TIG pulser

[vwguy3]

I am looking for opinions and I think I found the right place.
I have a red Square Wave 175 Pro tig and am interested to know if a pulser is a justified addition or just a neat toy.
Thanks for the input.
Mike

[Guest]

Re: TIG pulser

Originally posted by vwguy3
I am looking for opinions and I think I found the right place.
I have a red Square Wave 175 Pro tig and am interested to know if a pulser is a justified addition or just a neat toy.
Thanks for the input.
Mike

That depends entirely on what you plan to do with it.

[Mike Sherman]

I have pulse on two of my tig units. I have used it and found that good, I mean really good tig welders don't need it. It is helpful for thin material with poor fit up if you are not proficient in your own right. I don't bother with it anymore. I personnally would not pay extra for it again. Just my opinion, I do know several people who swear by it, I am not one of them.

[brianw]

to pulse or not to pulse

vwguy3,
what rocky said about it depends on what you are planning on doing with it is absolutely true, if you are planning on doing very thin critical tig than you are more limited by the machine itself than by whether or not it can pulse. For the $350 that the pulser module costs I would say there are other things you can invest in to make your welds better, from a good auto darkening hood to a better welding table. Some people do feel that pulsing on stainless helps with warping but even with pulse you will still get some on long welds, maybe better off investing in more clamps. If you do decide to get it let us know how you like it. BW

[Scott V]

Sometimes it depends on the pulser unit.Some of them you can spend all day setting them up when you could of been done way sooner if you never used it.I had two pulse tigs,and two pulse migs.The pulse migs are the real thing,and the pulse tigs I could live without.I did use my pulse on my tig on ac aluminum for the first time in three years,and I kind of like it.You don't need it though.

[p.dow]

module vrs. integral

i am wondering if the comments regarding the modular pulse add on are just as applicable to those units that come integral with the pulse feature ?
or is the pulse feature good - its just that it costs somewhat more to retrofit as compared to having a unit it is built into already ?

thanks
paul

[bjdenommee]

I have the add on pulse for my 175 Lincoln, and I use it sometimes. Other times it seems to hold me back as the setup takes time.

I find that the unit is helpful when stock cannot be cleaned as much as you would like.

Bernie

[awill4x4]

Personally, I love pulse Tig welding. That being said, I am using a very high end inverter machine built by OTC Japan with similar features to Millers aerowave.
We Tig weld basically all day every day on all sorts of materials and like everything, it's just a matter of learning what you and your machine are capable of. There are many parameters to learn with pulse welding and when I find something I'm happy with, I simply write it all down. That way it's a easy matter to replicate what you have done previously.
I've posted an attachment of just what is achievable with pulse welding.
Regards Andrew.

[morpheus]

wow ... that is very nice looking work !

- jack

[p.dow]

andrew - thanks for the info. writing settings down sounds like a very good practice to get into.
a very handsome weld you attached.


paul

[vwguy3]

Thanks to all for the opinions, I appreciate them. I tend to over analyse stuff. I really enjoy the toys but if I am not going to use it no sense buying it just to look at. I asked a friend that does fab for a cart team and he said the same, that it is useful but not for the work I do and he only uses it on chomemoly.

[chip hayden]

i agree with everyone about the value of a tig pulser but just as a sidebar, about ten years ago, a miller rep and myself toyed with the idea of using the miller pulser with a miller wire feeder.
jim appleby was the rep[ you guys up in appleton might recall the name] and although we never tried it, we were pretty sure it would work. if i can find the schematic/pictoral we drew up i"ll try to post it. meanwhile, maybe you guys in the fox river area can give us a better idea if it would work or not.

[Guest]

We had a contract to build a surface effect ship for the Navy 25 or 30 years ago, now. All 5356 aluminum...all MIG welded with Airco PA3 pulser machines. Water cooled with MK wirefeeders on Bernard booms. 3/64" wire. Torch cables 25 feet long. All the welds were Xray on 1/2", material as I remember. The pulse sounded like a buzz..I forgot the parameters, but it really did produce xray quality welds. However it was very difficult...the guys worked 18 hours 7 days a week for a couple of years on it. I didn't get on that project, but I worked close to those who did.

[chip hayden]

yeah, i know what you mean about the buzz. i think it was a kemmpi or a powcon the first time i heard that pulsing. god, it was awful.

[dseman]

Chip,
My understanding is that with a single-pulsed mig the arc pulse rate is around 50-250hz and equalizes the burn-off rate of the filler wire to give a constant arc length without short circuiting (as the arc current is pulsed). The wire feed speed is maintained as a relative constant. There are quite a few parameters that all need to be set in concert, but in theory this should work. The frequency limit would be based upon the power source limit--transformers will have a limited pulse rate compared to an inverter. The double pulse mig which produces the bead appearance similar to tig incorporates variable wire feed speed in addition to the variable arc current. Knowing what the variables should be set at for any given material type,thickness, filler, and gas is what takes time to develop.

I think Miller would be happier if you bought a pulsed mig system from them rather than them telling you how you could develop your own It is their bread and butter you know.

-dseman