Welding Positioner

[aliva]

This is the one I made and I did put a foot control on it

Welding Positioner

Not really a day project more like a couple of weeks. This is my latest project, a welding positioner. I have a shaft and sprocket to weldup and I thought it would be a nice project. I checked the cost of a commercially available unit, but the prices are ridiculous. So why not attempt at...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[skcncx]

This is the one I made and I did put a foot control on it

Welding Positioner

Not really a day project more like a couple of weeks. This is my latest project, a welding positioner. I have a shaft and sprocket to weldup and I thought it would be a nice project. I checked the cost of a commercially available unit, but the prices are ridiculous. So why not attempt at...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Looks great. I wish I understood more electronics stuff. That's why I purchased a cheap controller/driver and stepper motor to experiment with. In reality, I should have purchased an all in one solution.

Like yours, I hope to build a similar control box that's separate from the dividing head with just a wire connection to the motor. The certiflat weld positioner has an 8:1 gear ratio. Since I've never done this, my guess is that for 1.25" OD pipe, welding a flange on the end, I'll want it to spin around 1-2 rpm. So, a motor that can spin from 4 to 40 rpm, should give me a range of .5 to 5 rpm at the positioner plate.

Seemed stepper motors gave me the large range of RPM, and if needed, I can add a geared torque convert.

This will be my controller for speed and direction. It's actually a driver as well... though, only up to 4 amps, stepper motor is rated for 2.8. I have no clue what I'm really doing so it'll be error and trial experience.

It also looks like it has on the back options for auxiliary input for start stop, clock wise and counter clock wise position... hopefully that means I can wire in a foot pedal... though I have no idea how the input signals works (yet...).

 

[pontiac428]

Certiflat uses a velcro strap to hold down a drill trigger? Wow, that's slick.

So, is the Certiflat positioner gold-plated like the rest of their stuff? I took strong offense to their price list before COVID. In my opinion, a 50% kit should come with a 50% price. Their current lists are just appallingly high. I can buy a commercial table at a local auction for less then their homeowner-grade surfaces.

 

[keeena]

@skcncx - What welding process/es are you expecting to use with the positioner? .5 to 5 should be OK for Tig, but you may want a bit more range if you're using for Mig. IIRC mine is .3 to 10 and I think that's similar to most other commercial tabletop positioners. Material, thickness, & diameter obviously come into play too.

Ability for the motor to both lock up (if you want to use a speed chuck) as well as disengage so you can freewheel are handy features.

Check this thread out for repurposing a wood lathe chuck into a speed chuck for pretty cheap: H-M Link

 

[skcncx]

@skcncx - What welding process/es are you expecting to use with the positioner? .5 to 5 should be OK for Tig, but you may want a bit more range if you're using for Mig. IIRC mine is .3 to 10 and I think that's similar to most other commercial tabletop positioners. Material, thickness, & diameter obviously come into play too.

Ability for the motor to both lock up (if you want to use a speed chuck) as well as disengage so you can freewheel are handy features.

Check this thread out for repurposing a wood lathe chuck into a speed chuck for pretty cheap: H-M Link

Mainly MIG. So far, all i've done is MIG aluminum welding. My first project, is welding 36 3" round disks/flanges onto the end of some 1" schedule 80 pipe. Thanks for the .3 to 10 RPM range, that's good to know.

I'll check out that thread you mention... initially, I don't need a chuck but intended on getting a cheep old face mount 3 jaw.

 

[skcncx]

Certiflat uses a velcro strap to hold down a drill trigger? Wow, that's slick.

Agree, I personally don't even think they should advertise that. It's a clever idea for the 5 minute quick get up and running to try it out... but as an advertised feature, seems like a joke. Hence, if they don't have a motor or full package, even as a kit, at least provide a part list.

So, is the Certiflat positioner gold-plated like the rest of their stuff? I took strong offense to their price list before COVID. In my opinion, a 50% kit should come with a 50% price. Their current lists are just appallingly high. I can buy a commercial table at a local auction for less then their homeowner-grade surfaces.

