ESAB Fabricator 181i, Service Manual

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ESAB FABRICATOR 181i
Manual 0-5449 3-1 SAFETY AND INSTALLATION
3.01 Duty Cycle
The rated duty cycle of a Welding Power Source, is a statement of the time it may be operated at its rated welding current output with-
out exceeding the temperature limits of the insulation of the component parts. To explain the 10 minute duty cycle period the following
example is used. Suppose a Welding Power Source is designed to operate at a 20% duty cycle, 180 amperes at 23 volts. This means
that it has been designed and built to provide the rated amperage (180 A) for 2 minutes, i.e. arc welding time, out of every 10 minute
period (20% of 10 minutes is 2 minutes). During the other 8 minutes of the 10 minute period the Welding Power Source must idle and
be allowed to cool.
A-10352
Duty Cycle (per
centage)
Safe
Operating
Region
0
20 40 60
80
100
120 140 160 180
30
50
70
90
40
60
20
10
80 100
0
Welding Current (amps)
STICK (SMAW)
TIG (GTAW)
MIG (GMAW/FCAW)
Figure 3-1: Fabricator 181i Duty Cycle
SECTION 3:
SAFETY AND INSTALLATION