Dynasty 200DX- first experiences

[Corvus corax]

Well, I've had my 200DX for about two weeks now, and been welding for about a week. I had to buy an aircooled torch last week, so I could get up and running, as I can't find the ridiculous QC fittings for the Crafter series torch, and Weldcraft wont sell them to me. So I have a worthless $500 torch as it sits right now. I would say I wouldn't buy any more of their products, but they make pretty much every torch out there. I was down for two weeks trying to find that fitting, had it ordered from three different suppliers, and none of them has come through with the part I need. So I'm stuck with burning my hands at 150 amps with a #9 torch for now.

The Dynasty, on the other hand, is everything I expected- but working with an aircooled torch sucks. I put a jumbo gas lens setup on it, which helps a little with the heat problems, but WC torches have spoiled me. I'm used to being able to crank up the amperage, and see my arc envelope remain stable. Not getting that with this torch. Also, my supplier only had a valved model, so I have two gas points to mess with, and ended up blowing an entire 120 CF tank of Argon in two hours, due to the sensitive handpiece valve getting bumped after I previously set my gas flow. I think I was around 50 CFH the whole time I was putting my welding table together, only noticed after I was breaking down, the condensation all over the regulator housing. I'm going to upgrade to the biggest tank I can get this Friday, and I'm thinking I'll have it filled with He/Ar mix. Any ratio suggestions? I am still going to be doing mostly medium thickness Aluminum, with some Stainless and mild Steel- would I be better off sticking to pure Argon?

[Blown S-10]

i had fully planned to get a cooler for mine. but after using it for a while, i find no need. try a #17 torch, for the 125+ amps. i don't even need gloves (as long as my hands won't touch the workpiece), but i wear them anyway.

[1320Fabrication]

Bummer on using up all your Argon. Might also try opening the valve on the torch all the way and setting desired flow at the regulator.

I've been enjoying my 200DX.

Hard to be taken serious when your welder has a shoulder strap.

Just like photography. You can be doing close ups but without a big telephoto lens you look like an amateur to some.

[Corvus corax]

Picked up the parts I ordered on Thursday. Weldcraft gave the the wrong part number for the hose- had a tiny little fitting on the end of it, aminiature of the standard 5/8 inch LH fitting for water. So I had the supplier cut the hose in half, and install a new fitting. Once I chased down a couple of leaks, and got up and running, the new torch worked really well. I welded a bunch of Steel DCEN, and I am amazed how quiet the arc is. Totally clean, no ripple whatsoever. The machines at school had considerable ripple in their output, you could hear it quite plainly while welding, especially running higher output. The Dynasty is equal to the DC generator I tried out recently in arc smoothness. AC Aluminum is much better too- better control of the arc- tungsten doesn't seem to round off as quick.

[Blown S-10]

AC Aluminum is much better too- better control of the arc- tungsten doesn't seem to round off as quick.

its not supposed to round off, ball up, at all. so it is said here. but i can't keep mine from doing it.

[HAWK]

BLOWN S10,

Your tungsten balling may be from a poor qaulity tungsten or even run a lower balance-less than 70. What type tungsten and brand are you using?

[Corvus corax]

I've been using a 2% Lanthanated I bought from Aglevtech. The finish was very nice, smooth grind- but I've been using it for about a month now, and The tips seem to erode fairly quickly. My balance seems to work best set at 75%, but once in a while, welding the extrusion that we use, the extra cleaning at 65% seems to work best. I'm still a bit handicapped right now, I haven't had time to run my 240, so I'm limited to about 140 A without popping the breaker. Tack welding small 3/8 aluminum pieces requires an excessive amount of time, due to my lack of preheat capability. I'm pushing the machine quite hard running on 120V, but better to burn in the power supply hard when its still new, than have it fail later on. My tungsten grinder should be hare any day now, so I'll be able to get better tip performance than the rather crude profiles I'm able to muster from my drum sander.
I bought a new 120CF cylinder from a new supplier, the other one turned out to be an 80CF, which explains a bit. I'm growing tired of tack welding large numbers of chassis, so I may be investing in a MIG and a spoolgun for that task- Miller, of course. Any suggestions as to which one?

[ASKANDY]

What kind of chassis?? Material..thickness?

A spoolgun might be harder to get around the tubes if there are many in a tight location like door bars. A 350P with a standard mig gun could pulse mig the aluminum and get you into tighter areas if it's not real thick stuff to overheat the guns.

Andy

[Corvus corax]

I'm welding fairly thin (1/8) aluminum chassis for amplifier modules. They are cosmetically sensitive on the outside, but I have been tack welding the inside corners of the faceplates, which are 3/8 6061, to prevent the sides of the extrusion moving during the grinding process, and fracturing the narrow cosmetic groove weld I place around the edges of the plate. The idea is to have a seamless appearance once the chassis are powder coated, to make the achassis appear as if it were cast as one solid piece. These are not particularly strong chassis, as the product only weighs about 30 Lbs when finished, and are used in non industrial applications. They used to be screwed together and then powder coated, but the powder would run into the grooves between the machined faceplate and the main extrusion, and sometimes leave an ugly sag line. The screws also presented problems, as they would expand at a different rate in the oven, and fracture the finish, which is like glass when finished, and shows the tiniest defect or undulation. Once the drawings were altered to give me a wide enough area to weld, they went together easily, though they are produced by the dozens, and with each tack weld taking about 90 seconds, I am using way too much Argon, and time. I think the DVI would fit the bill, but the 210 can use a spoolgun, so I'm thinking about that one as well. I would like to be able to use a Passport, as I have an extremely limited amount of space, and I portable machines. They are a lot easier to place, and it would be a natural companion to the Dynasty.

[Blown S-10]

quit screwing around. hook up the 240v.

[PUMPKINHEAD]

I'm welding fairly thin (1/8) aluminum chassis for amplifier modules. They are cosmetically sensitive on the outside, but I have been tack welding the inside corners of the faceplates, which are 3/8 6061, to prevent the sides of the extrusion moving during the grinding process, and fracturing the narrow cosmetic groove weld I place around the edges of the plate. The idea is to have a seamless appearance once the chassis are powder coated, to make the achassis appear as if it were cast as one solid piece. These are not particularly strong chassis, as the product only weighs about 30 Lbs when finished, and are used in non industrial applications. They used to be screwed together and then powder coated, but the powder would run into the grooves between the machined faceplate and the main extrusion, and sometimes leave an ugly sag line. The screws also presented problems, as they would expand at a different rate in the oven, and fracture the finish, which is like glass when finished, and shows the tiniest defect or undulation. Once the drawings were altered to give me a wide enough area to weld, they went together easily, though they are produced by the dozens, and with each tack weld taking about 90 seconds, I am using way too much Argon, and time. I think the DVI would fit the bill, but the 210 can use a spoolgun, so I'm thinking about that one as well. I would like to be able to use a Passport, as I have an extremely limited amount of space, and I portable machines. They are a lot easier to place, and it would be a natural companion to the Dynasty.

The DVI can use a Spoolmate 3035, but it needs the field kit, can't remember the number off hand, but it is free from Miller from the dealer you buy the DVI from.