Welding power supply with digital controller
A welding power supply including power conversion circuitry adapted to receive a primary source of power, to utilize one or more power semiconductor switches to chop the primary source of power, and to convert the chopped power to a welding output is provided. The provided welding power supply includes a pulse width modulated (PWM) digital controller including gate drive circuitry that generates a PWM output signal that controls the switching of the one or more power semiconductor switches. The PWM output signal includes a duty cycle term corrected for one or more sources of error in the welding system.
1. A welding power supply comprising:
power conversion circuitry comprising one or more power semiconductor switches, wherein the power conversion circuitry is configured to receive power from a primary source and to switch the one or more power semiconductor switches between an ON configuration and an OFF configuration to convert the received power to a welding output; and
a pulse width modulated (PWM) digital controller coupled to the power conversion circuitry and configured to calculate a maximum duty cycle based at least in part on an operating condition of the welding power supply, and to control switching of the one or more power semiconductor switches to maintain a duty cycle of the power conversion circuitry below the calculated maximum duty cycle.
2. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the PWM digital controller is configured to calculate a minimum duty cycle based at least in part on the operating condition of the welding power supply, and to control switching of the one or more power semiconductor switches to maintain the duty cycle of the power conversion circuitry above the calculated minimum duty cycle.
3. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the power conversion circuitry comprises an inverter-type power supply that comprises at least one of a forward circuit, a full bridge inverter, a half bridge inverter, and a flyback circuit.
4. The welding power supply of claim 3 , wherein the power conversion circuitry further comprises a pre-regulator circuit.
5. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the power conversion circuitry comprises a chopper circuit configured to utilize a line frequency transformer to transform an AC line voltage to a welding voltage and a welding current.
6. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the operating condition of the welding power supply comprises a welding process of the welding power supply.
7. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the operating condition of the welding power supply comprises a current level of the welding output.
8. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the operating condition of the welding power supply comprises a voltage level of the welding output.
9. The welding power supply of claim 1 , wherein the operating condition of the welding power supply comprises a bus voltage of the welding power supply.