Any one have a 3 in 1 tig/arc/plasma unit

Share ideas/designs/theories/tips/development:
(manifolds, chassis, personal projects, MIG, TIG, etc)
Post Reply
keytops
Dont Question My Nissan Knowledge
Posts: 772
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:24 am
Location: SOCAL

Any one have a 3 in 1 tig/arc/plasma unit

Post by keytops »

These 3 in 1 machines are all over ebay from $200 to $2000 any of them any good? Anyone have one? Deceny buy? Chinese garbage. I have a miller MIG that I like but it would be nice to play with aluminum too so I'm looking for a welder and I stumbled upon these things

http://tiny.cc/3in1tig
98 s14 SE Track and weekender.
marko76
Knows Some Stuff About 240's!
Posts: 269
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:49 am
Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast

Post by marko76 »

You can definitely weld Aluminum with a mig. You just have to change out the gears and use Argon (...and yes you can use other gasses, I just prefer Argon...)
Ka stands for: Kicks A$$!!
User avatar
eazye2000
Encyclopedia-Nissan
Posts: 1358
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:32 am
Location: Inverness, FL
Contact:

Post by eazye2000 »

Straight Argon with a MIG, or get fancy and get a mix with some Helium...
But yeah, a MIG welding aluminum depends on if it has only DC capability, or if it has the bells and whistles of AC or push/pull or pulsing... Not sure what Miller you have, or if you can do any of this.

But my Lincoln MIG that only did DC, I used straight Argon, and could weld almost 1/8" at 140amps DC. Key is to get the metal pre-heated and practice about 10 minutes on something that is similar of what you want to do. It's almost like dripping wax into a crack if that makes sense.

But I have no experience with the Chinese 3-in-1 machines. I do, however, have a 50amp Plasma from eBay for like 400 bucks, and it does 1/2" cuts on steel like nobody's business.... I think it's a gamble on eBay with this foreign stuff.

My 1/50th of a buck
Image
KoukiKAT
Knows Some Stuff About 240's!
Posts: 287
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:43 pm

Post by KoukiKAT »

I've considered getting a multipurpose box. I like the Longevity ones, since they seem to have pretty good warranties and customer service. No experience with them though.
The 240SX is dead. Long live the 240SX!
User avatar
Jordan Gladman
Belongs To The TOP CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS!
Posts: 3254
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 11:14 pm
Location: Abbotsford, BC

Post by Jordan Gladman »

You cant TIG aluminum unless you get a high frequency TIG, the cheap scratch start TIGs barely weld steel as it is. I bought a Miller 180 w/ spool gun, works great for welding aluminum. IMO this is one of the cheapest solutions for laying a decent weld on aluminum, anything short of a decent TIG or spool gun is going to be hell. Lincon offers a spool gun, find out if it fits your unit. Trying to use a regular feeder and nylon liner will get you about 1" of weld for every 10' of wire because you pretty much jam up the wire every time you start and stop, its not fun.
WWW.GLADFAB.COM SOHC Turbo Manifolds
Jackasknissan
Belongs To The TOP CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS!
Posts: 1517
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Richmond, BC

Post by Jackasknissan »

any dc stick welder, and a spoolmate 30 w/ pulse pack, works fantastic, consideringi weld aluminum boats from time to time at work, and also for boat building all that gets used in the shop is a miller xmt 304 with a xr30 push. pull wire feeder.

fiy, tig is the only aluminum weldoing that is done in AC, both stick and wire feed, are done in dcen,

the positive electrodfe element is what cleans with tig, and the nagative gives the heast input into the weldment. the buzzing you hear has to do with the frequency the inits pule at, as well as the arcs trim ( aka luder buzz is les vlotge, wheich means a dirtier arc, and the wire pushes more penatrastion.

invest in either a tig or a good spool gun combo ( the spoolmate 30 is the best gun out there, it is a time proven design, .

the spoolmate 100 200 work, but are ****, the 3035 is mediokre at best,

very often for service calls, all that gets used is the portable dc CC stick welder, and a spoolmate 30.

