New Purchases

[Lance LeBouef]

Hey guys,

I need to purchase some new equipment. I'm just a little lost. I need to get a plasma cutter, mig welder, and tig welder. The thickest material I'll be welding is 3/16 mild steel. No aluminum at all. I was just wondering what machines you guys would recommend. Power supply is no problem. I have 110 and 220 volts available with plenty of amps. I just don't want the machines to be at full capacity all of the time, and everything is automotive and will be very clean. Thanks for any help!

Lance

[migmaniac70]

plasma cutter= http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3851322857

Mig welder= http://hobartwelders.com/products/handler180.html

Tig welder= http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...et.asp?p=12815

Or,http://millerwelds.com/products/tig/maxstar_150_sth/

or,http://millerwelds.com/products/tig/syncrowave_180_sd/

or you can get,Mig,Tig,and stick all in one package once you get all the accesseries about $3000.00 http://www.esabna.com/ESAB/showdetl....D=1647&CATID=9

[Danny]

Lance,

If your looking strictly at Miller products, I d say Spectrum 375, MM 210, and at least a Maxstar 150 stl or sth. I have the MM 210 and a Maxstar 150 sth. Both of these are very good units. If you don t mind spending the cash, the MM 251 is a excellent unit too. Yes, I just happen to have one of them too. I also have a MM 175 but I'm not real found of its wirespeed tracking design. Plus, the MM 175 is no were near the machine that the MM 210 is in area of duty cycle and output power.

BTW, the MM 210 has an incredibly smooth arc with an .023 solid wire and C-25 shielding gas when tuned in for light ga. automotive sheetmetal.

I've ran a Syncrowave 180 SD a couple times in TIG mode, its a very good unit too.

[Teeps]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11774&item=3850723349&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

wow that is **** tempting, too bad it doesn't do any AC Tig

If Miller came out with something like that with AC Tig, I'd be ALLLL over it.

My vote goes to the dynasty 200 dx or the syncro 250 for stick/tig, and the mm210 or mm251 for Mig.

If you like the portability go with the inverter machine for tig.

A rough guide to amperate needed is 1 amp, per .001 thickness.
This puts you at approximately 180amps.
200dx does 150amps of only 120 volt AC, which covers 5/32 thickness, but low duty cycle.

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/spec_sheets/AD4-8.pdf

shows that off 3 phase it can deliver 200amps, which will be a little better on 3/16's tig welding, but this is only 20%-35% duty cycle, so if you want to run bettery duty cycles, then some better choices are a dynasty 300, or the synchro 250 (if you don't need portability).


Then again, I don't know if these guidelines are a little skewed, but I will say, you will never be dissapointed by going with a little more power than you need, however, the opposite is untrue, especially after dropping a huge chunk of change.

Good Luck!!!

[Terence638]

used Miller

Ive got an XMT 304 multi link machine for sale yhe machine is great for everything you need (with asseccories) except the plasma cutter. Its has Mig Tig and stick capabilities and its be hardley used. Ive got a second setup.
If you are interesdted you can E-mail me at [email protected]
Thanks
Terence

[migmaniac70]

Teeps

I realy liked that unit too,But as Dan and Scott pointed out it would cost about another 1000.00 or so for Neccessary moduals to have a bad *** Tig.Like you stated to bad it dont have AC otherwise i may of just bought it.

[Paul Seaman]

Lance:
The mm210 will do very well on 3/16". The tig models offered by miller 3 fit your specs, the sync 180, the maxstar 200, and the dynasty200. You said you don't need the ability to do Aluminum so the dynasty is overkill and the sync is power hungry so I would say the maxstar is the model for you.

We have opinions and you sir have the checkbook, choose well.

Peace,

[Lance LeBouef]

I was thinking about:

Millermatic 175
Maxstar 200 DX--Water Cooled
Spectrum 375

Would this weld and cut sheet, round, square tube, flat bar, etc.? 24 ga. --3/16" mild steel only- without working too hard. Any and all comments welcome and appreciated very much. Thanks for all of the help.

