International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)

Volume VIII, Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

Design and Implementation of 400A Industrial

Inverter Welding Machine
Ertugrul Kocaaga Gokhan Sen Sinan Kivrak
Electrical-Electronics Engineering Energy Instutute Electrical-Electronics Engineering
Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University Marmara Research Center, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University
Ankara, Turkey
TUBITAK Ankara, Turkey
Ankara, Turkey

Abstract—Inverter-based welding machines are getting popular anything else. Several DC/DC topologies have been studied
and favored by users due to their smaller size, fast response and and concluded that two-switch forward converter and full-
high-efficiency compared to conventional welding machines. bridge converter are the best suitable for welding applications
Many inverter-based welding machines include analog [1]. For this reason, full bridge topology is preferred in this
controllers to meet the requirement of fast transient response. study. Also, peak current control method is chosen for fast
This paper introduces a fully digital control algorithm for the
transient response, especially for welding continuity. The
new generation welding machines. Both constant current (CC)
and constant voltage (CV) is achieved with the help of a high- control of these
speed DSP which has inner comparators and configurable logic welding machines needs pulse by pulse current limiting and
units. In the case of digital control, optimizing the required fast response because of the high bandwidth nature of the
welding properties such as hot start, arc force, and inductance is
easier for the operator compared to analog controlled welding
welding power demand. Hence, many welding machine
machines. All the functions are tested, and the experimental producers use analog or semi-analog methods in their designs.
results show that efficiency is around 84%. The designed In [2], design and implementation of a high-frequency 200 A,
machine is a part of a project to produce a new generation of 5.6 kW welding machine and its analog controller is designed
welding machines with Manual Metal Arc (MMA) and Metal and analyzed. In this paper, a digital control method is used
Inert Gas (MIG) and Metal Active Gas (MAG) properties. without sacrificing high bandwidth control. In [3] it is
Keywords—MMA, MIG, MAG, CPM, Welding, Digital Control, mentioned that microcontroller-based arc length control
Peak Current Control Method, dsPIC, Inverter Welding design is more stable comparing to the automatic voltage
Machines, DC/DC Converters controllers over wide range. Nowadays, microcontrollers have
configurable logic cells and fast comparators with blanking
I. INTRODUCTION capabilities. This paper introduces the design and

C onventional welding machines use grid frequency implementation of fully digital control for a new generation
transformers to reduce the ac voltage to a lower voltage. welding machine.
Then a chopper circuit is used to adjust welding current. II. OPERATING PRINCIPLES
However, grid frequency transformers are bigger and much
heavier than high-frequency transformers. Thus, conventional Inverter welding machines rectify the grid to produce a
welding machines are not useful for applications where constant dc link voltage, then use this constant dc link voltage
welding machines need to move around. Comparing to for high-frequency dc/dc converter. The designed inverter
conventional welding machines, inverter welding machines welding machine is shown in Fig 1. The full-bridge isolated
much compact and light. In most of the inverter welding buck converter is used in the power stage. A version
machines, grid voltage is rectified and filtered with bulk containing a center-tapped secondary winding is commonly
capacitors to produce a constant dc link voltage. The dc link used in converters producing low output voltages. The two
voltage is switched at a high frequency and the power is shares of the center-tapped secondary winding may be viewed
transferred to the secondary side with a high-frequency as separate windings, hence we can treat this circuit element
transformer. There is also a rectifier circuit in the secondary as a three-winding transformer having turns ratio 1:n:n[4]
side. After rectification, a filter inductor is used for current
regulation. The filtered voltage is applied between the welding
electrode and the workpiece. The duty cycle of the
semiconductor switches in the primary side adjusts the
welding current. When designing a welding machine from
scratch, it is important to select the topology correctly before Fig. 1. Welding Machine Diagram

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 International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)
Volume VIII, Is
Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

