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I am looking to set up shop / studio
I am looking for a machine to handle precise welds within a wide variety of thin material tolerances, and also capable of fabricating on a large structural scale. I am working with steel, bronze, aluminum, and stainless steels. Most importantly I am looking for a good career welder purchase; a machine I will be able to use for a lifetime. So, Im looking to make a significant long-term investment. I am looking at the Miller Syncrowave 250/350 and the Miller Dynasty 300. My basic question is
Is there any advantage (other than just price) to the rectifier over the inverter? Is one more reliable? Is the Dynasty worth the price over the Syncro? Are there more controllable variables in one or the other? I am quite interested in the portability factor in the Dynasty auto-link. Does the Dynasty transport form location to location easily? Will the Dynasty model eventually be out dated like a computer in just 6 years? Which machine is the best long-term investment?
Reply:My guess is that you'll be better off with the inverter. They are more adjustable, lighter, use less power, require less electrical infrastructure, are often more feature packed than rectifier machines. I am not sure about the difference in repair expenses. You might spend a bit more on the inverter, but they are much easier to ship to the repair center.Comparing welders to computers is not the way I would think of it. A computer will do many things and the list keeps growing...a welder just welds (I have seen one jump start a car, though)...so, if you have a good idea what you want to weld, there is probably a welder that will suit you for many years...maybe a lifetime.BTW, my dad always said that everyone was named smith...until they got into trouble....you must be one of the good ones or one that didnt get caught.Last edited by smithboy; 03-03-2006 at 01:50 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:SmithboyThank you for the response and the informative advice
This Smith has been moving around so much they havent caught me yet!Youre right that welders are built to just weld, good point, the computer analogy breaks down quick. I really appreciate the thoughts. I think Im just looking for reassurance before I make the big purchase. Ive been pretty much pointed in the direction of and settled on the Dynasty.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithjrSmithboyYoure right that welders are built to just weld, good point, the computer analogy breaks down quick. I really appreciate the thoughts. I think Im just looking for reassurance before I make the big purchase. Ive been pretty much pointed in the direction of and settled on the Dynasty.
Reply:Here's an anec***al point to consider. I've got an inverter-based welder (Powcon 400SM with a Miller S-64 feeder) that's 13-14 years old. It uses SCRs instead of IGBTs and I can find replacement parts just fine. It also welds circles around modern transformer based welders. When it was new, it wasn't in the same class or price range as an MM210, but I spent a couple hundred less for it and the feeder. It's got a nicer arc, almost twice the capacity, and runs on single phase or three phase. I travel around a fair bit doing stuff here and there for friends. One of the nice things about it is that I can load the power supply, the feeder, and a 125CF cylinder of C25 into the trunk of my Honda Accord. This saves me from having to burn the gas to drive my truck around.-Heath
Reply:Wizard,You kinda make my point about inverters. Computers are obsolete almost the minute you purchase them. Software is what you really use...the machine is only the thing that it runs on. Changes in this area have been and continue to be rapid...so rapid, in fact, that windows has a schedule of when they plan to quit supporting different versions of the OS (this is not new, actually).Miller, lincoln, and many other welder manufacturers support decades old machines. I also have powcon welders that are probably 15-20 years old. Now, support is a bit harder becuase the company was eaten, but the welder works fine and I have been able to find most of parts that I need from a electronics supply place like mouser.com.I cant argue with the fact that transformer/rectifier based machines probably have a much longer life span, all else equal, but now they also have some pretty complicated computer equipment in them also that faces the same problems as the inverter units. As long as the inverter line continues to outperform the transformer based line in arc characteristics and flexibility and size and weight, I dont see service for these inverter units being any more or less a problem than for the transformer based units (from the same company). In fact, as inverters continue to increase their market share, it may be the transformer/rectifier machines that we see with parts availabiltiy problems down the road.From the computer analogy, you might think of big transformer units as mainframes/big iron and the inverters as the PC which is light and adaptable.Now, keep in mind this just my take on things and not based on anything more than pure conjecture/BS I thunk up...Also, I should say that I also have a dialarc 250 and love it.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I have one of each, sort of. I have a syncrowave I bought new in about 88. A circuit board went bad on it once, cost over 500 to fix. Another time the main power switch puked- 75 bucks. So the old guys arent bulletproof.then, in this corner, I have a 304xmt- this is not quite a dynasty, as it is a cc/cv machine, DC only- but it is very closely related to a dynasty. I prefer it, in many ways, as with the CC/CV feature, you can mig, tig, or stick weld with it, built in lift arc, which is much better than scratch start tig. It doesnt do aluminum but I have the syncrowave for that.Anyway- the inverter gives nicer welds in every mode than older machines do. Better tigs, better stick welding, awesome mig welding. I bought mine as a rental return from a construction site- should have been beat, right? Then I have used the hell out of it for about 4 years. Never a problem. Love the small size, love the versitility, the smaller breaker it takes (the syncrowave needs a 100amp breaker)The auto link feature works great- plug it into 3 phase, or single phase, it doesnt care.If the dynasty is anything like this welder, I would go for it.
Reply:The Sycrowave is a Model "T"The Dynasty Tigrunner is a souped up Race CarI suggest a Dynasty to build your Kingdom |
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发表于 2021-9-1 00:17:42