Lincoln Electric IM718 manual Arc, MULTI-ARC System Description

A-13 INSTALLATION A-13

MULTI-ARC SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The following is a general description of how the PowerWave AC/DC can be configured in a multi-arc set-up.

Each welding arc may be driven by one machine or up to four machines connected in parallel. The hardware for the power source has been designed so that the power source can either operate as a master or a slave. A few DIP switches must be configured proper- ly to set the machine’s identity. Each power source has a rating of 500 amps average current, with a peak current of 725 amps. So, four machines are capable of driving 2000 amps of output current with up to 2900 amps of peak current available. Each arc must have one power source designated as the master. If only one machine is required for an arc, then it must be set up as the master. The master power source controls the AC switching for the arc. The slaves respond to what the master wants

Due to the flexibility of the platform the configuration may vary. A typical subarc system will consist of four welding arcs, which require ten power sources and one synchronous generator. Arc # 1 & #2 will be three machines in parallel. Arc #3 & #4 will be two machines connected in parallel (each individual machine is con- nected to the ethernet hub).

The PC will function as the control center for the AC/DC system as well as the user interface. The Ethernet hub splits the Ethernet port from the PC to all the power sources and the phase generator. The PC will act to coordinate the welding sequence of the mul- tiple machines.

One machine will be designated the master, with the rest of the machines connected in parallel considered slaves. The master can generate it's own AC frequen- cy or it can use an external signal as a reference. An external Phase Generator provides the means to syn- chronize the AC wave shape between multiple arcs. The phase angle between arcs can be adjusted to reduce "Arc Blow" and other welding related issues. An external phase control signal is required to keep the separate wave shapes synchronized with each other

An Ethernet-Gateway board can be used as the exter- nal Phase Generator. An Ethernet-Gateway PC board that can be configured to generate four phase signals onto four differential I/O lines. The phase signals can then be used to synchronize the four different arcs to a common carrier frequency. The frequency can range from 10 hertz to 300 hertz, with the most practi- cal range being from 50 to 100 hertz. It may be desir- able that sync signals 2, 3, or 4 are some multiple of the first signal. The frequency and phase shift are controlled by software.

ARC #1

PC

Ethernet Hub

ARC	ARC
#2	#3

PULSE

GENERATOR

ARC #4

POWER WAVE AC/DC