Basic Welding Controls; Constant Voltage Welding - Lincoln Electric POWER WAVE IM986 Operator's Manual

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Choose the electrode material, electrode size, shield-
ing gas, and process (GMAW, GMAW-P etc.) appro-
priate for the material to be welded.
Select the weld mode that best matches the desired
welding process. The standard weld set shipped with
the Power Wave i400 encompasses a wide range of
common processes that will meet most needs. If a
special weld mode is desired, contact the local Lincoln
Electric sales representative.
To make a weld, the Power Wave i400 needs to know
the desired welding parameters. The robot controller
sends the parameters from the teach pendant (arc
voltage, wire feed speed, UltimArcTM value, etc.), to
the Power Wave i400 via the ArcLink® communication
protocol over the control, Ethernet or optional
DeviceNet cables.

BASIC WELDING CONTROLS

Weld Mode
Selecting a weld mode determines the output charac-
teristics of the Power Wave i400 power source. Weld
modes are developed with a specific electrode materi-
al, electrode size, and shielding gas. For a more com-
plete description of the weld modes programmed into
the Power Wave at the factory, refer to the Weld Set
Reference Guide supplied with the machine or avail-
able at www.powerwavesoftware.com.
Wire Feed Speed (WFS)
In synergic welding modes (GMAW, GMAW-P), WFS
is the dominant control parameter. The user adjusts
WFS according to factors such as wire size, penetra-
tion requirements, heat input, etc. The Power Wave
then uses the WFS setting to adjust the voltage and
current according to the information contained in the
selected weld mode.
Note:
The Power Wave i400 can be configured to use
amperage as the dominant control parameter
instead of WFS for synergic welding modes. In this
configuration the user adjusts amperage according
to factors such as wire size, penetration require-
ments, heat input, etc. The Power Wave then uses
the amperage setting to adjust the WFS and volt-
age according to the information contained in the
selected weld mode.
This alternate configuration is regionally enabled
based on the robot controller software. Refer to the
Fanuc documentation for manual configuration
information.
OPERATION
In non-synergic modes, the WFS control behaves like
a conventional power source where WFS and voltage
are independent adjustments. Therefore, to maintain
proper arc characteristics, the operator must adjust
the voltage to compensate for any changes made to
the WFS.
Volts
In constant voltage modes (GMAW), this control
adjusts the welding voltage.
Trim
In pulse synergic welding modes (GMAW-P), the Trim
setting adjusts the arc length. Trim is adjustable from
0.50 to 1.50. 1.00 is the nominal setting and is a good
starting point for most conditions.
Note:
The Power Wave i400 can also be configured to
display Trim as a voltage value. This allows the
operator to pre-set an approximate welding voltage
rather than a unitless Trim value. The pre-set volt-
age is limited based on the process, and provides
the same range of operation as the corresponding
Trim value.
This alternate configuration is regionally enabled
based on the robot controller software. Refer to the
Fanuc documentation for manual configuration
information.
UltimArcTM
UltimArcTM allows the operator to vary the arc char-
acteristics from "soft" to "crisp". UltimArcTM is
adjustable from –10.0 to +10.0 with a nominal setting
of 0.0.

CONSTANT VOLTAGE WELDING

Synergic CV
In synergic welding modes, WFS is the dominant con-
trol parameter. For each wire feed speed, a corre-
sponding voltage is programmed into the machine at
the factory. The user adjusts WFS according to fac-
tors such as wire size, material thickness, penetration
requirements, etc. The Power Wave i400 then uses
the WFS setting to select the appropriate nominal volt-
age. The Power Wave i400 can also be configured to
use amperage as the dominant control parameter. In
this configuration the Power Wave i400 uses the
amperage setting to select the appropriate WFS and
nominal voltage. In either case, the user can adjust
the voltage higher or lower to compensate for material
condition or individual preference.
POWER WAVE® i400
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