Here is something to implement at the later date in your project. My Lincoln
175 which I use primarily for tig welding has a fixed time for Argon post
weld flow. This can waste a lot of gas if you are stitching and touching up
the welds the do not stay very hot for long time after the arc has
extinguished. The post flow time should be based on the duration and current
used at the time of the last weld. This is a job for a micro but it could be
done with discrete circuitry. Since I still feel very much like a newb at
this, I'd appreciate any comments.
I think that what you say makes sense. I would say, go for it, but
have a lower minimum on postflow time to avoid programming bugs
ruining your tungstens.
On my welder, postflow time is settable. I can say that, for example,
postflow should be 8.4 seconds and preflow should be 5.3 seconds and
starting current would be 44.8 amps and the welding current would be
78 amps and the time to reach welding current should be 3.2 seconds
and s0o on and so forth. It is a programmable welding machine, which
is kind of nice.
Later on, when I am done with my current inverter project (whether I
succeed or blow up the IGBTs), I may try to do an automatic welding
setup where the tig torch is moved along a straight line at a
predetermined speed and the welder is controlled from a linux laptop,
let's say. But I should not scatter myself too much, right now I am
focused on the inverter.
i