coalescence of materials (typically metals or thermoplastics) by heating them to welding temperature, with or without the application of pressure or by the application of pressure alone, and with or without the use of filler materials. ... Spot welding is a quick and simple method of welding metal. ... A high output GTAW and SMAW welding power supply Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is commonly known as tungsten inert gas welding (TIG), however since some process variations utilize active (other than inert) shielding gases, the correct technical term is GTAW. In this process a non-consumable tungsten electrode is... Most car batteries are lead-acid batteries. ... A silicon controlled rectifier is a 4 layer solid state device that controls current flow. ...

Contents

Classification

Welding machines are usually classified as constant current (CC) or constant voltage (CV); a constant current machine will vary 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 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. Shielded metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is also known as stick welding or manual metal arc welding (MMA) and is one of the most common forms of welding. ... A wire feeder configured for . ... A wire feeder configured for . ...


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 manualy. 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 watts reaching the material to be welded regardless of the arc distance but too much distance will cause poor welding. A wire feeder configured for . ... A wire feeder configured for . ... Shielded metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is also known as stick welding or manual metal arc welding (MMA) and is one of the most common forms of welding. ...


Machine construction

Most welding machines are of the following designs:


Transformer

A transformer style welding machine converts the high voltage and low current electricity from the utility into a high current and low voltage, typically between 17 to 45 volts and 190 to 590 amps. This type of machine typically allows the welder to select the output current by either moving the core of the transformer in and out of the magnetic field or by allowing the welder to select from a set of taps on the transformer. Modern transformer machines may be of the inverter type which converts the utility power into high frequency AC then internally use a much smaller and more efficient transformer. Inverter machines have high output, low weight, and small size. The word Transformer can also mean: The Transformers toys, and the related comics and animated television series which have run from the 1980s onwards. ... An inverter is a circuit for converting direct current to alternating current, they are used in a wide range of applications, from small power supplys for a computer to large industrial applications to transport bulk power. ...


Generator and alternator

Welding machines may also use generators or alternators to convert mechanical engery into electrical energy. Modern machines of this type are usually driven by an internal combustion engine but older designs, before the advent of inexpensive solid state technology, may use an electric motor to drive the alternator or generator. In this configuration the utility power is converted first into mechanical engergy then back into electrical energy to achieve the step-down effect similiar to a transformer. An internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. ... In physics, the solid state is one of the three phases of matter (solid, liquid, and gas). ...


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Welding power supply with short circuit protection - Patent 5073695 (18380 words)
Furthermore, lack of reasonable access to the AC power lines and/or the impracticality of or undesirability of moving the prior art power supply sometimes creates a situation wherein the prior art power supply is substantially removed from the welder and a long run of welding cable is required.
Because each weld selector station unit is supplied from a higher voltage source than most conventional welding equipment, the weld selector station may be connected the main power supply via smaller gauge cabling than that normally used to connect a weld torch to a conventional 40-volt supply.
Weld selector station 16 may be briefly described as a high efficiency, overload protected, selectable constant current or constant voltage switching power supply with automatic compensation for input voltage fluctuation, and selectable low frequency pulse, high frequency pulse, and chopped low frequency pulse outputs.
Method and apparatus for producing welding power - Patent 6278081 (5131 words)
The output of this power supply is at a frequency equal to the input frequency.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of producing submerged arc welding power comprising by receiving a three phase input power at an input frequency and converting the input power to single phase output power having an output frequency that is greater then the input frequency.
This welding power supply is a submerged arc welding power supply and should be capable of operating in a CV mode.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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