Welding & Fabrication worked example

Weld Heat Input with arc power of 13,200 W: a worked example

Push arc power up to 13,200 W and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it for a quick check on heat input for HAZ control, distortion management, or staying inside the WPS heat input window.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Arc power (volts x amps): 13,200 W (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 5,280)
  • Weld travel speed: 15 in / min (unchanged)
  • Process efficiency factor (kJ basis): 0.05 x (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Raw heat input per inch = arc power (volts x amps) รท weld travel speed) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 42.24 kJ / in for effective weld heat input, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 880 value for raw ratio.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.05 x for conversion factor.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15 value for weld travel speed.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where arc power sits at 5,280 W and the headline result is 16.9 kJ / in, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 42.24 kJ / in.
  • It divides arc power by travel speed to get raw energy per inch, then multiplies by a process efficiency factor that both accounts for arc losses and converts watt-minutes per inch into kilojoules per inch. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Effective weld heat input: 42.24 kJ / in (headline result)
  • Raw ratio: 880 value
  • Conversion factor: 0.05 x
  • Weld travel speed: 15 value

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Weld Heat Input calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.