Is Your Old Resistance Welding Control the Reason For Your Costly Energy Bill?
We all know that your resistance welding control needs to check the boxes for all the core criteria when it comes to your welding operation; ensuring weld consistency, weld quality, and low maintenance are at the top of the list. But sometimes, things that may not seem obvious can show up as hidden (or at least excessive) costs that drag down your company’s bottom line. And while most of us on the production care more about ensuring the line keeps moving, producing high-quality welds and cost savings don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Take, for example, one of these most overlooked yet impactful cost centers for any resistance welding operation: Energy Consumption.
The nature of resistance welding requires significant power to produce consistent and quality welds. Unfortunately, the SCR controls we typically see often draw more current and perform far less efficiently than newer technologies.
South African company Clifford Machines & Technology decided to perform a side-by-side comparison of the advanced WeldComputer Adaptive Control as a replacement for their standard SCR control.
Like most manufacturers using SCR controls, Clifford’s overall goal was to find a solution that helped them produce better weld quality and consistency. What they soon found out was that using a WeldComputer control could also:
- Drive the AC transformers in their equipment and avoid the replacement costs of moving to MFDC transformers
- Balance the load across all 3-phase power line phases
- Achieve better current regulation that ensures their welding process is immune from power line fluctuations
- Reduce their energy consumption by significantly improving their machine’s energy efficiency
Clifford’s team compared the WeldComputer control against their existing SCR control using the weld size as a benchmark to conduct this analysis. The benefits of using the WeldComputer control were clear:
- WeldComputer draws 42.9% less current to achieve the same weld
- WeldComputer control draws 43% less kVA from the power company to achieve the same weld
- WeldComputer control has nearly 100% energy conversion efficiency
Clifford achieved exceptional energy savings, significant ROI impact, and higher quality welding than achieved with their existing SCR control. The report highlights: “WeldComputer is roughly 45% more efficient to obtain the same [welding] results. So if energy consumption/efficiency and overall reticulation balance are driving factors in a design, the Weldcomputer is the controller to use”.
With modern technology like WeldComputer’s Adaptive control, it might be time for your business to consider upgrading to achieve better welding quality while also reducing your operational costs.
Our team of experts is here to help you find the best fit for your resistance welding operation. Fill out the form below to learn more about how WeldComputer can help your resistance welding operation achieve similar results.