cc/ cv, traditionally mig has always been done on constant voltage, so it keeps a constant self correcting arc loength. how ever with lincolnms. power350 they are using a pulsed current setup ( same idea as puleded tig only a much greater differetial in current). this has shown that you can use a tradition cv spool gun, on a cc machine, and the ghange in arc length, which does change the heat input( resistance) will change the voltage which according to ohms law means that when are lengh changes, aperage must inturn, which changes voltage and restabilizes the arc to its proper burn rate.


helium is a hotter arc, and gives a far less stable arc and gives much more spatter.

how ever with a helium/ oxy/ argon mix ( about 1-2% oxy) its enough to give more penetration and a slightly more stable arc


I probably went into more info that 99% of those out there.

sorry
Turbo24sxt wrote:SOHC > DOHC ... period ...
oaznbeasto wrote: Hey 6 posts, Go **** yourself! learn something then post[/quote
Jackasknissan
Belongs To The TOP CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS!
Posts: 1517
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Richmond, BC

Post by Jackasknissan »

any dc stick welder, and a spoolmate 30 w/ pulse pack, works fantastic, consideringi weld aluminum boats from time to time at work, and also for boat building all that gets used in the shop is a miller xmt 304 with a xr30 push. pull wire feeder.

fiy, tig is the only aluminum weldoing that is done in AC, both stick and wire feed, are done in dcen,

the positive electrodfe element is what cleans with tig, and the nagative gives the heast input into the weldment. the buzzing you hear has to do with the frequency the inits pule at, as well as the arcs trim ( aka luder buzz is les vlotge, wheich means a dirtier arc, and the wire pushes more penatrastion.

invest in either a tig or a good spool gun combo ( the spoolmate 30 is the best gun out there, it is a time proven design, .

the spoolmate 100 200 work, but are ****, the 3035 is mediokre at best,

very often for service calls, all that gets used is the portable dc CC stick welder, and a spoolmate 30.

cc/ cv, traditionally mig has always been done on constant voltage, so it keeps a constant self correcting arc loength. how ever with lincolnms. power350 they are using a pulsed current setup ( same idea as puleded tig only a much greater differetial in current). this has shown that you can use a tradition cv spool gun, on a cc machine, and the ghange in arc length, which does change the heat input( resistance) will change the voltage which according to ohms law means that when are lengh changes, aperage must inturn, which changes voltage and restabilizes the arc to its proper burn rate.


helium is a hotter arc, and gives a far less stable arc and gives much more spatter.

how ever with a helium/ oxy/ argon mix ( about 1-2% oxy) its enough to give more penetration and a slightly more stable arc


I probably went into more info that 99% of those out there.

sorry
Turbo24sxt wrote:SOHC > DOHC ... period ...
oaznbeasto wrote: Hey 6 posts, Go **** yourself! learn something then post[/quote
HoboNasty
Driving Mom's Station Wagon
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 8:17 pm

Post by HoboNasty »

I don't know anything about welding. So I got out of this that AC is for aluminum and DC is for Steel?
keytops
Dont Question My Nissan Knowledge
Posts: 772
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:24 am
Location: SOCAL

Post by keytops »

Yea. That is correct.

I definitly plan on getting a welder with the AC balance function so I can adjust penetration/ cleanliness. The plasma cutting feature is also a big plus, I know thats going to come in handy. I think I'll put some of my tax money toward one but I was hoping someone on here has tried them and knows if they are decent or a waste of time.
98 s14 SE Track and weekender.
je_decoy
Dreams of owning a 240!
Posts: 91
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:16 pm
Location: NV-CO

Post by je_decoy »

keytops wrote:Yea. That is correct.

I definitly plan on getting a welder with the AC balance function so I can adjust penetration/ cleanliness. The plasma cutting feature is also a big plus, I know thats going to come in handy. I think I'll put some of my tax money toward one but I was hoping someone on here has tried them and knows if they are decent or a waste of time.
If your looking at getting a multiple welding unit I have used miller dynasty and they are very good machines im not to sure of how much they go for lately but awesome rusults and clean welds no matter what process you choose ... well I hope this helps good luck
Post Reply