the latest in aluminum welding
06-08-2006, 06:35 PM
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the latest in aluminum welding seems like everyone is always asking about welding aluminum in this forum, so i figured i'd share this:
today i got a chance to use a thermal-arc pro wave 300tsw...our tech center just switched over to use all thermadyne equipment and everyone was still getting used to it, but they all kept telling me "you gotta weld some aluminum with this thing"
well, it was awesome! the big deal(for aluminum gtaw welding) is you can adjust the hertz, thus eliminating the need for continuous high frequency on a/c.....and because of that, you can keep a SHARP point on the tungsten and have amazing arc/puddle control.....the welds produced using this setup were beautiful, and easily done.....i was extremely impressed...
and the machines they are replacing weighed a few hundred pounds, compared to about 60 for this(inverters as opposed to rectifiers)........they were saying you can plug them in to any power source and it adjusts accordingly......some of the guys doing stick welding with the dc only machines were having a hard time adjusting to the new ones...almost too many adjustments, although maybe with time they'll prove fine....
i've been stuck in the corner doing certs on an "old" lincoln all week(the thermadyne reps weren't so happy i was still using it
), so i haven't gotten a chance to play with it too much, but if you get the chance to try one of these, jump on it! i'm sure miller and lincoln have similar machines on the market, i'd be interested to see other folks thoughts on them....
today i got a chance to use a thermal-arc pro wave 300tsw...our tech center just switched over to use all thermadyne equipment and everyone was still getting used to it, but they all kept telling me "you gotta weld some aluminum with this thing"
well, it was awesome! the big deal(for aluminum gtaw welding) is you can adjust the hertz, thus eliminating the need for continuous high frequency on a/c.....and because of that, you can keep a SHARP point on the tungsten and have amazing arc/puddle control.....the welds produced using this setup were beautiful, and easily done.....i was extremely impressed...
and the machines they are replacing weighed a few hundred pounds, compared to about 60 for this(inverters as opposed to rectifiers)........they were saying you can plug them in to any power source and it adjusts accordingly......some of the guys doing stick welding with the dc only machines were having a hard time adjusting to the new ones...almost too many adjustments, although maybe with time they'll prove fine....
i've been stuck in the corner doing certs on an "old" lincoln all week(the thermadyne reps weren't so happy i was still using it
), so i haven't gotten a chance to play with it too much, but if you get the chance to try one of these, jump on it! i'm sure miller and lincoln have similar machines on the market, i'd be interested to see other folks thoughts on them.... 
06-09-2006, 03:47 PM
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Sounds like a nice piece. What was the price tag on the unit? I would guess in the $4K range. Sounds like control is its selling point. Right now I have a 200 amp miller heli arc that is about 20 years old. You cant kill it, but the control is weak at best. Hopefully soon I can grab a newer unit like this one.
Brandon
Brandon
06-10-2006, 09:27 AM
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i think the rep said it's closer to 5k, but they are changing colors(yes, the color of the machine) so the ones like we were using will be on sale soon.....the dc only units were around 3k, but those were the ones the guys doing stick welding hated.....same guys went and used the ac/dc machine and were fine.....i'm pretty sure it was just a matter of there being to many adjustments to get used to in a week, and they were trying to certify too, which was frustrating....
i can't say enough about how good it did on aluminum.....
i can't say enough about how good it did on aluminum.....
06-11-2006, 09:44 PM
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Miller has been making some similar units for several years now. They are no bigger than a small suit case. Very nice welders. I'm sure the Thermadynes are nice to, but I have never used one.
