WCN Autumn 2010

Single-phase AC welders facing extinction?

Single phase AC welders are under pressure of extinction due to new regulations coming up from several electric companies that require high demand customers such as customers that use electric resistance welders to have balanced loads on their electric systems. Another reason that we all have to respect is efficiency and conservation of energy. An unbalanced electrical load/system is not efficient and therefore losses of electric energy occur. The most commonly used AC welding control technology is single-phase. The majority of users try to balance the loads by connecting resistance welders to different phases, but this is commonly misinterpreted. When a single-phase resistance welder is used, the load can increase from zero to over 1,000 Amps only at a single phase. It is difficult to synchronise multiple resistance welders to weld at the same exact time for the same exact period of time unless all the welders are connected with a main control. This cannot be accomplished when these different welders are welding different material because the welding times and parameters are governed by each jobs’ material physical properties. The solution to this problem is the use of three-phase welder controls. The three electric phases are converted to DC and then passed to the welding transformer. The result is balanced load. Another very important attribute of the DC welder is that the time of the weld can be controlled very accurately. On the AC welding control the minimum weld time is a cycle, for example, on a 60Hz system, 1/60th of a second. On the DC welder controlling the welding time is easy as low as a millisecond (1/1000th of a second). There is also tighter control of the electrical parameters and therefore we can produce better quality welds for less energy. DC welding provides more consistent and enhanced quality welds than the older AC technology, resulting in increased performance. MEMBERS: PLEASE SEND YOUR EDITORIAL FOR FREE PUBLICATION IN THE FIRST WCN NEWSLETTER OF 2011, AND FOR INCLUSION ON THE IWMA WEBSITE, AT ANY TIME BETWEEN EDITIONS OF WCN One of the benefits of belonging to the IWMA is the facility to publish editorials in WCN, both the hard copy and electronic versions, completely free of charge and so reach more than 10,000 hard copy and countless electronic readers worldwide. In addition to worldwide distribution WCN is freely distributed at all major industry trade fairs and IWMA technical events. The next important upcoming exhibitions are Interwire, 3 rd –5 th May 2011, and wire Russia 2011, 23 rd –26 th May. WCN will be circulated during these exhibitions, a valuable additional and totally free marketing tool for members! Members should also bear in mind that the IWMA website can accept their editorials at any time during the year. NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE: 24 th November 2010

AIMwelder in action ▲ ▲

The drawback to this technology is initial cost, which, following the basic rules of economics, hopefully will decrease as demand and supply increases. The automatic welder option installed on AIM equipment uses a DC mid-frequency control that allows the user to define the weld times in milliseconds. Welding schedules and parameters for each individual job are saved with the job data on a single file, thus providing time savings for setup. The AccuForm product line, and its options, is offered for both 2D and 3D capabilities with wire bending capacities up to 16mm (5/8") and carries a two-year limited warranty.

AIM Inc – USA Fax : +1 630 458 0730

Email : info@aimmachines.com Website : www.aimmachines.com

Communicating important messages worldwide • Attracting interest from the important North American • and Russian markets Advising customers of personnel changes • Announcing major new developments • Celebrating winning of new contracts/orders • Staying one step ahead of the competition • Please send us your editorials (not advertisements) with supporting photos to:

info@iwma.org

If marketing and public relations is not your area of responsibility please make sure that the relevant department/person is aware of this information.

Thank you!

DEADLINE DATE IS 24 th NOVEMBER 2010 TO CATCH THE EARLY 2011 EDITION IN TIME FOR INTERWIRE 2011 AND WIRE RUSSIA 2011

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WCN Issue N° 43 www.iwma.org