I have an old Miller synchrowave that I picked up a year ago and I love this machine but, recently I have had a problem welding on aluminum. No matter how much I clean and prep, I am getting pretty much instant contamination! Now, I have rebuilt the cables and checked and polished any and all contact point throughout the machine,Changed out the argon, Still nothing!. This is one of those old units where the high-frequency is louder than shit and will let you know if its working i.e. it will shock the shit out of you (people who have one of the machines will attest to that) Now, I have no problem welding on anything else and it seems the HF unit engages and shuts off accordingly. I guess my question is, could this be caused by a faulty point set???? This particular machine has 3 point set modules. Has anyone rebuilt any of these? I would prefer to off-set the cost of buying these brand new. They look like regular automotive point sets, so another question is, Has anyone adapted an automotive application set to fit on a HF unit? Any ideas?
HR,I have had a problem similar to your .Some the guys at the welding shop get a bottle that has been left open and thay forget to pearge it .Try another bottle before you go crazy .I wish somebody would have tipped me off. I bough a new welder and it still worked like shit till my buddy tipped me off. Learned my lesson the hard way, but i can weld some big shit now!
The point sets on the Miller Welders we use are set at .018 There not that hard to replace and your welding supply has em and will tell you what to gap them at. You can clean them w/sandpaper on a flat surface if not to pitted. How much gas pressure are you using? Is there a leak in your torch or hose leads. I work aircraft repair and we run 5 to 10 psi argon w/ just enough Helium through a wye fitting to make the gage move. We don't use a gas lens. A small #4 or #5 cup works best. Be sure that the tungsten is clean, not just the point, the whole tungsten. We don't use pure, only 2%. 3/32 and up for the heavy stuff. We also acid etch or glass bead anything we work on prior to welding. You didn't say what you were welding but some cast objects are die cast with a lot of zinc that will fume when you try to tig it. Hope this helps.
Did the Bottle thing! Have had that experience before! All of the rods are kept in a safe place away from moisture. Contamination occures at the strike, not with the dip! I've tried from my knowledge every simple solution and have now graduated to the more difficult! Has anyone purchased Argon lately? Is their a problem with purity going along with the supposed shortage?
I have an Idea...Move to Austin and let Kingsley fix it. I will ask the Crusties at Matheson tomorrow. they can fix about anything. have you tried a nitrous style filter on your argon tank? could be a cheap easy fix.
All of the aluminum that I have been working with is all new stuff and all of the brushes and scotch-brite is all aluminum specific. We're pretty anal about mixing up our prep materials. I've tried using the 2% Thoriated Tungston But my machine is so picky that it only likes the pure Tungston for aluminum. Gas is Argon at about 12 pounds and you can hear it at the tip! Im going ahead and opting for the water-cooled torch set-up just to see if the torch could be a problem but I havent been able to find a leak as of yet! I usually run about a #6 to a #7 tip on a 3/32 tungston. This all was pretty much an overnight occurance! One day it was fine and the next was shit!
I hate to ask, but have you checked your polarity? You're set to AC, right? Continuous Hi-freq? Is your cup slagged up? If there's gunk stuck to the lip of the cup, it'll swirl outside air into your purge zone. I've had tips get hot and crack, and that little bit will fuck-up a weld. You can clean your points, but I don't believe that would act like this. Good luck and let us know what you find. JOE
I have a pretty decent collection of brand new tips and have tried that! Hell even the collet and collet body are brand new. Like I said one day=Good!, next day=BAD! What could happen in a matter of 12 hours without changing anything thatwould cause such adverse affects? Could Argon go bad if the line wasn't purged properly and some how work its way into the tank? It acts like the HF isnt doing its job! One other thing! I cant get the arch to travel the shortest distance to the material rather it seems to have a lightning storm affect always pushing away from me and traveling over the surface of the material and leaves behind a burn on the metal that looks like a lightning bolt and the Tungston and the cup turn white with a kind of powdery ash. It seems that the HF is working but it cant strike the LF arc
The Ground was the first thing I thought of and I went through and rebuilt the entire ground, completely took apart the clamp cleaned all of the contact points even dressed the wire back to see if there was any oxidation. None! Redid the ends anyway. Put it all back together , Same thing! I used the machine just a little while ago on some hardend steel bolts for a gun dealer here in town and it works great! And we built some stainless tables 2 weeks ago and the machine worked great other than a little more "sugaring" than normal but still came out great and only had to regrind the tungston twice in about a 10 hour job! Can you skratch-start on aluminum? Because I've had absolutely no luck with that!
Hey HRH, I would check the setup...You do have the HF setting on Continuous (sp)...If your Arc starts, then stops...that is the HF not switching back on the downslope of the AC cycle...but that should not have anything to do with the contamination issues...but could be the points. I have a friend going thru the same ordeal right now...I carried my Argon over, my filler rods and even some material...with the same results you are getting. We are trying a new torch set this week...but kinda doubtful about that. His is a Hobart machine, and the points are not as "complex" as that Syncrowave...cleaned them with a little better results, but still welding horrible. Please keep us updated to your findings --reed
Bingo, You can't use a dry torch set up with AC. The high freq will heat up the torch to the point of melting. Ever blow a hose on a wet rig and see how hot it gets, real quick like. I'm surprized the hose hasn't blown out before now. Switch to a wet rig and I'd bet your problems go away. Something like a HW-17.
Had the same problem with the syncro at work. Check the lead from the pedal to the machine. Had some frayed wires about 6" from the pedal. Guy just taped the outside. They were touching eachother. I respliced them all and put shrink tube on em and taped after. Now the machine is workin fine. Inspect that wire closley. You may have to take the pedal apart and unplug the other end and test it with an ohm meter. Hope this helps. FEDER
Why would you need to? If you have to scratch start on Aluminum, your hi-freq isn't working, at all. JOE
Thanks feeder I'll check that! What I want to know is can you scratch start on the AC cycle? What Im saying that happens is that it sticks and will not scratch start what-so-ever! Just thinking out loud! And still dredging along!
My Miller had the same problem a couple of years ago, they had to replace one of the capacitors that are in series with the points... CC
Going to check the capacitors today and take them down to the repair shop that we have here in town. Guy does top-notch work! Guess I'm just going to have to choke up the dough for the tech work!
Ask here, there's a bunch of pro's and guys who work at Miller and Hobart. http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/forumdisplay.php?f=3
Talk to your local Miller Service Center, the problems you say you are having, the arc wonder etc. would be typical if you were trying to use a dry rig (gas cooled) torch to weld aluminum w/pure tungsten. On an gas cooled torch rated for 125 amps. The tungsten operates at a higher temp, this may cause slough (the tungsten shreads) into the puddle. If your trying to weld on AC at this amp range on AC your overheating the tungsten. This will leave a white oxide on the torch and material. Black oxide is from dipping the tunsten into the puddle or the rod touching the tungsten. High Frequency is used to re-establish the arc with AC current. I doubt if thats your problem. You have no problem welding DC because your not exceeding the amp range and the high frequency has no effect on the puddle but makes a hell of a pilot light. Talk to Miller, buy a wetrig and never look back.
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