Welding process can be considered as a constant power load III. SIMULATION

considering
ng its static characteristics. But in its dynamic state,
MMA welding process is like a fast-changing resistor in
the load can be considered a fast-changing
changing resistor which
normal operation. The relationship between voltage volt and
needs constant current. Due to the high-speed
speed variations of the
current which can be approximated as below is linear with an
load, a high bandwidth controller is needed for the current
offset [2].
]. For this reason, in simulation circuit, the equivalent
loop, which implieses a peak current control method. In current
resistance of the welding depends on the amount of power
mode control, an oscillator is used as a fixed--frequency clock
transferred.
which is compared to a signal derived from rom output inductor
current [5][7]. Fig.2 shows the peak current control method in V = 20 + 0.04 * I (1)
the block diagram. Since the inductor current rises with a
In the selected fulll bridge voltage source converter topology,
slope determined by input and output voltage, this waveform
the switches are operated in push--pull PWM mode and hard
is expected to respond immediately to line voltage changes
switching technique is applied. In order to realize push-pull
which eliminate both delayed responses and gain variation
with changes in input voltage. [6] mode PWM in simulation, a negative edge triggered JK flip
flop is used. Since the full bridge dc-dc
dc converter is basically
a buck converter with a transformer, in this paper the
controller is designed in reference to an equivalent buck
converter. Due to the applied push-pull switching
configuration, the filter inductor sees twice the switching
frequency of a single switch in full bridge converter which is
set to 40KHz. AC Sweep property allows users to perturb
control signal at different frequencies and observe the
magnitude and phase plots over a frequency
f range of interest.
In Fig. 4, the magnitude de and phase of the control to IGBT
current transfer function which is the inner current loop is
given. This inner current loop should be much faster than the
outer loop. In welding applications,
application a bulk capacitor with a
high capacitance is not used since iti is essential to control the
output current directly for high quality welding. For this
reason, a 33nF high current film capacitor is used to filter only
Fig. 2. Peak Current Control Method[[6] high frequency harmonics. This results in the second pole to
be far away from the desired cross over frequency.
In welding applications, the error amplifier is used to
command an output current, and the filter offers only a single
pole to the feedback loop. This allows the user both a simpler
compensation and high gain bandwidth over a comparab comparable
voltage-mode controlled converter. [6].]. Also, it is mentioned
that microcontroller-based arc length control design is more
stable compared to the automatic voltage controllers over a
wide range [3]. In this paper, peak-current
current control application
is realized
lized for a welding machine using
dsPIC33EP128GS806. The proposed method is shown in Fig
3.

Fig. 4. Bode Plot Results of Open Loop Inner Current Transfer Function

In constant current mode (MMA Mode), output current

feedback is taken,, scaled and filtered. The filtered signal is
regulated with PI block and used as a IGBT current reference.
For constant voltage mode (MIG/MAG),
(MIG/MAG) output voltage
Fig. 3. Proposed Method for Welding Machine Controller feedback is taken,, scaled and filtered. The filtered signal is
regulated with a faster PI block and used as IGBT current

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 International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)
Volume VIII, Is
Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

reference. Fig.5 shows the digital controller of the simulation. Although

ough the simulation results seem okay, in real life
The simulation is done considering MMA welding, so output welding is complicated and do not show the same resistance
current is measured with a hall effect current sensor and all the time. Especially in stick welding mode, short circuits
regulated with a PI controller using an interrupt service are often present because of the electrode becoming very close
subroutine which produces a control reference. The interrupt to the workpiece, which means that the arc length is smaller
service subroutine is adjusted to a period of 100 us to achieve than it needs to be for a high-quality
quality welding. When a short
a cross-over frequency of 1 kHz for the outer loop loop. The circuit situation occurs, the controller needs to sense it and
resulted output reference is an anolog output and can be must increase the current reference in order to increase the arc
realized with either using an output pin of the dsPIC or length. This process is called
alled arc force. When the arc length
internal DACREF reference for the current sense comparator. reaches its normal length, the current reference goes back to
its normal value. The same situation happens in the welding
starting process. When the welding starts, the arc length is
shorter than its usual length, so the current reference should be
set a bigger value for a period of 100ms to 200ms. This
process is called hot start. Both the hot start and arc force
algorithms are easier and flexible for the user when designing
a welding machine
chine with a digital controller.
IV. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
The control method which is tested in simulation environment
is also implemented using dsPIC which controls the
implemented welding machine. The welding machine works
in output current control mode. dsPIC33EP128GS806 has an
internal configurable logic cell (CLC) and current limiting
properties in its PWM module. Fig.7 shows the PWM signal,
Fig. 5. Digital Controller of the Welding Machine current reference from DACREFOUT pin of dsPIC which
Since the mathematical model of the full bridge converter and realizes the current limiting. Whenever the current feedback
buck converter are the same, similar PI code can be from power circuit exceeds the current
urrent reference value from
implemented for the full bridge converter.. The simplified C the dsPIC (which is actually PID output of output current), the
block in PSIM whose period is 1 us is interrupted every 100 latch resets and PWM signals are set low. Each period, PWM
us and PI controller is used for producing aan IGBT current clock sets the latch and PWM signals are high again. The
reference. This current reference is used in DAC
DACOUT pin of ultra-fast comparator has also a blanking capability.
capabi When the
the dsPIC which is internally connected to the negative pin of switches are on-state,
state, the current may go to a higher value
the internal fast comparator. The comparator resets an internal than expected. In order not to set the latch incorrectly, a small
latch as soon as the feedback signal passes the reference
reference, blanking time (around 100ns) is added to the fast comparators
which turns off the PWM signal immediately. In Fig 6, the in the code.
simulation results of 340A output of the MMA welding
machine is given.

