Needs help for welding machine modification project.

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I am doing a project to increase the duty cycle of this machine.I wish to know whether the output current of this machine is AC or DC?How do I improve this machine duty cycle ? (increase the machine duty cycle, make it can perform welding for longer time)Please post your idea, I am very appreciate your help!Attachment below was the use manual of this machine from manufacturer. Attached ImagesDY%20138.pdf (122.7 KB, 449 views)
Reply:It says in the manual that it is DC. "Every choice you make will effect at least one other person"
Reply:Originally Posted by windsonI am doing a project to increase the duty cycle of this machine.I wish to know whether the output current of this machine is AC or DC?How do I improve this machine duty cycle ? (increase the machine duty cycle, make it can perform welding for longer time)Please post your idea, I am very appreciate your help!Attachment below was the use manual of this machine from manufacturer.
Reply:It's an AC welder.  There is nothing you can do to increase the duty cycle.  Save your time, and money and buy a decent welder.  You will be glad you did in the long run.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I second Mr. Hammack's opinion. Thre's really nothing that can be done to change something as fundamental as duty cycle without changing most all of the internal components. A new machine wold be my approach. .Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:Check out how I increased the duty cycle of my plasma cutter.  Its a linde 30 amp.  Want to sweep the floor? Just plug it in and roll it around.  Its the only 220 volt blower I could find.  Its wired on low speed out of 3.  Guess what I cut the hole in the top with?David Last edited by David R; 09-04-2007 at 03:59 PM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:if i add a fan to this machine (total 2 fans), will it increase the duty cycle of this machine?or i had an idea to attach heatsink at the welding transformer of this machine, will it increase the duty cycle of this machine?
Reply:Fans would help, but not much.  Its a small light duty cycle machine.  Its hard and time consuming to re invent the wheel.  Get a bigger machine.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:this is a project, i has to improve its duty cycle, because the objectives of this projects was increase its duty cycle.
Reply:A few quick questions:-Is this a school project, or personal?-Is there a budget limit?-Is this a theoretical project, or do you have the welder in front of you, and you need to make measurements before and after modifications?That might help in narrowing or broadening the responses we can give.cricman
Reply:this is an university project, yes, personal.yes, the budget is considered. cant cost too much.is theoritical + practical project, welder is infront me, i need to modify the welder. i need to make measurement before and after modification.please help me...please give me some comment.
Reply:Two things that might help to increase the duty cycle:Duct the airflow through the transformer, maybe use a second fan for thisUse a cooling gas with better thermal properties than air at ambient. This could be done using a gas other than air, or by cooling the air below ambient before it goes into the machine.
Reply:i am just considers to add a fan to this machine, but i dont know what coolent air is appropriate to this machine, can give me some suggestion, how much does it cost?
Reply:I see that is a 230 volt fan. The first thing I would explore is to see if I could find the cfm of the fan either listed on the fan or through researching the part number. Replacing the fan with one of considerable more cfm of a known value could then be compared to a resultant increase (hopefully) of duty cycle in time. So if it is a 150 cfm fan replace it with a 200 cfm or--or---that's the idea anyway. Another method of measurement that could produce faster results than actually running it to it's duty cycle each time would be attach an external referrenced thermometer righ to the iron core itself on a side away from and farthest from the airflow. Measure increases/decreases in temperature in time increments.
Reply:Keep in mind the louvers were designed for a certain amount of airflow, so a large increase in cfm might not be fully realized with the louvers "as is" but initial tests would indicate whether you were moving in the right direction or not. I would think that increasing duty cycle without modifying the body of the machine would be the 1st choice.If acceptable results were acheived by increasing the airflow then possibly opening up the air ports would be 2nd choice. Again keep in mind the best results will be acheived by assuring air flow up and around and not necessarily straight through. So some restriction or channeling is required.
Reply:Encase the welder in a plastic tub, fill said tub with a non reactive liquid, then hook up a pump to circulate the fluid through an automotive radiator with a giant shop fan blowing through the radiator. That's essentially how they keep super computers cool, in fact my Mac desktop has the same system, but on a smaller scale.
Reply:Originally Posted by windsonI wish to know whether the output current of this machine is AC or DC?
Reply:You could also try liquid cooling, much like what is done with PC's, with a block on a heatsink, pump, heater core/radiator, the whole bit.  If you want to stay away from using liquid, probably a good idea with the voltages in use, try some peltiers(thermocoupler) but it too would need a heatsink and a fan to cool the heat it 'pulls' out. In any case be extremely careful with what you do and how you test it.
Reply:Originally Posted by Me!Good question... The manual states DC and labels the leads + and -, but page the last three pages contradict this.  There are no diodes in the parts list or in the parts view.  So I would say that it is AC!
Reply:Pls help....
Reply:The manual specs says DC output.You can measure the welding voltage across the +/- connections with a meter.  I think if the meter is set to read DCV, and the welder is really an AC output, the volt reading will cycle + and -.
Reply:As others have stated,In the real world, with a budget, you are limited to a few options that will only make a small difference.  -Add another fan, so you pull cool air in and push warm air out.  Make sure you consider air flow.  The single fan probably keeps one side of the transformer slightly cooler than the other.  Consider lifting the transformer off the the floor enough to let air move around it better.-As for heat sinks, it really isn't a practical option, unless you are going to change the size of the case, and even then you would have to consider doing something with the transformer itself, to get the heat from the windings and core to a heat sink.  If you had a budget, you could pot the transformer to completely insulate it.  Then you could remove it from the case and immerse it in an oil bath in another case.  You could then circulate the oil through a radiator to keep it cool. -You could remove the thermal switch, and run it till it bursts into flames, but that is a one shot Kamikaze option.  I don't recommend it.-Finally, move the machine to a cooler location; like one of the polar regions.  Again, not very practical.good luck,cricman
Reply:any updates ?