TIG Perfect - Adds Pulse Functionality To Your TIG Welder - Built With Propeller!
Hey guys,
First off I wanted to thank everyone for their help and answering all of my questions on these forums. I am a software engineer, and this is my first electronics project that I have completed - was definitely a good learning experience. I hope to do many more!
Now to my project:
TIG Perfect is a plug and play device for your TIG Welder. This device adds pulsing functionality to your under-equipped/less-expensive welder, at a fraction of the cost of buying a welder with these features built into it.
Here is how it works: the TIG welder uses a 0-10v signal for the pedal position... my device reads this signal as an input, and generates a new signal output based on this input and user settings. Some of my challenges that I had when developing this is that a TIG welder (or any welder really) emits a TON of interference. I had to design this device to be able to withstand this interference and not reset or become damaged from prolonged exposure. This involved creating various filters on the power supply rails, the addition of protective circuitry, and using more tolerant electrical components. Having solid grounds to the case was also very important to better shield the circuit.
Photos of the device:
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_1.jpg
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_2.jpg
Here are some photos of the circuit board for you to check out:
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_board_1.jpg
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_board_2.jpg
I also made a video to demonstrate how it works for youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWwz9YVqho
Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any questions about it, thanks!
First off I wanted to thank everyone for their help and answering all of my questions on these forums. I am a software engineer, and this is my first electronics project that I have completed - was definitely a good learning experience. I hope to do many more!
Now to my project:
TIG Perfect is a plug and play device for your TIG Welder. This device adds pulsing functionality to your under-equipped/less-expensive welder, at a fraction of the cost of buying a welder with these features built into it.
Here is how it works: the TIG welder uses a 0-10v signal for the pedal position... my device reads this signal as an input, and generates a new signal output based on this input and user settings. Some of my challenges that I had when developing this is that a TIG welder (or any welder really) emits a TON of interference. I had to design this device to be able to withstand this interference and not reset or become damaged from prolonged exposure. This involved creating various filters on the power supply rails, the addition of protective circuitry, and using more tolerant electrical components. Having solid grounds to the case was also very important to better shield the circuit.
Photos of the device:
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_1.jpg
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_2.jpg
Here are some photos of the circuit board for you to check out:
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_board_1.jpg
http://www.Jattus.com/Dump2/tig_perfect_board_2.jpg
I also made a video to demonstrate how it works for youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWwz9YVqho
Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any questions about it, thanks!
Comments
Congrats on your product, it looks great!
I went ahead and sent him an e-mail, hopefully he gets back to me. Thanks!
Are you still doing welding now? Just curious. One of the wave forms I programmed it to do is a triangle and sawtooth wave, so I think this is what you mean by up & down slope amp ramping maybe?
Good job. :thumb: Well engineered and nicely implemented!
Great Product and use of the Propeller!
I would modify your youTube video as to "all USA" parts as the 4D is made in Australia, but can be bought in the US through Parallax and other US distributors.
The up and down slope is used to ramp up the amperage after a arc start sequence is finished. The arc is started at a very low amperage (1 amp) then gradually ramped up to your weld amperage (maybe 10 amps, whatever) over say, 5 seconds. At the end of your weld, the amperage is ramped down from 10 amps (for instance) down to 1 or 2 amps. This is used to control the HAZ Heat Affected Zone of your weld so the crystalline structure of the steel is modified so as to prevent stress cracks at the start and finish of a weld.
I do not do the precision welding anymore but would be happy to talk to you about precision machine welding and metallurgical stuff. Your Prop circuit is a major accomplishment and adding these features should be an easy one, and one that potential customers would look for. PM me if you are interested.
I really like the idea of adding an option especially for ramping down the amperage when finished welding. I'm currently trying to figure out a way that I can add more options to the screen and still have the wave form graph visible. I need a larger screen!! haha
If you can live without color, these little OLED displays from Itead Studio work great and cost $5.
Here's video showing the display in use.
Since I was so short on RAM in my CNC project, I have the Propeller reading both the graphics and the fonts from the SD card. The little beanie bouncing around on the display is being read in from the SD card each time it changes position. The ROM font is the only only font used not on the SD card.
They don't look as nice as the color OLED display but for $5 each you could use several on the front panel.
BTW, Fantastic project! The TIG Perfect looks great! I'm very impressed. I also liked your video and I rarely like product videos.