About welding RF ignition arc-start

Also look at the total package, by the time you buy the welder, and then buy whatever is needed to add HF start and you do the engineering and insulation, you might have spent less total money just getting what you really want in the first place. Then there is also the cost if you happen to blow some expensive part while doing your modifications. When it is all done will it really work as well as one designed to do HF in the first place?

For me the choice is easy, I want to be able to weld aluminum and steel (not to each other) AL like AC and steel likes DC, every AC/DC TIG welder I have looked at so far also has HF start.
 
Flyinfool said:
Also look at the total package, by the time you buy the welder, and then buy whatever is needed to add HF start and you do the engineering and insulation, you might have spent less total money just getting what you really want in the first place. Then there is also the cost if you happen to blow some expensive part while doing your modifications. When it is all done will it really work as well as one designed to do HF in the first place?

For me the choice is easy, I want to be able to weld aluminum and steel (not to each other) AL like AC and steel likes DC, every AC/DC TIG welder I have looked at so far also has HF start.
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For a nut like me - not very likely! :)
I already dragged a thread into the weeds on the pros and cons of various welder selections.
As it happens, I have been making little RF plasmas for years. A circuit capable of it is like a toy thing that drives a partly evacuated glass globe to get a colourful discharge display. For the arc to happen at full air pressure takes higher voltage, but so long as it is a 100kHz or more type, and high impedance, it's safe enough.
 
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Q1. Is RF ignition a feature that could help start all the other weld methods as well? (I mean other than TIG)

Not really.

Q2. Is RF start something that can be done with an add-on technology? Could one have it in/on a TIG torch, or spool gun?

Only if you have an advanced degree in electrical engineering specializing in the power electroncs side of things.

Q3. Is there something fundamentally incompatible about MIG welder's current supply, making it unsuitable for TIG?

The negitive terminal is where metal comes off of and deposits itself in the weld. You don't want the tungsten deposited, so the polarity is reversed. In MIG and Stick, the electrode IS the consumable, in tig the tungsten is not a consumable, the filler rod is.

Q4. What exactly are the problems of TIG-LIFT. Can we have advice from some who have tried it? Can one get good at it?

THe major problem is tungsten contamination where the tungsten picks up tiny pieces of the metal being welded (remember the negative stuff from before) and this leads to porocity and pinholes in the weld beads.

Lift start is better than scratch start, HF start is better than either.
 
Twirpunky said:
Yep, gotta have AC for aluminium.
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not exactly
Mig welders are DC machines{generally speaking} (except for the very inexpensive HF units)
the is a lot of mig welding aluminum DC reverse polarity in production
 
In reality it depends in what you want to do with the welder. Usually two separate machines are need if you want to "Do it all"

1. Dedicated MIG welder. This is a Constant Voltage machine designed for wire fed semi-automatic welding.
2. A dedicated AC/DC Constant current machine with HF.

Multi process machines try to fit both 1 & 2 into the same machine. Limited results. You don't get AC or HF with a Multi-process. You do get DC CC for stick and lift arc Tig and DC CV for MIG.

For the money, I go with two separate machines.

Miller just released a new welder this year that does "Do it all" It has AC/DC HF CC and CV MIG. I have not used one yet so I cannot say if it the real deal or not. Seems like it was around $3000.

For the same $$ you could have two dedicated welders.

D
 
Ulma Doctor said:
not exactly
Mig welders are DC machines{generally speaking} (except for the very inexpensive HF units)
the is a lot of mig welding aluminum DC reverse polarity in production
Click to expand...
I was reference to TIG. Yes, a lot of aluminium is done with a spool gun CVDC and industrial wire fed machines. Not really what the OP was looking for.

D
 
I have a mate who's a shipwright, he says they use MIG and spool guns all the time on Ali hulls. We're talking thick gauge plate, fat wire, lots of amps and get the job done because time is money. Right tool for the job, and all that! TIG in that situation would take many times longer for no better result.

I've often pondered messing with hybrid TIG, though. Think standard TIG torch with auto feed wire in from the side from a MIG feed. Amperage on right foot, pedal to tap on the left for wire feed or something like that. Sorry, off topic! Lol

Wasn't a dig, Graham. I fall into that place myself quite often! :D
 
You will think welding is impossible at 1st when you try to use that lift arc machine.......

If you are just trying to learn a DC machine is good enough but If you want to make money with it I would highly recommend getting one with AC most people I encounter that need something welded need aluminum....
 
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