Patent ID: 11872659
Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
Field: Machine tools (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 14:
15. A welding device comprising:
a welding torch having an electrode;
a welding wire feed configured to supply welding wire at a welding wire feed speed into a region of the electrode of the welding torch;
for performing welding, a welding current through the electrode causes an arc to burn between the electrode and a workpiece, said welding current causes a distribution of an electrical potential in the vicinity of the electrode;
an electrical potential measurer is configured to detect, with the welding wire, the electrical potential generated by the welding current in the vicinity of the electrode;
a feed controller configured to evaluate a detected electrical potential and to control a welding wire feed speed via the detected electrical potential so that an average welding wire feed speed is established;
the electrical potential measurer comprises a high-impedance voltage source configured:
to apply an electrical voltage to the welding wire before welding to detect the electrical voltage as the electrical potential before ignition of the arc; and
to determine a position of the welding wire in relation to the workpiece from the detected electrical potential before ignition of the arc.