TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 418/1990
I D Harris and M Amin
Scope
The report concerns the evaluation of five synergic MIG welding power sources in terms of their electrical characteristics and welding performance. The power sources are representative of the major types of synergic control and include both preprogrammed and programmable equipment types. Assessment of the electrical characteristics of the power sources included recording the arc and metal transfer characteristics (arc starting behaviour, wire burn-off relationship, and the wire feed speed versus pulse frequency relationship) and the welding current waveform. The welding performance of each power source was evaluated on a range of joint types, material thicknesses and welding positions, using carbon-manganese steel, and in some cases, austenitic stainless steel plate.