New TIG Toy...

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Oh yes I did!
That is a vintage 1993 Panasonic AC/DC 300 Amp TIG welder and water cooling pump for said TIG welder.

Just a tick over $1800.

Believe it or not but with only argon gas, not helium, this unit is supposed to be able to weld 3/4" thick Aluminium, that is quite something.

A short write up about this welder >>Here<<

If these guys Aerojet/Rocketdyne used this welder to weld up stuff for rocket engines, I figure it should be good enough my my projects!

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Yes it is three phase, and yes it is large, but it should be the last TIG welder I need to own.

Of course now I have to learn how to TIG weld too..... :D

Cheers!
 
Way to go Stu what a deal congrats. Looking forward to seeing what you get into welding with this.
My crystal ball says a new aluminum trailer thats lighter in empty weight than the existing one. :)
Btw how is L store trailer doing?

Any chance u can rustle up some custom work (once u have mastered the tig) from that bicycle store u made the custom cabinets for?

sent from s4
 
Way to go Stu what a deal congrats. Looking forward to seeing what you get into welding with this.
My crystal ball says a new aluminum trailer thats lighter in empty weight than the existing one. :)
Btw how is L store trailer doing?

Any chance u can rustle up some custom work (once u have mastered the tig) from that bicycle store u made the custom cabinets for?

sent from s4

First I have to learn to TIG weld, but then, who knows?

I'm working at filling out my arsenal of tools and skills so that at some time in the future, I'll be able to do just about anything to support my wife and I (the kids are on their own once I pay for 4 years of University!).

The new trailer will most likely be of steel, but Cromoly steel, much stronger and lighter than the simple mild steel I used on the first trailer. Aluminum is cool, but it takes a lot of extra steps to do it right.
 
Stu, do you know how to oxy-acet braze? If so, TIG is so much like that except your foot has the power/temp control. I find people that can oxy-acet braze are easier to grasp the TIG concept. Good luck.
 
I've always used argon with TIG. Of course not having done it in 12 years may explain something. Make sure you prep both ends of the electrode...trust me!
That thing will weld foil or engine casings...they just flat rock!
 
Stu, do you know how to oxy-acet braze? If so, TIG is so much like that except your foot has the power/temp control. I find people that can oxy-acet braze are easier to grasp the TIG concept. Good luck.

Yeah I can, it's been a while but I can gas weld. In fact I did some TIG a VERY long time ago, and the biggest thing I took away from it is that it is a skill that you need to keep up. This unit has NO foot pedal, the guys on Welding Web are kind of freaking out about that :D

Nice! Did you get it in time to share with Cirque? I know you are on WeldingWeb and there are lots of helpful people there. If you haven't already found them, these instructional videos from Jody and Lance have been very helpful:
http://welding-tv.com/2012/07/31/6g...he-hot-pass/?gclid=CPCX-a362rcCFeU5QgodJ3QA7A
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChuckE2009?feature=watch

Thanks, I do know about Jody and Lanse!
I hope that Cirque will have some use for it, but that did not make me buy it, I wanted it for me!

I've always used argon with TIG. Of course not having done it in 12 years may explain something. Make sure you prep both ends of the electrode...trust me!
That thing will weld foil or engine casings...they just flat rock!

Yeah, I'm going to set up an old grinder to just grind electrodes.

I pick it up on Tuesday!
 
I went and got my new to me TIG welder today, in the rain, the sleet and then the snow!


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All the parts look to be there, and I figured out how things are plumbed, the hoses were just sliced off, so I could tell which one went where by matching the cut hoses up.


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The control panel, lots of knobs and switches to fool with.
I'm going to contact Panasonic and see if I can get a manual for this machine, maybe even one in English, as this machine was sold in the US as well.


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The torch, it is water cooled, which is good, as I have the water cooling unit as well!


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I popped the front cover off to hook up, or at least figure out where to hook up everything.


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The argon regulator and the ground clamp.


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The four connectors from the torch, the one two prong connector is for the switch on the torch, the large connector is a water connector, the dark colored smaller on is for the water as well, and the clean smaller one is the argon gas, that much I figured out.


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The lower middle of the pic is the argon gas connection, and the multi pin connector is labeled "Remocon" which is for a remote control, I think one of these......


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No pedals have I seen here except for on the Chinese import machines.


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Everything is just placed how it should be plumbed, I'm going to buy new water hoses for it, as the old ones are quite stiff, I worry about their integrity.


Now I have to wire up a plug from my 200V three phase breaker and check to make sure this thing works, the recycle company I bought it from says it worked fine at the factory it was at, but they did not have 3-phase power in shop to test it, I have a three day warranty, so I'd better get cracking!


Both units have wheels built in, but I was thinking about a stacking cart, mainly to save space and it would also give me a place to coil up the ground lead and the torch leads, and if it is all on one cart, then plumbing the water cooler should also be easier.


I'm excited to get a new piece of kit, but a bit intimidated on how I'm going to figure this all out.
I also found this English pamphlet on the newer version of my welder >>HERE<<
Cheers!
 
I took the covers off the machine and had a look.....


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Yep, it's dirty, needs a good cleaning, I'll get the compressor out and the vacuum and get rid of that dust. I'll go easy for sure, Don't want to knock off any wires.


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Confirmed, built in 1991, this welder is older than my eldest daughter who is now in university!




OK, I'll try to show what the controls are, so I can try to figure them out for myself


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1 Pulse Amps
2 Pulse Frequency
3 Up Slope (Seconds)
4 Down Slope (Seconds)
5 Arc Spot (Seconds)
6 After Flow (Seconds)




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7 Pulse Low/Mid/None
8 Crater On/Off/???
9 Torch Air cooled/Water cooled
10 Starting Amp
11 Melting Amp
12 Crater Amp


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13 Cleaning Narrow/Wide
14 Mix TIG - DC TIG - AC TIG - Arc Welding


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15 ???
16 ???
17 ??? (Water check?)
18 Gas Check - Welding - Arc Spot
19 Main On/Off Switch


I have to ask my wife to read some of the Kanji, they are beyond my skill in Japanese, but I'll figure it out.


Now I need to get some more Tungsten and some other stuff and give this thing a try.


Just to confirm that it works, I powered up the machine and put it on DC TIG and pressed the switch on the torch, and I was able to get an arc going and move it along, messy as can be, but it works, the Tungsten was rather rounded off, I guess maybe it welded aluminum last time out? I understand that the machine can use tungsten from 0.5mm to 4.8mm or 1/32" to 3/16" I would guess I'd need different torches to run the smallest and the largest tungsten, but I can pick those up as I go, I see a LOT of Panasonic peripherals for sale here for good prices as NOS on Yahoo auction, which is our EBAY here in Japan.


Cheers!
 
I love the labeling!!! That sure didn't come out of Chicago! You're gonna love it! Remember the contamination issues with SS if you ever get into that, oxidation issues with aluminum...brings back great memories!! Looking forward to seeing some beads!
 
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