Oxford Mig welders best prices: A welder is a long term investment where many find that they get what they pay for. While it is sometimes advisable to test the waters with a used model, picking the right machine the first time around can save a lot of headaches and cash in the long term. No one wants a used welder to fail in the middle of a big job or to discover that a used welder’s price can help make ends meet but the welder itself can’t make two pieces of metal meet. The best welder will complete every project that comes down the pike and minimizes limitations. This means that the most expensive welder is not always the best for each situation. However, the cheapest welding machine that can’t handle every job a welder hopes to accomplish fails to pay for itself in ways that make it worthwhile to review the possible options before investing in a welder. The Work Determines the Welder One of the most important questions to consider when selecting a welder isn’t what projects it will be used for in the next week, month, or even year. Those interested in buying a welder need to ask if they see themselves using it more frequently in the future for many different kinds of projects.
The power electronics have to work at the mains input voltage which is in excess of 630V on a three phase machine & in excess of 340V for single phase with peak voltages often in excess of 800V. This is not an easy task for any electronic mosfet or IGBT & in most machines there are multiple IGBT’s or mosfets all working together. Then when you add real welding conditions such as damp & dust, voltage fluctuations & spikes it just becomes a matter of time before a failure occurs. Some of the quality US & EU manufacturers have tried to address this by designing machines with separate compartments or wind tunnels to keep critical componants away from dust & damp etc. This has improved reliability in some cases, however by nature all inverter based machines are fairly fragile. Furthermore inverters are increasingly using complex microprocessors, computers are fine on a desk but in a dirty welding machine? More problems! However inverters do you have a place, if you need a machine where portability is the number one priority then consider a quality EU or US made inverter but keep it simple, more complex functions often means more to go wrong! Find even more info at Oxford Welders.
Do a practice run. This may sound silly, but you’ll find that many professional welders do this before every pass. Get in the most comfortable position you can, with support blocks in place if helpful, and run your hands along the path they will traverse as you make the weld. You will often find that a slight adjustment of your position will allow you to make a longer pass, or to move your hands with less stress. Any strain in your position will have a negative impact on the weld. Also, you build valuable muscle memory when making your practice run, which will help keep everything on track when you make the ‘real’ pass. Clean a contaminated electrode immediately! Every welder will contaminate their electrode at some point, but it’s essential that you replace a contaminated electrode immediately. I usually keep a group of pre-sharpened electrodes right on my welding bench, so I can swap them out without having to walk to my grinder.
Delivery of parts to the welding station in an organized and logical fashion is also a way to reduce welding costs. For example, one company was manufacturing concrete mixing drums. In the fabrication process, the company produced 10 parts for one section, then went on to make 10 parts of another drum section, etc. As pieces came off the line, they were put onto the floor of the shop. When it was time to weld, the operator had to hunt for the pieces needed and sort through them. When the outside welding expert pointed out the amount of time being wasted in this process, the company started to batch each one on a cart. In this way, the pieces needed to weld one drum were stored together and could easily be moved to the welding area. This type of scenario is also true for companies that may outsource parts to a vendor. Though it may cost more to have parts delivered in batches, it may save more in time than having to organize and search through parts to be able to get to the welding stage. How many times each piece is handled in the shop may be an eye-opener to reducing wasted time. To measure such an intangible as this, operators are asked to put a soapstone mark on the piece each time it is touched – some companies are surprised to find out how many times a part is picked up, transported and laid down in the manufacturing process. In the case of one company, moving the welding shop closer to the heat treatment station eliminated four extra times that the part was handled. Basically, handling a part as few times as possible and creating a more efficient production line or work cell will reduce overall costs. See a few more details at weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk.