In the 21st century, digital has brought us a colorful world. We are exposed to more and more digital products, such as digital TV, DVD, digital cameras, etc., they continue to enrich our lives. Welding technology is no exception, and it has also developed into a digital stage. What is the digitalization of welding, and what does digital welding bring to us?
1 What is digitization?
Digitization refers to the representation of continuous physical variables in the form of 0/1 encoding according to certain rules. The digital welding power source refers to the main control circuit of the welding machine replaced by the traditional analog control technology by digital control technology, and the control signal in the control circuit also transitions from the analog signal to the 0/1 encoded digital signal. Digital systems have significant advantages over analog systems. The digital system has the characteristics of good system flexibility, high control precision, good stability and product consistency, good interface compatibility and convenient system function upgrade.
The copy performance is degraded after the analog record is used multiple times. Digital CD-ROM performance remains unchanged after thousands of uses, and storage is fast. The digital welding device has the same welding effect per device per day and has precise adjustment device for fast control.
2 Digital power supply - the development direction of welding power supply
The development of digital welding power supplies is geared to the development needs of welding technology. The traditional analog control method restricts the full potential of the performance of the inverter power supply, and it needs to update the original control mode. Through the analysis of the development process of MIG welding, the necessity of developing digital power supply can be seen.
MIG/MAG welding method is widely used in the welding of aluminum and aluminum alloy, copper, stainless steel and low alloy steel because of its wide welding range, high production efficiency and effective control of heat input. However, the MIG/MAG welding method has the disadvantage of large welding spatter, which greatly limits its application and development.
In the 1960s, MIG/MAG welding fundamentally broke the concept of “stability†of the welding process in the past, and opened up the way of using pulsed current (voltage) for welding. The development and application of the MIG/MAG welding method entered. A broader field. The pulse current is used, and the average current during welding is small, so that the peak current, the transition of the droplet, and the heating of the molten metal are intermittent and controllable. The weld metal and the heat-affected zone metal are both overheated and welded, and the spatter is effectively controlled.
However, the traditional analog control method has some drawbacks, which greatly limits the further development of the arc welding inverter power supply. The pulse MIG/MAG welding has complex waveforms and many welding parameters. Controlling it by analog control requires a large number of operation buttons, which is inconvenient to operate. The use of computers for control, the use of digital technology, the problem is solved. In the digital system, software replaces the hardware, and the flexibility of control is greatly improved. In addition, the product consistency of the analog system is difficult to guarantee, and the processing and control algorithms of the digital system signal are completed by software calculations, so that it has good solder reproducibility and stability, and is suitable for mass production. The advantages of MIG/MAG welding can also be fully realized.
At present, the solution to many problems in welding production still depends on practical experience, and the operation of power supplies is often complicated. The development of welding power supply to the digital stage is reflected in the simplicity and convenience of the welding operation. Therefore, the expert's experience is solidified into a system and input into the welding machine to form an expert system. The expert parameters obtained by a large number of process tests by professionals are placed inside the welder, eliminating the need for professionals, thus eliminating a lot of training work. The setting of the expert system makes the digital welding power supply so simple, the operator can easily call the expert parameters required for welding by pressing the buttons on the operation interface.
3 Application of digital technology
With its great advantages, digital welding machines have attracted the attention of the welding industry at home and abroad. Various well-known companies have researched and developed them. The following is a series of digital welding power supplies developed by EWM in Germany to provide a preliminary understanding of the performance of digital welding power supplies.
3.1 lintegrai series welding power supply
As early as 1993, EWM produced the world's first digital welding machine, which has been used in the automotive industry, machinery manufacturing and shipbuilding industries for more than 9 years.
Integral welding power supplies have been successfully applied in conventional or pulsed MIG/MAG welding, DC TIG welding and manual arc welding multi-purpose welding power supplies using modular technology.
Integral series inverter welding power supply features:
a small size and light weight;
b Small splash, multiple droplet transfer forms, less post-weld cleaning;
c The application of digital micro-processing system realizes the reproducibility of high welding quality;
d The ultra-pulse function makes the welding quality of MIG/MAG close to the high quality of TIG welding and fully reflects the high efficiency of MIG/MAG welding;
e Multi-function welding power supply, one welding machine can realize four welding processes (MAG, MIG, TIG, MMA);
f Control and operation are simple and the interface is intuitive;
g has good dynamic characteristics, fast response and high precision (up to 1000A/ms).
3.2 Phoenix Series Welding Power Supply
Phoenix series welding power supply is the latest digital welding power supply. High MIG/MAG pulse welding, MIG/MAG conventional welding, manual arc welding and TIG welding (lifting arc ignition) are possible. The structure is simple, easy to operate, and provides all possible functional options. The digital processing system processes all welding data and controls the entire welding process. The welding performance is reliable, the control is precise, and the welding quality is high.
The main features of Phoenix series digital welding machine:
a Expert system in the machine for easy operation and highly specialized welding process programming;
b Module structure is easy to connect, no tools and professionals are required;
c Use Q-DOC 9000 welding data storage software to control, analyze or print the required data for the welding process and welding parameters;
d can be linked to robots, industrial automation systems or document recording systems;
e Widely used in the welding of high and low alloy steel, aluminum alloy, copper and copper alloy, special alloy materials, applications in the chemical, food industry, machinery industry, automotive, shipbuilding and other industries;
f Can be networked with a computer or electronic network for programming or data exchange to enable remote monitoring of the welding process.
4 Development prospects of digital welding power supply
At present, the research on digital welding power supply is still in its infancy, and it needs further development and research, and has extensive research space. From the sales situation of Inetgral series and Phoenix series welding machine in China, its market prospect is very broad. We believe that digital welding power supply will definitely become the development direction of future welding equipment.
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