Manuals Sucks!

[zgoo]

I love the Miller line of welders, but they would sell a lot more if they hired a few people that know how to write them in a way that was usefull. I use cnc and some cad software and there is books that are written on how to use their products which helps me learn and become more productive faster. Like the pulser option, if they would have a step by step use for it and pictures to show the right and wrong way to use it, this would be very helpfull. I know a lot of you guys are pro welders and fab guys and might think this dumb, but there is a very big cross section of home shop and small companies that would really beneifit from this alone. I would think that the buzz word would be that " Buy Miller they are the easiest to learn and operate" CNC companies do this. This comes after talking with a lot of other people whom have purchase welding products. I know Miller are very well built, thats why I own them. This alone would make more people and companies stop seeing "RED" as in Lincoln. Sorry, rant off!

Dan

I still love miller!

Syncrowave 250DX
375 plasma
2050 Plasma
MM 250x
MM 130xp

[fun4now]

i supose they figure you know how to weld if you are buying a welder, if not they do offer some exilent training books in there student pack. the welders owners manual is to teach you how to operate the welder, not how the weld. the manual is for the welder not the weldor.

[zgoo]

I was lucky to find this site and all the help it provides ( big thanks to you guys!! . The student thing I was not aware of. Thanks

[GTA/SPEC]

Zgoo,

Your right!.... And i think that Chevy should teach me to drive when i buy their car!

[Fishy Jim]

Funny, I can't find any manuals for my snap-on combination wrenches.

I bet there's a much larger contingent of people who'd feel insulted if the manual were to attempt to tell them how to weld. Miller probably considers it a waste of paper.

[zgoo]

Guys,

Come on, if they put a picture of a guy sticking the torch in his mouth and pressing on the foot pedal and say "don't do this" , they can at least describe how the pulser work a little better or a few good pointers.

[jolane]

I tend to agree with Zgoo about this to some extent. Not everyone has experience with welding, and some of the functions could probably be better described on their uses with simple examples.

On the other hand, Miller does have some good information available including this message board and the learning packages. Further, there may be local tech schools around that teach welding, maybe not in some areas.

It seems that Zgoo got some great feedback about the learning packages available that he did not know about, and has something to explore now. The needless comments about manuals for driving cars and combination wrenchs don't really add any value though. Instead, it probably is more discouraging to new users and hurts more than anything. I thought this was a place to learn.

Joshua

[Fishy Jim]

Got a link to that pic?

I do tend to agree with you on the pulser info though, since it is a "newer" technology that old salts might not have ever seen before.

[fun4now]

the student pack is a great deal for $25 (shipping included) and it covers all types of welding not just one. it has some really good info in it as well as a set of calc's to keep handy for quick reference.
attached is a pic of all the stuff ya get in the student packet. (the free jacket ya gota send in for after ya get the packet. )

[martymar333]

i agree with zgoo somewhat.......when i had my own shop and started building ballistics tanks for crime labs, i welded the fist couple with my mm250 and then tigged the outside of it.......then i wanted a welder better suited for the stainless......checked around , price, features....bought an OTC with an external wire feeder.......my airgas rep whom i bought it from was very knowledgable but there was a few things on it that he wasn't sure how worked or what it did......anyway......if maybe an explanation on what this or this does would be nice


marty

[zgoo]

When I first got my new 250 tig back about three years ago, the former owner had written some notes in the book about the setting for the welder, if I didn't have those notes it would have been hard to reset the machine back up. I just used the new 250dx today and noticed that it set a lot of the different settings for you so thats a big help. Heck, Miller would sell more pulser units if they could make a good sales statement on the major uses and tips for using a pulser unit since it's an add on. When I ask people what is it a drill sales man sells and everyone will say drills and I would say " No, Holes!"
Also make a FAB statement Feature , Advantage , and Benefit. The drill sales man would say " This drill is made of HSS steel (feature) and the advantage for you is it will stay sharper longer then plain steel bits and you will make more money using them ( benefit )

Dan

[Tailshaft56]

My TA came with a quick start guide that walks you right through the setup. The manual has basic instruction and some troubleshooting tips. ( For poor welds ) Nothing on pulse setting recommendations. Too many variables for any kind of setting guide to be usefull. IMHO

[Laiky]

I agree with ZGOO. The 200 dx manual is just about worthless. It tells you what the knobs adjust but not what they do. I'm not asking for a tig lesson but an explanation/example/benefit to the features would be great. I didn't feel comforatble turning the dynasty on after reading the manual.

[tigman250]

i somewhat agree with the manuals missing some info, but on the other hand there is alot to know about tig welding in general and many variables, each setting does it's own thing and are sometimes diffrent by simply switching the polarity. if Miller printed a manual with all the info needed to be an excellent tig welder not only would it be very confusing for the average weekend welder but it would be 2 feet thick! some things just need to come with experience.

[jpross1]

I totally agree with ZGOO. The inverter manuals for the Dynasty 200DX and 300 DX are really short on data. I purchased the student package and found it very useful but as far as explaining the welder controls and setup functions, Miller has a long way to go. Some of you guy's that made fun of ZGOO's novice abilities should be ashamed of yourselves. If you know it all then why not help? I really like this site because most of you really try to be helpful. As for the others, remember you had to start somewhere and I bet you got some really great training from other's you worked with. How about passing some of your knowledge along.
When I purchased my welders I looked for a local TIG school but none existed in my area so I am learning on my own. Thank goodness I learned to gas weld 40 years ago which helps me today.
TIG welding takes allot of practice and if Miller produced a good TIG textbook I believe it would really enhance sales.