How to make a semi-automatic machine from a PATON PRO inverter and an independent wire feeder

PATON welding inverters of the professional PRO series can act as a source of welding current for semi-automatic welding. To do this, they have the necessary current-voltage characteristic at the output of the power sockets. An independent wire feeder made by PATON or another manufacturer, with its own power supply, can be used as an external wire feeder. The connection diagram of the wire feed units for each specific unit is individual and therefore is not given in the instruction manual for PATON PRO machines. You can find such a diagram in the operating instructions for a specific feed unit.

Connecting independent PATON Feeder wire feeders is much easier, as they already have all the necessary connectors and operating modes.

To prepare for work in semi-automatic mode, you need:

• Insert the ground cable into the PATON PRO power supply socket "-".
• Connect the ground terminal to the product.
• Connect the power jumper (power cable coming out of the wire feeder) to the "+" socket of the welding power source.
• Connect the signal cable of the feeder to the socket of the power source (on the back of the machine). When operating in semi-automatic mode, only 2 contacts of this connector are used, which are closed at the moment when the source should work and open at the moment when the source should be turned off.
• Connect the semi-automatic welding torch to the wire feeder.
• Mount the reducer on a gas cylinder with "CO2" or "Ar+CO2" shielding gas.
• Connect the gas hose to the gas bottle reducer and to the fitting on the wire feed unit.
• Open the valve of the gas cylinder, check the tightness.
• Connect the power supply of the wire feeder to the mains.
• Turn on the feed mechanism with its own switch.
• Switch on the welding power source.
• Using the welding mode switch button on the power source, select the MIG/MAG welding mode.
• Use the “+” and “-“ buttons on the power source to set the required welding voltage.
• Set the desired wire feed speed on the wire feed unit.
• If necessary, adjust additional functions of the welding process.

ATTENTION!!! When welding ferrous metals, as a rule, carbon dioxide "CO2" is used as a shielding gas, and when welding aluminum, only inert gases such as argon "Ar" or helium "He" are used. For stainless and high-alloy steels, mixtures of these gases are often used in various proportions, for example "80% Ar + 20% CO2".

Don't forget the shielding gas supply! If you have no experience in setting the optimal pressure for welding a particular product, then for a start the gas pressure can be set higher than the optimal value, ~ 0.2 MPa, this will have little effect on the welding process, only slightly increasing the consumption of shielding gas. It is also recommended to start from the middle positions of the wire feed speed on the feed mechanism (~ 6..8 m/min) and the voltage on the source (~ 19V), with any diameter of the installed wire (Ø 0.6 ... 1.2 mm). The indicated parameter values ​​​​are not ideal, but with the correct operation of the power source, even wire feed (without jerks), as well as the correct connection, this "power source + feed unit" bundle should already weld. To achieve the best result, you need to adjust the voltage at the source and the wire feed speed on the feed unit in accordance with the general recommendations for the semi-automatic welding process. For each specific case, these parameters are different, since they are influenced by many factors: the thickness and composition of the metal being welded, the diameter and grade of the welding wire, the ambient temperature, the temperature of the product, etc. That is why the optimal values ​​of the voltage parameters and wire feed speed are selected by the welder independently.