MIG welder and welding advices
Highest value MIG welder? We have plenty posts on this subject, you can use the search form of this post doesn’t answer your questions.
If you are a real handyman, you might have done some metal works, not to mention joining and installation. Yet, if you have some experience and you are ready to pick up the gauntlet of repairing metal gates or welding a pedal to a bicycle, a MIG welder is what you need! A few welding methods are known such as MMA, TIG, MIG, and MAG. We will look through MIG welders in our review. A MIG welder uses a streaming inert gas that acts as a shield and expels air contaminants from a weld zone. If no gas is used, the seam is porous and infirm. We will review household MIG welders plugged to a power outlet. Such welders can fuse stainless steel sheets and weld cracks and holes on cars, etc. We have examined 5 best MIG welders to help you buy an appropriate model for your welding needs. Also, we advise paying attention to sandblasts and that will help you get the surface prepared before welding, as well as angle grinders for cutting metalware.
How to pick a welder tips: Duty cycle: The advertised amperage of the machine offers a headline guide, but the duty cycle of the machine gives up the truth. Light industrial machine duty cycles can be as low as 20%, but more heavy duty MIG’s should range between 40-60%. If a 300amp MIG has 30% duty cycle for instance, it’s on the edge of acceptability. Duty cycle is determined by how many minutes out of 10, it can weld at 100%. Duty cycle testing: MIGS tested at 20 Degrees & 40 Degrees we consider good. (Beware any manufacturer who doesn’t quote an ambient temperature for testing) Manufacturer’s warranty: Always a great guide to quality. A three year warranty is good. Weld characteristics: Make sure the arc is smooth & suits your application. (Some machines are better suited at the low range and others at higher amperage range).
Many companies get completely “bogged down” in the paperwork required to run a business. But with today’s latest technological advances, there are items that can be a great help. For instance, Lincoln Electric offers something called ArcWorks software which can document procedures, create drawings everyone in the shop can access, keep track of welding operator’s qualifications, and many other things. Software such as this can be tailored to the individual company’s needs and provide great efficiencies and also eliminate mistakes. Adding Robotics or Hard Automation to the Operation: Today’s technological advances offer many options. Robotics can be justified when the volume of parts a company produces is so great that it can offset the monies spent on a robot. Robotics can also be considered if there are a number of different parts that are similar enough in nature to be able to be handled by the same robot. If robots are not justified, a company might determine that fixturing or hard automation could be used to increase efficiency or quality. One company incorporated fixturing and clamps to hold down a tank while the seam was being welded. In another case, an automotive manufacturer decided that automation was necessary because of the amount of parts and intricate angles and welding positions.
A few advices about welding equipment, MIG and TIG welders, plasma cutters. TIG welding is similar to to a MIG welder as it uses an electric arc in the same was as MIG welding does but differs in a few ways. Instead of a continuous spool of consumable wire, a TIG welder uses long tungsten welding rods that are manually slowly fed into the weld puddle to join the metal. TIG welding requires gas, usually argon, to protect and cool the weld puddle from external contamination. TIG welding is more suited to welding thinner materials such as stainless steel and aluminium as you can get the power down lower to reduce the risk of blow through and can even weld two dissimilar metals. Suitable for tricky welds such as S curves but TIG welders are still capable of welding heavier materials depending on the machine. TIG welding takes more practice that MIG welding as the process is much more manual with controlling the torch, welding rod and gas by hand (and foot for the gas) but once mastered will produce the highest quality welds making it the better choice where perfect, precise welds are required but due to the manual process is the least productive. Find more info on https://www.migwelders.ie/.
USA market dive: LONGEVITY Inc is a company that has been around since only 2001. Like LOTOS Technology, it still produces a fine enough quality welder that it has earned its spot on this list. Besides the gas cylinder, this welder comes with everything you need to get started and is simple to set up. With all this, along with its solid performance, this machine is marked at a fair price of under $400. Though it is manufactured in China, the LONGEVITY Migweld is still a quality welder. It is most well-adapted to light use. Compared to Miller and Hobart’s machines, the price is somewhat better without sacrificing much quality. It welds from 24 gauge to ¼ inches of steel. Flux core is available for this welder. The LONGEVITY can run at ten different voltage settings. As an added bonus, it has thermal overload protection like the LOTOS welder.
Forney have built a simple, mid range MIG welder that’s solid and reliable. It has some good power for the price but doesn’t have as good a duty cycle as the Hobart 190 or Lincoln 180. Forney aren’t one of the big three brands but this machine is still solidly built and I’d feel comfortable buying this. If you want a basic 220v welder without any special features, this is a good choice. Read the full review here.