Fig. 7. Green: PWM Signal, Blue: Feedback Signal, Red: Reference from
dsPIC DACREFOUT pin

The dsPIC outputs low voltage value (3. 3V) and in order to
drive IGBT’s a pulse transformer is needed. In order to drive
the pulse transformer, a high voltage driver needed. Fig. 8
shows the isolated gate driver circuit.
circuit The isolated gate driver
Fig. 6. 340A Output of a Welding Machine Simulation Result
has an isolation level of 4kV.

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 International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)
Volume VIII, Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

In this study, the switching is realized with hard switching

technique. The upper left and the bottom right IGBT’s are
controlled with one PWM signal. The bottom left and the
upper right signals are controlled using 180 degrees phase
shifted version of the first PWM signal. Fig.10 shows the
primary terminal voltage of the full bridge transformer. A
strong ringing is present because of the hard-switching
technique. Magnetizing inductance of the high-frequency
transformer is calculated as 2 mH, and the transformer works
in continious conduction mode. Fig.10 also shows the primary
current of the transformer which is sensed using a current
transformer. The output of the current transformer is recitifed
with a diode bridge. Than the current is converted to a voltage
Fig. 8. Isolated Gate Driver Circuit
signal using through current shunts equivalent to 3 ohms. The
Whenever the PWM signal is high, the pulse transformer current shunt resistors are selected to stay in safe region
works as a single switch forward converter and the 2 cross without sacrifising the current resolution. On the secondary
IGBTs start conducting. When the PWM signal is low, the side, filter inductor is selected as 30 uH allowing a harder
pulse transformer resets itself through a zener diode and the current ripple in order to achive a good quality welding.
U3 starts conducting which drives both T11 and T12 to Otherwise a bigger filter inductor with a higher value would
discharge the gate-emitter capacitance of the IGBT. Note that slow down the welding response. There is a small capacitance
this circuit is for a single IGBT. D26 and D25 is 3.1V zener at the output, which is 33nF to filter the high frequency
diodes and C18 is a 100nF capacitor. When the PWM signal signals of the welding. Conventional welding machines are
is high, zener diode charges C18 to 6.2V, which is used usually around 50% to 70% efficient whereas in this particular
during the PWM low signal to produce a negative voltage in inverter based welding machine 84% efficiency has been
order to turn off the IGBT’s as fast as possible. Current tailing observed. Using the isolated CAN BUS the inverter welding
is minimized with this configuration. C9, R16 and R25 works machine can be used with robotics arms and many PLC
as a snubber circuit. R51 and R52 are gate resistors to limit modules with a CAN BUS module of 250 kHz baudrate.
charging and discharging current. On the left-hand side there
is a high-speed mosfet (IRFRC20) which is used to drive
pulse transformer. The switching speed of the mosfet also
determines the welding quality. Since welding is a process
with many short circuits, the turn-off time of the IGBT’s
should be small as possible. The mosfet also has a parallel
Zener diode to its drain to source terminals. When the mosfet
is in off state, the pulse transformer resets itself on this zener
diode. Fig. 9 shows the mosfet gate signals in push-pull
configuration signals and the primary side of the pulse
transformer. As a result, mosfet and the IGBT gate signals
look similar.

Fig. 10. Red: Transformer Primary Current (Ch.3) Blue: Transformer Primary
Voltage (Ch.2)

IGBT gate driver circuit, control circuit and power circuit are
implemented as close as possible to each other so that noise
effects are minimized. The input 6-pulse diode rectifier,
IGBTs and output diode rectifier circuit are all connected to
same heatsink. Fig. 11 shows the experimental circuit. The
Fig. 9. Green: PWM Signal 1, Red:PWM Signal 2, Dark Blue: Pulse control card and the power card have different grounds and all
Transformer Input Signal for PWM1, Light Blue: Pulse Transformer Input the feedback signals are either isolated with a transformer or
Signal for PWM2 using linear optocouplers. There is a resistor of 10 ohms in

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 International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)
Volume VIII, Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

series with 4.7 nF capacitor parallel with the load at the

output, which is used as a snubber circuit for the system.

