Abstract: An electrode position detection system for a welder having a laser that is projected in a lateral plane to laterally cross a welding wire at a location below a contact tip of a welding gun and a receiver that receive the laser bean after crossing the welding wire, and a measuring device that determines one or more parameter of the welding wire based on the received laser beam. Arc voltage measurements can also be used to determine one or more parameter of the welding wire.

Abstract: In a power source for an electric arc welder including an inverter having two primary circuits connected in a series circuit across the DC bus of an input rectifier where each primary circuit comprises a capacitor parallel with a primary winding section and a switch to apply the voltage of the capacitor across the primary winding section, so that the primary circuits alternately create a voltage pulse in the primary winding sections to induce voltage pulses in a secondary circuit having a secondary winding coupled to said primary windings and connected by an output circuit to an output welding circuit. There is provided one improvement. The improvement is a soft ferrite saturable reactor in at least one of the series circuit or the output circuit to delay the voltage pulse in the primary winding sections.