Low-cost Open-Source Voltage and Current Monitor for Gas Metal Arc Weld 3-D Printing

Arduino open-source microcontrollers are well known in sensor applications for scientific equipment and for controlling RepRap 3-D printers. Recently low-cost open-source gas metal arc weld (GMAW) RepRap 3-D printers have been developed. The entry-level welders used have minimal controls and therefore lack any real-time measurement of welder voltage or current. The preliminary work on process optimization of GMAW 3-D printers requires a low-cost sensor and data logger system to measure welder current and voltage. This paper reports on the development of a low-cost open-source power measurement sensor system based on Arduino architecture. The sensor system was designed, built and tested with two entry-level MIG welders. The full bill of materials and open source designs are provided. Voltage and current were measured while making step-wise adjustments to the manual voltage setting on the welder. Three conditions were tested while welding with steel and aluminum wire on steel substrates to assess the role of electrode material, shield gas and welding velocity. The results showed that the open source sensor circuit performed as designed and could be constructed for <$100 in components representing a significant potential value through lateral scaling and replication in the 3- D printing community.

These files support the publication: A. Pinar, B. Wijnen, G. C. Anzalone, T. C. Havens, P. G. Sanders, J. M. Pearce. Low-cost Open-Source Voltage and Current Monitor for Gas Metal Arc Weld 3-D Printing. Journal of Sensors Vol. 2015, Article ID 876714, 8 pages, 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/876714

Arduino开源微控制器在科学设备中的传感器应用以及控制RepRap 3D打印机方面享有盛誉。近期，低成本开源的气体金属电弧焊（GMAW）RepRap 3D打印机已得到开发。入门级焊工所使用的设备控制功能有限，因此缺乏对焊机电压或电流的实时测量。针对GMAW 3D打印机的工艺优化初步研究，需要一套低成本的数据记录系统，以测量焊机电流和电压。本文报道了基于Arduino架构的低成本开源功率测量传感器系统的开发。该传感器系统经过设计、构建和测试，使用了两种入门级MIG焊机。提供了完整的物料清单和开源设计方案。在手动调整焊机电压设置的过程中，对电压和电流进行了测量。在钢基板上使用钢线和铝线进行焊接时，测试了三种条件，以评估电极材料、保护气体和焊接速度的作用。结果表明，开源传感器电路的性能符合设计要求，其组件成本低于100美元，通过横向扩展和3D打印社区的复制，具有显著的应用潜力。