by Bruce Chantry and Matthew Albright
The Lincoln Electric Company
Additionally, today’s inverters feature advanced input voltage protection – a must for high-performance use on job sites where power supplied to the machines isn’t always necessarily robust or reliable, and instead can be more erratic. Lincoln Electric worked with some large end user customers to develop the latest inverter technology so that it is capable of surviving as much as 1000-volt input spikes on the job, and their machines have survived and continued to operate.
Monitoring Capabilities
The latest inverters not only offer design features targeted to the construction market, but also provide data collection capabilities through special weld data acquisition tools, which previously have only been feasible for use in factory environments. The increased availability of mobile technology has made tracking at the construction site feasible, allowing for both monitoring of weld performance on site and post-project review back at the office.

Traditional field welding solutions, by the nature of their simple design, previously have been unable to use software tools to store and recall procedures. They have no procedural memories and lack a reliable way to lock operators out of procedural tampering. However, rugged new add-on modules, such as Lincoln Electric’s Arc Tracker®, now permit weld parameter monitoring, providing verification of PQRs with a simple plug-and-play connection with any DC welding power source and the use of voltage sense leads.
That’s no longer the case, thanks to ongoing engineering in the inverter-based welder market. Today’s inverters combine the traditional benefits of less weight and a smaller footprint with high output and more robust multi-process capabilities, bundling high performance into a rugged design that stands up to harsh environments – and at a cost that matches similar conventional equipment.
Simply put, today’s inverter welders deliver distinct advantages over larger conventional electrical or engine-driven power sources and should be a standard tool in the equipment arsenal on any construction site.
Expected to transform Cleveland’s downtown when it opens in fall 2013, the $465 million complex used 11,700 tons of steel. It’s no surprise that welding has played a significant role in the job. Welding crews used 12 Lincoln Electric Flextec™ 450 inverters on the site, configured in 4-Pack Racks at various areas within the jobsite.