A Review of Inverter-type Welding Machines

Abstract

Engineers have always strived to design the most energy efficient and easy to use machines. With the advance in power electronics, there has been much improvement in the design of workshop equipment. One such equipment is the arc welding machine. Power transistors and computer control have been introduced to the arc welding machine resulting in what is commonly known as Inverter-type arc welding machine or ‘Inverter Welder’. The inverter-type welding machine is a significant advancement over the traditional (pure transformer) arc welding machine. The main focus of this paper is to review the technology employed in the inverter-type welding machines to bring about improved energy efficiency, portability and ease of use. Comparison is also made between inverter-type arc welding machines and traditional (pure
transformer) arc welding machines.