If ya read the posts (Geez, I've been yelping at kids all day who were being in little lax in their reading..) then you'd have noted it will weld anything. It's ability as a plasma cutter is pretty good, though it is a little slower than some. The beauty of this unit is it's user friendly. For example, butt-welding steel w/o cutting a welding chamfer. It's also pretty effective when the material hasn't been cleaned and prepped very well.
Below I've copied one of the posts from a fella who visited the distributer in Calif. and tried one out... from the link in post #1 above:
Now onto the product. It is definitely a unique product that does what it advertizes on the website, videos and etc. It is not some fly by night, get rich quick scam or anything else. So from that point its definitely legit. Also they are still very much in a learning curve themselves as to what this product can do and the best ways to do it. To best describe it, it is a cross between a small plasma cutter and an OA/TIG setup in the way it cuts, welds and brazes. For a machine that has no internal or external compressor/ pump etc. the plasma cutting on 1/4 or thinner material is quite impressive. It does almost look like a standard plasma cutter "flame" when cutting. It is however significantly slower than a traditional plasma. I did pierce and allow very accurate cuts in some 3/16" plate that I tried.
On the welding side. very much like OA welding as far as torch movement and feeding the rod.
I did try a couple pieces of aluminum with unimpresive results, but in talking with George during the demo, this is one area they are trying to find a better method of joining. My observation was the the paste flux was burning off and creating byproducts around the weld as the flux was not intended to work with the temps of that tool... I suggested that they try the Al stick electrodes with the dry flux and see what happens..
I also ran a couple pieces of brass and was able to push the puddle right along on some brass gauge plate.
I was offered and accepted an invite to go back and spend a day of hood time and to bring any metals, rods etc i wanted to try out.
The machine uses distilled water to make the plasma for cutting and a Isopropol alcohol and water solution for the welding/brazing side. the guns run about 20-30 minutes on a fill. the tip is a copper tip like a plasma cutter with a tungsten electrode built into the center of it... a knob on the back adjusts a cathode assembly that moves closer or further away from the tip to vary the output voltage. The buttons on the machine (mode 1 and 2) each have 6 positions. I am not totally clear on how to describe how to gun adjustment and the mode settings on the machine work together; though the machine buttons seem to be more like an arc force or puddle control. This is one reason I wanted to go back and get some more hood time on the machine...
From a quality control standpoint, George does pull out every machine and fire them up, test run, check settings and calibration before they get shipped out. We spent quite a bit of time discussing quality control and infancy falilure. I made some suggestions on how to improve quality control and testing which I think they will probably adopt.... So very receptive to input from consumers. I was told that their current failure rate is around 1/2 %: so far it seems only about 4-5 machines have had issues. 2 are with a customer who apparently managed to kill 2 inverters in a matter of hours. thus he decided to return them less a restocking fee. From discussion and seeing their testing process it seems like maybe operator error. thus they are rewriting the connection and installation section of the manual to make it (what I would call) more idiot proof: more labels, color coding etc.
Keep in mind, I did stop into their office totally unannounced, however they were extremely helpful and receptive. If you are in the LA area, give Patrica a call and go try this thing out.
I will try and get some pics up when i get the time. gotta go play with the kiddos now.
It its impressive enough that I wanted to get some more time with the machine.. As of yet I am not sure what niche market it fills at the $1995 price tag. That much money could buy a nice little inverter or mig welder and a plasma machine. Potential seems good for welding dissimilar metals, thin materials, limited need for plasma or thin material plasma...
Gary
darksider #44
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