Whether you wish to repair metal items at home, work with metal as part of your career, build a hot rod, are a hobbyist or wish to set up a welding business, it is essential to select the right welding equipment. It is important to consider a welding machine as a long term investment and make sure to check out all the alternatives prior to making a purchase. If you are just starting out and are on a tight budget, you may want to consider used welding equipment.
Welding Processes
Choosing welding equipment will depend on which processes are suitable for the type of welding projects you undertake. Some of the common welding processes include stick welding; gas tungsten arc welding (TIG), metal arc welding (MIG) and flux cored welding. For routine joint applications, a Mig welder is one of the suitable options. It is among the easiest processes to learn but can only weld light gauge material such as aluminum, stainless steel and carbon steel. If you are looking at auto/car bodywork repair, you can use a smaller machine with an amperage output rating of less than 200amps.
Factors to Consider
Some of the factors that will influence your choice of welding equipment include the type of materials you will be welding, the thickness of the material, whether you require portability, and the type of wiring available in the weld locations. For example, a machine using 230 Volt 3-Phase power cannot be easily taken to a customers location. Most importantly, you need to determine how important weld appearance is. TIG Welding Equipment creates the best looking welds and this includes the Everlast Powertig 250ex. This welding machine features an Easy Start 5 am start for AC and DC low amp operations. It is lightweight and portable and comes with high pulse frequency capability that allows for premium weld quality by reducing overall heat input. The Everlast Powertig 250ex can be set up easily and is fitted with color coded controls for easy operability and digital readout for accurate amperage control.
Duty Cycles
Other things to consider is whether there are any time requirements that could restrict the process. Each type of welder has a different duty cycle, which is the length of time it can be used prior to being switched off to allow for cooling. Some of the less expensive welding equipment have shorter duty cycles while some can run continuously with a 100 percent duty cycle. Dont hesitate to read Welding Equipment Reviews online so that you can compare welders and make a well informed purchase decision. Make sure to test any used welding equipment to see that it functions to the optimum. Determine the built-in features of the welder so that you understand the various applications it can handle.