I find these rotary positioners ANYWHERE oddly expensive for what they do. New, commercial, benchtop ones, start at $1500+, probably why they think the $415 kit price is not bad. Auctions around here are not that great, if you want, what you want and are particular about it, you pay for it. That may or may not justify their cost, it is a shame just their kit is so much... but by the time I make my own, design, source parts, build... I'd be paying more especially with my time. I'm paying twice for aluminum tube, pipe, bar than what I was just 2 years ago and that's nearly direct from the mill.

 

[pontiac428]

My Dad has what I think is an Enco positioner that he bought and paid for on a short production run, and has used it ever since. It was $400 a long time ago, but I saw a similar one go for $450 on eBay recently. Plug and play with speed controls, multiple ranges, foot switch, chuck and table.

Or, a few clicks with the credit card at Surplus Center would get you started toward a robust positioner.

The Certiflat kit is little more than raw materials in my opinion, which makes it kinda ridiculous, because all the other parts put together aren't going to cost what their cutouts for the body and frame cost.

I dunno, probably just grumpy today.

 

[skcncx]

My Dad has what I think is an Enco positioner that he bought and paid for on a short production run, and has used it ever since. It was $400 a long time ago, but I saw a similar one go for $450 on eBay recently. Plug and play with speed controls, multiple ranges, foot switch, chuck and table.

Or, a few clicks with the credit card at Surplus Center would get you started toward a robust positioner.

The Certiflat kit is little more than raw materials in my opinion, which makes it kinda ridiculous, because all the other parts put together aren't going to cost what their cutouts for the body and frame cost.

I dunno, probably just grumpy today.

No doubt there are deals to be had. And no offense taken in any way. I've searched ebay, and part of the issues is you have to know what you are looking for (brands, models, etc..) and willing to wait. I'm not in either camp at the moment. The certiflat isn't much more than raw materials, but you are getting their design, not saying it's the greatest design, but that does take time if you were to create it from scratch. I'm sure if someone has easy access to the material (cost effectively), the CAD drawings and access to cutout the parts relatively cheaply I'm sure that kit could be half the cost. I did pay more to have them assemble, worth my time to show up ready to go (kind of, with a drill).

I'll have to checkout that surplus center site, I've heard that from a few people with good deals... but it seems like going to an auction, if you need/want something, you may not have the luxury of waiting for that great deal.

I have tried to find a profax bench top one, they seem to be popular, at least via searches, but they all seems to be north of $2k.

 

[coherent]

I bought my Certiflat positioner kit when they first released it and they had a special price for first 200 orders for $239. I found a really nice heavy duty gear motor on ebay brand new in the box for a fraction of what it would have sold for new and then added a variable speed controller. Total was less than $300 and I can adjust it to any speed from a stop to way faster than you'd ever need. I'm just a hobby welder and for my investment I've no complaints and it works fine. I later found a really cheap 3 jaw chuck to mount to the table and it makes things really simple.
Their current price of over $400 for just the basic kit seems a bit steep but if you can catch a sale it's still a ok option for hobbyists.

 

[pontiac428]

I'll have to checkout that surplus center site, I've heard that from a few people with good deals... but it seems like going to an auction, if you need/want something, you may not have the luxury of waiting for that great deal.

I've been using Surplus Center since the days of 1-800 and paper catalogs. It's a one-stop source for mechanical components from pulleys to chain drives to pneumatics. Their prices vary, but overall they are as good as the name implies (like Grainger at half price). Whenever I am doing power transmission as part of a project, they're my first stop.

I understand being in a hurry, on budget, and needing it now, for all the various reasons. Sometimes that comes with ponying up and compromising. It's easy for me to say, well, if I was going to design a rotary positioner... and fill you in on the details, when the truth is you just want a good solution with some convenience. I shouldn't attack that, I should understand the constraints instead.