The 5200 model from mainland China's Solary has a 15 to 75 percent duty cycle rating and is suitable for auto body repair.

Equipped with advanced electronic components, new units have an adjustable arc force and a higher duty cycle rating.

Welding machine suppliers in mainland China and Taiwan are releasing designs that feature greater efficiency. This comes as demand for high-performance units continues to grow, driven by soaring metal costs.

Models are being equipped with an adjustable arc force. This enables the user to set the output current according to the requirement of the material to be joined, increasing welding precision.

Many companies are also improving the circuitry by incorporating an insulated gate bipolar transistor in the design.

An upgrade of the MOSFET, the IGBT can generate extremely high electric pulses that are necessary to strike and maintain the welding arc.

The device, together with the passive power factor corrector installed in the system, conducts this process with minimal energy and heat loss.

New models also feature a better duty cycle specification, with most having a 40 to 100 percent rating.

This performance parameter indicates the length at which a welding machine can work continuously under full load within a 10-minute period.

Disregarding the unit’s duty cycle limitation may overstress the power generation system, resulting in premature failure.

Mainland suppliers interviewed for this report said designs with a high duty cycle rating consume 30 percent less power than traditional units.

Precision welding is likewise the trend in Taiwan. R&D efforts at most companies are geared toward computer-run models.

Equipped with a microcontroller, automatic and semiautomatic designs are suitable for the automotive, naval, aviation and electronic industries.

Spot, seam, projection, flash, MIG, TIG and carbon dioxide laser welding machines are among the types being offered in the island.

These are either stand-alone units or integrated in turnkey production assemblies.

Besides efficient designs, miniature models are gaining ground in both the mainland and Taiwan. This is because their small and lightweight structures make them convenient to use in working environments with limited space such as in pipeline construction.

	Hero of Taiwan offers the DS-162 model, a welding machine with an output current of 20 to 160A. It measures 211x400x240mm and weighs 11kg.

Suppliers are creating high-performance welding machines that cater to industrial applications.

In the mainland, Shenzhen Huayilong Industrial Co. Ltd has introduced the ZX7 inverter series that can perform both TIG and MMA welding functions, and process carbon and stainless steel. The design has an auto-lock feature and a digital display.

Carbon dioxide laser welding machines from the company are equipped with an adjustable arc force, which enables them to handle low-carbon steel and steel alloy.

Shezhen Huayilong also offers the ARC130 model that allows control of the weld pool depth, making it suitable for fusing thin plates. Hardware and ornament manufacture is the target application.

The product’s power consumption is below 100W, which is 50 percent less compared with older designs.

All these releases also have compact structures.

Following the miniaturization trend, Zhejiang Juba Welding Equipment Mfg Co. Ltd has launched the BX1- 130B model measuring 48x25x38cm and weighing 16kg.

Among suppliers featured in this report, Zhejiang Juba is the only company that targets the DIY segment.

The selection from Solary Electric Equipment Co. Ltd, on the other hand, still consists of regular-sized designs. To enhance mobility, however, the company is fitting them with handles and wheels.

Solary is collaborating with domestic sheet metal factories to render buyer-specified shapes and sizes.

Welding machines from the mainland bear the CCC and CE marks. Products from Mitec Welding Equipment (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd also have class B insulation and an IP21 rating.

In Taiwan, Yuh Shin Electric Co. Ltd has released the YS-PA063 model, a portable single-phase pneumatic spot welder featuring a maximum output current of 5,500A.

Units from Hao Thing Electricity Machinery Co. Ltd cater primarily to the automotive industry. The supplier’s spot and multispot designs are used in creating bicycle parts and car exhaust pipes, while its seam welding machines are employed in shock absorber and fuel tank fabrication.

Hao Thing’s OEM clients include Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, General Motors and Ford.

At Hero Power Technology Corp., new models have a 40 to 100 percent duty cycle rating and a pulse current ranging from 5 to 300A.

Taiwan-made welding machines are exported to Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. More than half of shipments are under in-house brands.