WIRE WELDING AND GRINDING STATION

Abstract

A wire welding and grinding station (100) comprises a wire welder (112), an AC electrical motor (114) for powering a metal grinder (116), and an AC power supply (110) for supplying electrical power to both the wire welder (112) and the electrical AC motor (114). The station (100) further comprises a soft start module (118) to reduce inrush current demanded by the electrical AC motor (114) while starting. The use of the soft start module (118) allows using a battery (102) as power supply and the use of a battery as power supply has the advantage of practical movability and stable welding currents.

Claims

1. A wire welding and grinding station, said station comprising a wire welder, an AC electrical motor for powering a metal grinder, and an AC power supply for supplying electrical power to both said wire welder and said electrical AC motor, said station further comprising a soft start module to reduce inrush current demanded by said electrical AC motor while starting.

2. The wire welding and grinding station according to claim 1, said AC power supply being a DC/AC converter, said station further comprising a battery, said battery supplying power to said inverter.

3. The wire welding and grinding station according to claim 2, said station further comprising a ground fault circuit interrupter, said ground fault circuit interrupter being located between said inverter, on the one side, and the welding electrodes and AC electrical motor, at the other side.

4. The wire welding and grinding station according to claim 2, said station further comprising a battery charge indicator to show an operator when said battery should be recharged.

5. The wire welding and grinding station according to claim 1, said station constituting a unit that can be moved by one single operator.

6. The wire welding and grinding station according to claim 2, said station further comprising a portable cart, said cart being designed to hold a backup battery and a battery charger.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES IN THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a general scheme of a combined welding and grinding station according to the invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 schematically shows a portable cart as ancillary device for a combined welding and grinding station.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0021] Starting with FIG. 1, a combined welding and grinding station 100 according to the invention has a deep cycle 12 Volt battery 102 that supplies DC current 104 to a 120 Volt power inverter 106. This inverter 106 must be large enough to provide 15 ampere AC needed for providing the desired welds of steel wires. A ground fault circuit interrupter 108 is positioned on the AC connection between the inverter 106 and the rest of the station 100. The inverter provides AC current 110 to the wire welder 112 and the electrical AC motor 114 which drives the grinder 116. The electrical AC motor 114 has a 120 volt soft start module 118 to reduce the inrush current demanded by the electrical AC motor 114 during start-up. The small delay caused by this soft start module 118 has no noticeable impact on the usability. An example of a soft start module would be a Schneider Electric model ATS01N112FT Soft Start Module.

[0022] The wire welder 112 is further equipped with two holding dies 120, 122 each of which holds a wire end 124, 126 to be welded together. The holding dies 120, 122 allow to align the wire ends 124, 126, to press them together and to feed them with electrical current to perform the weld. Furthermore, the welding and grinding station 100

[0023] Going to FIG. 2, the combined welding and grinding station 100 may also have as auxiliary equipment a portable cart 202 that has a backup battery 204 and a 120 volt battery charger. The backup battery 204 is charged by the 120 volt charger using a minimal length of electrical cord 208 to a standard infrastructure electrical connection. The cart can be safely and efficiently moved from and to the welding and grinding station 100. This has the additional advantage that the welding and grinding station 100 remains at the point of use during power replenishment.

[0024] Each welding and grinding station 100 is capable of producing over 40 welds per battery charge, where the exact number depends upon the steel wire diameter. Practice has shown that the welding and grinding station 100 can be used over at least twelve hours.

[0025] The welding and grinding station according to the invention is particularly suitable for welding and grinding low-carbon steel wires and high-carbon steel wires, steel cords and steel ropes.

[0026] Low-carbon steel wires may have wire diameters ranging from 0.4 mm to 10.0 mm.

[0027] High-carbon steel wires may have wire diameters ranging from 0.10 mm up to 15.0 mm and above.

[0028] Steel cords comprise several steel filaments that are twisted together. The diameter of the steel filaments ranges from 0.15 mm up to 0.60 mm, e.g. from 0.15 mm to 0.40 mm for tire cord purposes.

[0029] The term diameter used here does not necessarily mean that the wires or filaments all have a circular cross-section. The diameter of a non-circular wire or filament is the diameter of a circle having the same cross-section as the non-circular wire or filament.

[0030] In case of steel cords, all filaments or only part of them will be welded together.

[0031] Low carbon steel wires typically have a carbon content ranging between 0.04 wt % and 0.20 wt %. A complete composition of a low-carbon steel wire may be along following lines: A carbon content of 0.06 wt %, a silicon content of 0.166 wt %, a chromium content of 0.042 wt %, a copper content of 0.173 wt %, a manganese content of 0.382 wt %, a molybdenum content of 0.013 wt %, a nitrogen content of 0.006 wt %, a nickel content of 0.077 wt %, a phosphorus content of 0.007 wt %, a sulphur content of 0.013 wt %, the remainder being iron and unavoidable impurities.

[0032] High-carbon steel wires typically have a carbon content ranging from 0.40 wt % to 1.20 wt %, e.g. 0.70 wt % to 1.1 wt %; a manganese content ranging from 0.10 wt % to 1.0 wt %, e.g. from 0.20 wt % to 0.80 wt %; a silicon content ranging from 0.10 wt % to 1.50 wt %, e.g. from 0.15 wt % to 0.70 wt %; a sulphur content below 0.03 wt %, e.g. below 0.01 wt %; a phosphorus content below 0.03 wt %, e.g. below 0.01 wt %, the remainder being iron and possible microalloying elements as chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, copper, niobium in amounts maximum up to 0.4 wt %.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0033] 100 combined welding and grinding station [0034] 102 battery [0035] 104 DC current [0036] 106 inverter [0037] 108 GFCI [0038] 110 AC current [0039] 112 wire welder [0040] 114 electrical AC motor [0041] 116 grinder [0042] 118 soft start module [0043] 120 holding die [0044] 122 holding die [0045] 124 wire end [0046] 126 wire end [0047] 128 battery charge indicator [0048] 202 portable cart [0049] 204 spare battery or backup battery [0050] 206 volt charger [0051] 208 electrical cord