Does Duty Cycle Really Matter in Welding?

21 February 2020

Welding machines or welders play a pivotal role in joining metals and other materials together. They can fuse and join two part just by melting them and letting them cool after for a certain amount of time. Professionals use this tool with utmost care since they need to consider its duty cycle or else they will end up with a broken welding machine.

What is Duty Cycle?

The duty cycle of welding machines determines their maximum safe operating time at given amperage. Once the operating time has exceeded, most welding machines will then initiate the cool down process by completely shutting themselves down.

The duty cycle is expressed in a percentage out of 10 minutes. The remaining minutes are then used to cool down. So, if a welding machine has a 60% duty cycle, then it can only operate continuously for 6 minutes before it will restart itself for 4 minutes. On the other hand, a welding machine with an 80% duty cycle can operate for 8 minutes straight before cooling itself down for 2 minutes.

Changes in the duty cycle occur at different amperages. A welding machine will heat up faster if the output is set to higher amperage, resulting in the reduction of the duty cycle. Alternatively, a welding machine that operates in lower amperages gains an increased duty cycle. To illustrate, if a welder is operating at 200 amps, then its duty cycle will be at 30%. But if a welder operates at 110 amps, its duty cycle will peak at 100%.

Is it Important?

Knowing the duty cycle is extremely important in welding applications. If a high-quality welding machine has exceeded its duty cycle, its thermal overload protection will certainly kick in to save the day. However, even with some protection, some welding machines tend to catch fire most especially if they are used for too long.

Aside from fire hazards, knowing the duty cycle is significant on the welding application itself. The quality of the weld is greatly affected by the duration and other factors of the welding action. Some tend to always hit the duty cycle time limit, which can actually decrease the quality of the weld. Just imagine welding the most important parts together when suddenly, your welding machine turned off.

Knowing the duty cycle of the welding machine can significantly help you achieve high-quality welds. You will know when to stop on welding some parts and what part you should prioritise once the welding starts. You can also prevent any accidents since some thermal overload protection may not trigger once the duty cycle has exceeded.

The best possible way for you to know the duty cycle of your welding machine is to look for its specifications. It may come from your machine’s box or on the attached sticker. Some manufacturer website also shows the specifications of their products.

The duty cycle in welding is very important most especially if you want to perfect your weld. Knowing the duty cycle of your welding machine can also help you avoid hazardous incidents. To know more about the duty cycle and how it differs from one welding machine to another, you can call us now at Sharp Welding and Crane Hire Service.