NUGGETS

Vol.1, No. 1, February 1999/rev. December 2015 T E C H N I C A L A P P L I C AT I O N B R I E F

The Benefits of Inverter Technology

INVERTERS MEET THE NEED FOR over the process that many users desire. application. Amada Miyachi America is
IMPROVED CONTROL Because of these inherent problems, and proud to be an active participant in this
All successful manufacturers seek to others, engineers were moved to look at movement toward Inverters. For example,
improve quality while reducing costs. This other sources of power switching Amada Miyachi America developed its first
need is driving manufacturers to look technology as a solution. Throughout the Inverter in 1986 for micro welding and
beyond conventional welding to assess past 20+ years, as power switching 1988 for large scale welding.
and adopt Inverter Technology. The technology gained greater acceptance, it
was used in a greater number of The following diagram illustrates what is
reasons different industries and
applications happening inside the weld control system
companies have moved towards this
by showing how the 3-phase AC power is
technology vary depending on many
Today, there is over 30 years of history converted to DC power.
factors. However, almost every corporate
using the latest power switching devices,
decision will come down to one basic BLOCK A is the incoming AC power. The
IGBT’s, in such industries as the servo
concept: reducing costs. Thus resistance incoming power is 3-phase AC, typically
drive and personal computer industries
welding with DC, utilizing Inverter ranging from 220V to 480V, in the United
and in resistance welding. The move to
Technology, must reduce the customer’s States.
electronic switching technology has lead
costs. The customer’s costs can be
to very precise control over the DC output. BLOCK B is the first rectification stage. In
reduced by improving quality, reducing
In addition to this controllability, these this stage the incoming 3-Phase AC power
maintenance, increasing productivity,
industries have benefited from the use of goes through a bridge rectifier. The bridge
reducing facilities costs, improving the
stable and durable electronic components rectifier changes, or rectifies, the 3-Phase
process and adding capability or scope of
as the electronics industry strives for AC power to provide a DC reference
the company’s products with the ability to
better quality, reliability, and lower costs. voltage. As shown in the waveform, this
weld new materials.
As a result of these innovations, the produces only positive pulses. The
The specific benefits of resistance welding Inverter Technology used today to rectification process has inverted the
with Inverter Technology will vary from generate DC power now challenges AC negative half of the wave to create the DC
customer to customer and each benefit welding in almost every welding reference voltage mentioned earlier.
must be reviewed with regards to the
customer’s specific application.
DIRECT CURRENT GENERATION
USING INVERTERS
The predominant method of welding for
many years has been AC. When you
compare AC welding to DC welding
utilizing Inverter Technology, Inverters are
relatively new on the welding scene. Many
companies have already made the change
from AC to DC, using Inverter Technology,
and this change is occurring at an ever
accelerating rate.
The resistance welding industry has been
using rectified 3-phase AC for a number of
years to create DC power. Creating DC
power in this manner requires large
machines, as well as large transformers
and lacks the amount of precise control

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 NUGGETS
™

T E C H N I C A L A P P L I C AT I O N B R I E F

BLOCK C is the filtering stage. In this stage CURRENT FEEDBACK is configured in two control responds in milliseconds rather
capacitors are used to filter out the noise ways: Primary current feedback or than in AC cycles, which at 60 Hz is 16.67
and minimize the ripple effect left over Secondary current feedback. With primary ms. Additionally, inverters can be
from the rectification process. This cleans feedback, the current is sensed at the programed in millisecond increments.
up the waveform and results in more input to the transformer. When secondary Future issues of “Nuggets” will discuss
consistent current. The capacitors do not feedback is used, the current is sensed the advantages of these features that have
act as a storage medium, as in Capacitive after the transformer in what is called the been implemented into the Amada Miyachi
Discharge style machines, even though “Secondary loop”. In both cases this America welding controls.
they do store energy during this sensed current is used by the control to
rectification. It is advised to use safety dynamically adjust the output. Inverter The above explanation of how to
precautions indicated by the technology also allows for other feedback generate DC power using Inverter
manufacturer, due to the amount of energy modes such as AVC (Automatic Voltage Technology will provide a good foundation
that can be stored. Compensation), Constant Current, for understanding more about how DC
Constant Voltage and Constant Power. One welding and Inverters can provide the
BLOCK D is the switching process. In this of the key advantages of the inverter answer for your welding needs.
stage IGBT’s (Integrated Gate Bipolar welding technology is that the feedback
Transistors) use the rectified and filtered
waveform and switch the output power on
and off. In this process, as shown in the
waveform, the IGBT’s produce positive and
negative pulses. The resulting waveform is
called a “Bi-polar square wave”. The
IGBT’s switch on and off at a specified rate
or frequency measured in hertz. Amada
Miyachi America controls operate at 400,
600, 800, 1000, 2000, and 4000 hertz,
depending on model.
BLOCK E is the welding transformer. The
“Bi-polar square wave” is fed into the
transformer. This transformer steps down
the voltage and steps up the current.
BLOCK F is the second rectifier. This
rectifier is located within the transformer.
In this stage, the “Bi-polar square wave” is
rectified, producing only positive pulses.
BLOCK G shows the weld head.

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