Fig. 13. Hot Start of MMA welding. Welding Current Current (Ch.3) and
Weld Voltage (Ch.2)

In the beginning, welding voltage is around 84V. During the

initial contact of the electrode to the workpiece, the welding
current starts to increase to a level of around 180A to transfer
the heat to the workpiece. After approximately 100 ms, the
welding process is in steady state and the PI controller forces
Fig. 11. Experimental Circuit the output current to be regulated. However as mentioned
before, short circuit situations may occur in steady-state as
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS well. So, the controller needs to be fast enough to respond
these changes before the welding process breaks away. Fig. 14
Fig. 12 shows the output voltage and output current of the
shows the arc force process of the welding machine. Here it
welding machine. The current is around 370 A, and the can be observed that the welding current is responding to the
voltage is around 40 V, which produces an of output power of change in the welding voltage with a delay of 2 ms, which
14.8 kW implies a crossover frequency around 500 Hz for the outer
voltage loop.

Fig. 12. Welding Current (Ch.1) and Weld Voltage (Ch.3) Fig. 14. Arc Force of MMA Welding. Welding Current Current (Ch.3) and
Weld Voltage (Ch.2)
When the welding starts, in order to create an arc to initialize
the welding process, open circuit voltage is set around 80V In this study, the nominal current of the welding machine is
and the current reference is set a higher value than its normal selected to be 400A at %65 machine operating duty cycle.
operation mode. This process is called, as mentioned before This means that, the machine can give 400A for %65 of the
hot start. Fig. 13 shows the hot start process of a MMA time and the needs a rest for %35 of the time. The machine is
welding. operated for 6 min 30 sec during a total operation time of 10
min. This cycle is repeated for a full day. On the other hand,
the machine should be able to give 300 A without the need of

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 International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS)
Volume VIII, Issue II, February 2019 | ISSN 2278-2540

a rest. Fig. 15 shows the thermal image of the welding the appearance of the welded workpiece also gives an idea to
machine circuit after 1 hour of continious 300 A operation. the user. Fig. 15 shows a workpiece welded with MIG
The ambient temperature was around 20 degrees for this welding technique.
particular test.

Fig. 17. Welded Workpiece

Fig. 15. Temperature Distribution The welding workpiece has a uniform wavy surface, where
width and height are very similar. Also, full thermal
The machine is designed to give its maximum efficiency at penetration has been achieved since the edges are in a good
400A which results in 17.2 kW of power. Fig. 16 shows the shape. For these reasons the welding can be considered as a
power vs efficiency graph of the welding machine. good quality welding.
VI. CONCLUSION
Power vs Efficiency
In this study, a DSP- based inverter welding machine is
90 designed and implemented. Peak current mode control method
80 is used with outer current loop for MMA and outer voltage
70 loop for MIG-MAG welding. Conventional welding machines
are both inefficient and heavy whereas inverter-based welding
60
machines are not only lighter but more efficient. Comparing
Efficiency

50 to analog based conventional welding machines, digital

40 control gives configuration flexibility. In addition, since there
30 is an isolated CANBUS module, the machine can be used in
20 robotic welding applications.
10 REFERENCES
0 [1] Blasco N. , Martinez A. “Evaluation of Power Converters for
MMA Arc Welding”
0 5 10 15 20 [2] Koparan A. “Implementation of 200 Ampere, High Frequency
Switching DC and AC/DC Arc Welding Mahcine”, M. Sc. Thesis,
Power 2010
[3] Bjorgvnsson J. B. , Cook G. E. , Andersen K. , “Microprocessor
Based Arc Voltage Control for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Using
Fig. 16. Efficiency Graph Gain Scheduling”
[4] Fundamentals of Power Electronics, Robert W. Erickson
The welding quality is defined based on some certain [5] Ridley R, “A New Small-Signal Model For Current Mode
requirements. The first requirement is, that the finished Control”, PhD Dissertation, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1990
welded product should be in accordance with the aimed joint [6] Switching Power Supply Topology Voltage Mode vs. Current
dimensions. The second one is that the joint point should be Mode, Robert Mammano
strong and there should be no cracks on the surface. Although
these properties are tested with welding inspection machines,

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