The welding machine is a loyal assistant to a real business man, in capable hands he is able to perform many tasks. Both for the home and for production needs, you should choose an inverter welding machine instead of the usual, but hopelessly outdated transformer models.
Choosing a welding inverter, the user will forget about the sticking of the electrode to the product, its power supply will not be shaken by the impulses from the load, so characteristic of transformer models. The energy consumption of inverter welding machines is much lower – and this with a much higher output power!
The material presented below will justify why when buying an inverter welding source, the welder’s work will become faster, better and safer, and will also help determine which inverter should be chosen for your needs. Let’s get started!
The advantages of inverter-type welders include:
- The stability of the welding current during voltage fluctuations (provided by the manufacturing technology itself);
- Several built-in protection systems – for current overloads, for maximum voltage fluctuations, thermal protection against overheating, shutdown during long-term operation in the maximum permissible mode, etc .;
- Possibility of smooth adjustment of welding current in the entire range of operating modes;
- Easy arc excitation, stable and steady burning – not only with fluctuations in the supply voltage, but also in case of gusts of wind, as well as random sharp movements of the welder;
- Smooth seams in any spatial orientation, minimum spatter;
- Universality. Most models of inverter-type welding machines can work on a wide variety of metals, from structural steels to non-ferrous limited weldable alloys – they will provide high-quality manual arc welding on any of the materials allowed for use.
Conditions of use
For the correct selection of an inverter-type welding machine, depending on the specific application conditions, the following should be considered:
- Decide on the supply voltage – whether it will be single or three phase. 220 volt inverters can be connected to a standard power supply, but 380-volt is much more powerful.
- What thickness of metal is it planned to weld (the electrode thickness and recommended values of welding currents depend on this). For clarity, you can refer to a typical table of these parameters for inverter welding machines:
Metal thickness mm 1-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-8 8-11 12-15 15-18 Diameter of a welding electrode, mm 1.0 – 1.5 1.6-2.0 2.0-2.4 2.5-3.1 3.2-3.9 4.0-4.9 5.0-5.9 6.0 and more Recommended values of welding current, A 20-60 50-90 60-100 80-120 110-150 140-180 180-220 220-260 -
Duration of inclusion (PV) – the most important characteristic for welding inverters. It is a percentage of continuous operation relative to the total time the inverter was used. The higher the PV, the lower the likelihood of overheating of the apparatus at high welding currents.
For example, a PV at the level of 80% means that the inverter’s continuous operation time will be 4 minutes, 1 minute will be paused for cooling. A high PV value is the possibility of almost continuous operation of the inverter without compromising its technical safety. Short pauses in operation allow you to check the seam, replace the electrode, and prepare the parts – during these pauses, the inverter-type welding machine manages to cool down efficiently, and it can be used under load all day. Thus, a high percentage of PV indicates both high reliability and good efficiency of the inverter welding machine.
- Provide yourself with the future power reserve – you never know in advance what kind of welding work you will have to do in a year or five years. If there is a financial opportunity, it is wiser to purchase a higher power device, with a reserve for the future. Who wants to buy a new inverter to weld several fittings of slightly larger diameter than usual, right?
A set of additional functions that are necessary for the user. These include:
- The afterburner of the arc (Arc force) – is used to facilitate welding and its best quality when working on vertical seams;
- Antistick ( Antistick ) – switching off the welding current when the electrode “sticks” to the product, is available in almost all versions of inverter welding machines;
- Hot start (Hot start) – a pulse increase in the welding current when you first touch the electrode to the welded product. Welding inverters with this function excite the arc much more easily.
- The warranty period and the availability of service support in your area are important factors for choosing a specific welding inverter model. Reputable manufacturers have a guarantee for at least two years of welding equipment supplied to the ordinary consumer. The ability to call a qualified specialist in the event of a malfunction (or go to the service yourself) is a big plus when choosing a welding inverter. It is also worth paying attention to the conditions of post-warranty service and reviews on thematic forums (only not explicitly advertising!)