Lance

[Paul Seaman]

Lance:
I think the mm175 might be a bit light on the duty cycle. The rest of the choices are right on. The mm175 is going to be pushed pretty hard to do 3/16" more than occasionally.

If your plan is to do sheetmetal and tacking with the mig then finishing the heavy stuff with the tig then the mm175 will get this job done.

Good luck,

[Lance LeBouef]

Yes. The mig will be mainly for tacking, so I do think it'll be just fine. I hate to buy the mm210 if it'll only be a tacking machine. As far as the Maxstar 200 DX, will it handle 3/16" mild steel constantly? Does anyone know where I can find a smaller tig water cooler than the one sold by Miller? I like theirs, but I only need to cool a 250 amp torch, and I'm trying to keep all of the space possible. Thanks again for all the replies. They've been very helpful.

Lance

[Paul Seaman]

Lance:
The duty cycle on the maxstar is 60% at 175 amps which should do fine for what you described. The coolmate 4 is the portable cooler that miller sells but if you do a search for torch coolers you should find a home made model that I remember seeing awhile back, I'll look for it if I find it I'll post the referance.

[walker]

For starters, it sounds as though you might be new to some of this equipment. For cutting 24ga sheet you would be besat served by a pair of air shears, or a nibbler. Tubing and flat bar are best cut with a chop saw, abrasive or cold saw. Plasmas are greast, I hav ea nice one and love it, but they don't do it all. Nibblers, shears and chop saws are relatively cheap, and do thier job great. Plasmas are wonderful on flat plate, and for abstract cuts, but it is difficult to cut tubing with them, not saying it can't be done but...
Next, on to welding. If you are only using the mig unit for tacking, then skip it all together, you can tack fine with a tig. If you really want to weld with it, and are welding 24ga to 3/16" then a MM175 would be fine.You would also have capacity to run aluminum wire on the 175, with the addition of an argon tank. I think I would buy this unit before a TIG unit and learn to weld with it, maybe take a class at the local JC. Then move to a tig unit. TIG is not as easy as the pros make it look. It is not too difficult to learn a flat butt weld or lap joint, but it takes time to develop the skill to become proficient enough to turn out pro results consistently. As far as the torch and cooler goes, for smaller stuff like this I would just use an air cooled torch. I would only go to water cooled if I were doing it for longer periods of time.
It appears as though you are trying to do a custom automotive start up, of some sort. If that is the case I would buy the MIG and the basic cutting tools first. Then as cash flow allows, buy a O/A torch, for cutting and bending. Then your business patterns would tell you whether to buy a tig or a plasma unit. The reason I say that is that the TIG an the plasma are the most expensive and you very easily buy the wrong unit for your application, without knowing exactly what your parameters are. You can do the work without these machines, then buy the right machine to improve the efficiency of your operation.
Good Luck.

[Lance LeBouef]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. What I'm trying to do is set up a seperate area from where I weld my chassis at. I want an area just for small fabrication, tacking with mig, fast and easy! I have an older Miller mig, but it's very large. I like to tig weld everything on the chassis and suspension. The plasma cutter is only for cutting down big bulk. I have hand shears, air shears, a broken nibbler, and a grinder with cutting wheels. I just like the plasma for cutting down the bulk. Water cooled for the smaller torch. I tried to find an air cooled torch that was the same size as my 250 amp water cooled torch that is on the syncrowave 250. Thanks for the help.

Lance

[Paul Seaman]

Lance I got the diamondback #17 gas cooled torch on my dynasty and it is really light and I like it.

[Lance LeBouef]

I will check into that #17 Diamondback tig torch. I wish I could find a good chart or thread on tig torch sizes and weights. I guess what I need to do is spend a day with my Miller dealer.

Thanks,
Lance