A Welding cable is designed for use in electric arc welding machines to power an electrode, a specially designed metal rod, which conducts a charge. The charge carried by the electrode is needed to produce an electric arc, the heat source, between the electrode and the metals being welded, is welding cable oxygen free?
Welding cable is also composed of copper, the copper wiring provides better clarity of sound, and lasts longer than other. A welding cable is a cable that is designed for the purpose of handling high voltage currents.
These cables normally consist of a single layer of neoprene, Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These popular, portable cords are used in various welding applications as well as many power supply applications.
Two kinds of primary strand in welding cable:
1 – Class K Welding Cable
A Class K welding cable is also known as standard welding cable, is manufactured from 30 AWG copper strands. The cables come in black and red EPDM jackets. Although, there are other colors available it’s all up with customer requests.
Class K welding cable characteristics include copper stranded conductor as well as rubber insulation of the cable, is welding cable oxygen free? Indeed copper cables are oxygen-free, it provides satisfactory flexibility.
This kind of cable is used mainly for secondary voltage resistance welding leads as well as for power supply applications that do not exceed 600 volts. This includes automotive starters and battery grounds.
2 – Class M Welding Cable
Class M it can differentiate from Class K welding cable due to its orange jacket, then the class K that has a black or red jacket. However, the Class M welding cable has a 34 AWG copper conductor.
This means that the gauge of the conductor is size 34. There are also many options for this Class M cable, as there is a plethora of stranding choices
Important factor in choosing welding cable
1 – Ampacity
Determining the strength of the electrical current you will be using on a job site or for personal use is a very important first step. When you’ve got a scope for the currents you will need, you can begin to buy a welding cable based on its ampacity rating.
This is perhaps the most vital of all of the factors to consider since you absolutely can’t safely run higher currents through wires that aren’t built to handle it.
2 – Insulation
If you are working in an environment with high-hazard like having chemicals, oils, or heat in your work environment, you will need to choose a cable with a strong insulation layer that is rated to be resistant to the hazards of your workplace.
This is also important, especially when welding in marine and garage environments, where oil and moisture are commonplace. Both saltwater and oil can erode standard grade insulation and lead to dangerous workplace conditions and failure of the tool.
3 – Flexibility
If you are a welder or an experienced welder, you will agree that the bending of the cable is an unavoidable problem. Therefore, to avoid cable damage, you must go for a highly flexible cable as they do not crack easily.
There are a lot of things that affect the overall flexibility of the cable, such as strands and outer coating available on the cable. You will not doubt that you need flexible cables if you are going to be working in tight spaces or at challenging angles.
The downside of cable flexibility is affected by both the insulation and the thickness of the cable which often determined the ampacity.
If you will be working in congested spaces and require the flexibility of your cable, make sure you balance this carefully with your ampacity and insulation needs. The higher the strand count is, the more flexible the cable.
4 – Strand Count
Strand count refers to the number of individual copper strands that make up the interior of the cable, is welding cable oxygen free? Because of the cooper that has high conductivity, strength, and reliability.
This is very different from the gauge, strand count has a very high effect on the flexibility of a cable, and if you require particularly flexible cables with high ampacity ratings, you will most definitely want to seek for high strand count.
However, high strand count will increase the cost of a cable value, as the manufacture of high strand count cables is more complicated than lower strand counts.
5 – Gauge
A gauge is a device used to make measurements or to display certain dimensional information. The gauge of a wire is the most impactful factor on a cable’s ampacity; the ampacity rating will factor in gauge as a part of the score.
The gauge can also be necessary if you are ordering cables directly from the warehouse, where ampacity ratings might not be as easily checked.
Knowing the length you will need, the gauge of the cables and the insulation types will let you decide for yourself which of the cable’s right for the job.
6 – Cable Diameter
Similar to the gauge of the cable, the nominal diameter of the cable is also a very important factor of a welding cable. The thicker cables have a larger current carrying capacity as they provide a larger cross-sectional area that does not heat up quickly.
While smaller cables are more prone to heat up via current but offer higher flexibility, is welding cable oxygen free? Is used for industrial applications; it is persistently exposed to high temperatures and vibration.
Somehow, you must seek a nominal diameter rating instead of just the diameter as the diameter is not the same on the whole length.
7 – Voltage Capacity
If you have a high capacity welder, you will need a high capacity cable to use the machine at its full potential. The voltage capacity of the welding cable is one of the most important aspects and must be checked thoroughly before buying a cable.
8 – Cable Length
As you already have known, longer cables have a considerably lesser power carrying capacity while shorter cables have a pretty high voltage rating. If a cable is long it will have a smaller nominal diameter. If a high capacity current is passed through it, there is a risk of overheating and melting of internal copper strands.
Conclusion
Following this factor may help you to choose wisely: a welding cable that suits your job. Indeed, you can avoid any possibilities of any harmful effects that may bring if you mistakenly chose the wrong one