Jannie Bronkhorst, product manager for Welding and Automation at ESAB South Africa, talks about the WeldModes incorporated into the latest range of ESAB Warrior® Edge Power sources and associated equipment to optimise productivity and promote consistency and quality.
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The Warrior Edge power source is designed to be used seamlessly with the RobustFeed Edge wire feeder, which features an effective and quick to set-up operator management system and an RFID-reader to scan operator badges.
ESAB’s latest Warrior® Edge 500 DX multi-process welding power system features a range of new WeldModes to optimise the welding performance for specific applications, including thin/sheet materials, root welding, root welding of pipe, and high speed open arc welding applications.
Advanced WeldModes for MIG/MAG/GMAW welding include: THIN, ROOT, ROOT Pipe and SPEED, while an Advanced Pulse WeldMode is also available for enhanced arc stability and weld pool control at faster travel speeds and higher average currents, all of which offer reduced spatter for less post-weld clean-up.
“With Warrior Edge DX, manufacturers and fabricators can change good welders into great welders, while optimising productivity, improving quality and consistency, and simplify training,” says Jannie Bronkhorst of ESAB South Africa.
In addition, the user interface has been made exceptionally welder friendly. Users set up the machine after a wire spool change by choosing the material being welded on an intuitive TFT LCD interface attached to the RobustFeed Edge DX wire feeder. The feeder’s front panel features day-to-day controls, Quick Job (memory) buttons, WeldMode selection, and RFID badge-controlled access to promote consistency and to help manage workforces with varying degrees of skill.
ESAB’s new Warrior Edge 500 DX also comes with built-in connectivity and a lifetime subscription to the InduSuite WeldCloud Fleet of online software applications developed to help fabricators track and optimise production progress, quality, and compliance.
Productivity enhancing short-arc WeldModes
The THIN WeldMode for short-arc MIG/MAG/GMAW welding has been introduced to reduce spatter levels and heat input into the weld joint, which minimises distortion when welding thin plates from 0.75 to 3.0 mm (22 to 11 gauge).
Also based on the short-arc MIG/MAG/GMAW welding process, ROOT WeldMode is optimised for root passes on plates in all welding positions. It creates a smooth, low spatter arc, even while weaving, making the arc easier to direct and control.
In addition to above features, ROOT Pipe mode offers excellent gap bridging capabilities and is optimised for vertical down pipe-root welding applications.
The THIN, ROOT and ROOT Pipe WeldModes all use an enhanced short-arc transfer processes with a novel type of adaptive current control that delivers consistent and smooth metal transfer for a more stable weld puddle. “Improved stability gives the operator better control even when welding at faster travel speeds, plus it suppresses the conditions that lead to the formation of spatter,” explains Bronkhorst.
Even though these WeldModes deliver lower heat input for reduced distortion, their gap-bridging ability promotes consistent fusion without excessive reinforcement on the underside of the joint. In addition, there is no need for an additional voltage sensing cable, which simplifies set-up and reduces the risk of mistakes.
SPEED WeldMode and synergic welding
The new SPEED mode creates a more focused arc by taking a conventional spray transfer arc and overlaying a modified pulsed current waveform over the top of it, which stiffens the arc. The benefits of SPEED mode include improved control at higher travel speeds, reduced spatter, deeper more focused penetration in fillet welds, and the ability to weld in narrower grooves with a lower risk of fusion defects.
The Warrior Edge 500 DX also offers synergic Pulse MIG WeldMode, conventional and synergic MIG/MAG welding, MMAW/SMAW, Live TIG and carbon arc gouging, and it comes with a rated welding power output of 500 A at 60% duty cycle.
The new capabilities embedded in the Warrior Edge 500 DX enable ordinary welders to benefit from sophisticated WeldModes without needing continuous training or relying too much on individual operator skill, continues Bronkhorst. The intelligence inside the system makes set-up fast and welding easy. When using a synergic WeldMode, operators can fine-tune performance simply by adjusting the wire feed speed and trim control knobs, and the system will maintain optimised arc characteristics and deliver excellent weld quality results.
Warrior Edge systems also offer an Arc Dynamics function where the operator can set welding parameters and fine-tune them by turning a single knob: creating a more focused arc for faster travel speed when making fillet welds; adjusting arc energy for specific welding conditions; and optimising stability for a specific travel speeds, wire stick-out for better control of the weld pool, and weld bead geometry. Arc Dynamics works in all synergic WeldModes to provide customised control over welding.
The Warrior Edge power source is designed to be used seamlessly with the RobustFeed Edge wire feeder, which features an effective and quick to set-up operator management system and an RFID-reader to scan operator badges. This allows parameter-limit locking for improved repeatability and adherence to weld procedure specifications (WPSs).
The feeder also features ESAB’s new TrueFlow digital gas control technology for greater gas shielding precision, confidence and cost savings. The system automatically prevents insufficient gas flow and optimises flow during arc starts and welding, a common source of quality issues and wasted gas. TrueFlow can save between R1 200 and R25 000 per year, per machine, in gas wastage for typical use cases, Jannie Bronkhorst reveals.
Together, the Warrior® Edge 500 DX multi-process power source and RobustFeed Edge DX wire feeder with THIN, ROOT, ROOT Pipe, SPEED and Pulse WeldModes, offer better arc stability and control at faster travel speeds with reduce spatter.
“Developed with productivity in mind, the Warrior® Edge is one of the most advanced MIG/MAG/GMAW welding systems ESAB has ever built. The new streamlined interface delivers easy-to-set welding parameters for the machine to deliver excellent welding performance.
“Reduced welding times, post weld cleaning and repair rates, with better finished weld quality, along with the work flow efficiency improvements available from WeldCloud™ will surely deliver value for money and a rapid return on a Warrior® Edge 500 DX investment,” concludes Jannie Bronkhorst.
