Lincoln Electric Power Wave S350 Operator's Manual page 11

General Guidelines
Select the appropriate size cables per the "Output Cable
Guidelines" (See Table 1). Excessive voltage drops
caused by undersized welding cables and poor
connections often result in unsatisfactory welding
performance. Always use the largest welding cables
(electrode and work) that are practical, and be sure all
connections are clean and tight.
Note: Excessive heat in the weld circuit indicates
undersized cables and/or bad connections.

Route all cables directly to the work and wire feeder,
avoid excessive lengths and do not coil excess
cable. Route the electrode and work cables in close
proximity to one another to minimize the loop area
and therefore the inductance of the weld circuit.

Always weld in a direction away from the work
(ground) connection.
See Table 1 for copper cable sizes recommended for
different currents and duty cycles. Lengths stipulated are
the distance from the welder to work and back to the
welder again. Cable sizes are increased for greater
lengths primarily for the purpose of minimizing cable
drop.
Cable Inductance and its Effects on
Welding
Excessive cable inductance will cause the welding
performance to degrade. There are several factors that
contribute to the overall inductance of the cabling system
including cable size, and loop area. The loop area is
defined by the separation distance between the
electrode and work cables, and the overall welding loop
length. The welding loop length is defined as the total of
length of the electrode cable (A) + work cable (B) + work
path (C) (see Figure #4 below). To minimize inductance
always use the appropriate size cables, and whenever
possible, run the electrode and work cables in close
proximity to one another to minimize the loop area.
Since the most significant factor in cable inductance is
the welding loop length, avoid excessive lengths and do
not coil excess cable. For long work piece lengths, a
sliding ground should be considered to keep the total
welding loop length as short as possible.
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Remote Sense Lead Connections
Voltage Sensing Overview
Certain welding process requires the use of remote
voltage sense leads to more accurately monitor the
conditions of the arc. These leads originate in the power
source, and are connected and configured through the
Advanced Module. Consult the connection diagrams
included in this manual for detailed information.
Note:
Not all processes run through the Advanced Module do
not necessarily require sense leads, but will benefit from
their use. Consult the power source instruction manual
for recommendations.
DO NOT connect the remote electrode sense (67) lead
to the TIG (GTAW) output.
General Voltage Sensing Considerations for Multiple
Arc Systems
Special care must be taken when more than one arc is
welding simultaneously on a single part. The placement
and configuration of remote work voltage sense leads is
critical to the proper operation of multiple arc AC and
®
STT applications.
Recommendations:

Position the sense leads out of the path of the
weld current. Especially any current paths
common to adjacent arcs. Current from adjacent
arcs can induce voltage into each others current
paths that can be misinterpreted by the power
sources, and result in arc interference.

For longitudinal applications, connect all work
leads at one end of the weldment, and all of the
work voltage sense leads at the opposite end of the
weldment. Perform welding in the direction away
from the work leads and toward the sense leads.
(See Figure #5).
WORK
8
Figure #4
WARNING
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