Heat Exchanger for Tig Welder Applications
Problem statement
The arc welding process operates under extremely high current load and frequently requires a cooling system to maintain adequate weld quality and appropriate temperature in the welding cable. One existing solution includes increasing the cross-sectional area of the copper conductor, lowering resistive heating in the cable, however, this contributes to operator fatigue and wrist strain due to the excess weight. The more common solution is a liquid-cooled heat exchanger which extracts heat from the cable with coolant and dissipates it in the atmosphere through a heat sink [2]. The current cooling solutions are overengineered – they consume more power than necessary and are larger and heavier than they need to be. However, liquid-cooled heat exchangers allow for a 100% duty cycle, without any drop in manufacturing time, providing a valuable service to the company and its operators. The team’s goal is to optimize the heat exchanger to extract the most heat while consuming the least amount of power, occupying a space of 126mm x 165mm x 165mm, and having a manufacturing cost of under $80.
Team members
Katie Argo – leader
Jack Brau – communicator
Trenton Wilfert – accountant
Jacob Melka – admin
Client