Stud Welders

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As many of you know, I specialize in welding on bridges.  I have gotten to the point in the business that damn near everyone of my customers is asking me to shoot the studs on a bridge for them.  I have watched it done, its fairly simple.  Insert stud in gun, set in place, pull trigger, wait still it stops arcing, remove gun from now welded stud and off to the next one.  But I know very little about the machines themselves.  They are typically huge suckers, sitting on twin or triple axle trailers with a massive diesel driven generator powering the stud machine itself.  But then I have seen a tiny little machine that fit in the back of a pickup truck that did the same thing.   Now mind you the studs I am talking about are 7/8" to 1" wide and 5 to 7" tall.   I am told they are somewhere between 1600 to 2400 amps to weld each stud. Anybody here have any experience with these machines that could offer some help?Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:I have a 2000 amp stud welder that i can run from the 240V 3phase tap on my vantage 400 its an older TRW unit thats HEAVY.  pretty much maxes out the trucks GVW with the vantage and the stud powersorce on it.Works just like it does in the shop.  Just maintain your proper stick out and keep the gun plum, keep a good ground and as long as your heat and time are dialed the leads will jump and the stud will fuse.The unit i have is a dual operator powersource but i only run one gun off of it.    IT has around 100' of gun lead and ground.     Ran it that way several times shooting 1000+ studs at each site.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Any pictures of that? I have never heard of studs on a bridge.
Reply:http://www.nelsonstud.com/Portal/Pro...1/Default.aspxI have used their equipment and was pleased with how well it stood up to abuse.  Although we never had to shoot anything that big.
Reply:I have an older version of this unit.   http://www.nelsonstud.com/Portal/Por...lweld-6000.pdfVantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Yes you are looking at needing around 2000 amps to shoot those studs.  It is a drawn arc stud welding process.  The machines are huge and heavy.  There are different ferrules (the ceramic collar) for flat and vertical stud welding.  Not sure if you would be doing much vertical but the vertical one has a solid side to it that you put down to contain the molten metal while it cools.  Its 75% machine setup and 25% operator putting it straight.  A bubble level will help with straightness.  I have used nelson stud welding before and was impressed with their equipment.  They have a nice facility in Elyria, Ohio with some very knowledgeable and friendly help.