IGBT Transistor Shorted In Welding Machine
A man borrowed a welding machine from his friend to do some welding job at his house. As he was welding, the machine stopped working. He was embarrassed to send the machine back to his friend because when he got the machine from him, it was actually working and not it was dead.
As I powered up the machine, there was no indication of any life in it.
I started with checking the main power cord and then headed to the main power switch which are usually common fault in such machine but everything checked fine. My last suspect according to my experience in these machines were the IGBT. If I was right in this assumption that would be an expensive repair due to the fact that IGBT amps are highly rated and they do not come cheap.
There are two IGBT on this side and there are other two on the other. And as I checked them out with my multi meter while on board, all four of them were shorted.
I decided to take them off board to get better accurate reading.
As you can see, it was shorted but lucky me because only one of the IGBT on every side was shorted.
The part number is FGH60N60 and they are rated 600 volts at 60 amps.
This was the first side where the IGBT was shorted.
And here is the other side where another IGBT was shorted as well. I have ordered these parts on the internet about two months ago so I have many of them available at my shop. You can click on the photo below to view the datasheet:
I replaced the shorted IGBT with the new ones and powered up the machine and as you can see, it came on and everything seems to be in good order.
Mission accomplished.
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment.
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Note: You can check his previous repair articles in the link below:
http://www.electronicsrepairfaq.com/two-shorted-diodes-but-four-replaced
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Jestine Yong works as an Electronics Repair Lecturer in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and his training website is http://www.NoahtechElectronicsTraining.com. You can check out his repair blog at http://www.JestineYong.com
15 comments on “IGBT Transistor Shorted In Welding Machine”
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Well done!
At my workplace, I also get welding machines to repair. But I’m really scared of those because they are much bigger.
Next time, I’ll look for IGBTs.
Ghashaan: thank you. big or small, if they are electronic welding machine the principles is the same. good luck
Good day,Im on maxmech mini 200 welding machine, the problem is!when you power it,it come up the fan rolls the digital display is on but it never weld. Pleas what could be the problem. Thank you.
Although these Field Stop IGBT’s do not come cheap it was a good thing you only needed to replace two of them. It was no miracle you had many of those IGBT’s available at your shop knowing you successfully fixed so many Welders already. And it is never a bad thing to have spare parts at hand.
Albert: if you buy them online, they really come cheap. I buy them from Ali Express and I get good deals on them. the only issue it takes about 20 days to get to my post office.
yes, I always have them handy in my shop.
Waleed ,
It is very awkward situation when somebody is giving you the equipment for helping you and it is damaged on our side.
Thanks for sharing your experience
Yogesh: yes it is but this guy was willing to get it fixed at any cost…you are most welcome
Excellent! Very professional! Thanks for sharing!
Parasuraman: thank you my friend.
Well done Waleed , you certainty get a wide variety of things to repair. A clear testament to your abilities.
Ian: thank you. yes, I take all kind of repairs and that way you do not get bored. lol
Hi I am Raju, from Bangladesh. I like ur topic
Raju: nice to meet you and I thank you. have a blessed day
A suggestion for you is to do a ebook specializing on repairing Icom SMPS such as PS35 that was used in several variations in thousands of transmitters. Variations include several that were built for internal installation the the Icom 751A, Icom 765, Icom 761 Icom 745 and also a stand alone version Icom PS30. Many radio operators like to repair their own equipment and this would be a popular book.
How to perform a proper test on this component to know if it’s good or not?