Patent ID: 7041936

Claim:
Method of linking and interconnecting several welding devices, in particular several welding current sources, plasma current sources or similar, in which, with every welding device operating individually, a process control system transmits desired values to a voltage-to-current controller of a power component and the power component supplies a consumer connected to output jacks with power (current/voltage) on the basis of the desired values, and the process control system is equipped for a data exchange across an interface with another component, such as another welding device, a robot controller, a PC or laptop, wherein several welding devices of the same or a different power rating or having the same or different output parameters, in particular machine specifications, are linked to one another on the secondary-side via the output jacks to form a welding device with a physically higher power output, the interconnected welding devices being digitally interconnected via a digital interface or a special digital connecting interface for a data exchange for control purposes, a process control system of one welding device assuming process control and all other process control systems of the welding devices being deactivated by an interrupter element and the welding devices with the deactivated process control systems receiving the desired values across the interface or the connecting interface from the process-controlling welding device, the interrupter element being operated on the basis of software in the process control system.