3/8 thick tungsten da** that is big.
Yeah, I bet that does kill your ears!!! 250 amps gets pretty loud. We were working with it last night, and it was starting to bug me. Geez. At least those Aluminum filler rods aren't heavy, that would be interesting to manage if they were, lol.
Have you done any CAC yet Jenn?? That's a blast & loud. Better have your ear plugs in. They could probably demo it at school if you ask, or may even do a short info course on it. It's the best tool in the world for precisely removing welds & making very good cuts on nearly anything that conducts electricity. :-) S.W.
No, but I bet that's fun. I'd like to get my hands on it for a day! :) We've talked about it quite a few times. He's shown me how to hook it all up, and told me how it works, ect.... but I haven't actually played with it. I still got some time though, maybe he'll let me :)
I had some junk piled in front of My TIG welder and mistakenly moved the RANGE selector instead of the POLARITY selector. I was using a 1/16 tungsten to weld up a small fitting. As soon as the arc started the tungsten disapeared. I thought there might have been a crack or something, so I ground a new point on it and did the same thing again.
By moving the wrong knob I had put the machine [Airco 600 Heliwelder, same as an Miller 360 A/BP] in high range, which starts at 475 amps and goes to 840.
I did finally find an old #12 tig torch, it is HUGE and I hope to never need one that size.
Like KIX said, AC TIG can quickly get up around there & up even higher. I seen a TIG torch once rated for I believe 1000 amps. It looked like a laser cannon. Most high amperage DC machines are used specifically for carbon arc cutting & 400 amps is minimum for anything serious. We were using 600 amps & it did a really nice job with 3/8" carbons. High amperage machines & or paralleling several smaller ones can also be used in large diameter FCAW (Flux Core Arc Welding) & SAW (Submerged Arc Welding) operations as well
A word of caution. Although the XMT & other inverters are rated for CAC, I would refrain from using yours for that. You have to have 3 phase power connected to get the full amperage rating out of it anyways. (I'm assuming you're talking about your 304)
CAC puts huge amounts of stress on an inverter's circuitry, namely the IGBT's, SCR's & printed circuit boards. I know they are used every day for it in the field, but most machines people use in the field don't belong to them personally! :-)
I know lots of guys that have cooked inverters doing CAC with them & would hate to see you burn yours up. That task is best left for big engine drives over 300 amps, large 3 phase DC machines & 300 amp+ motor generators Good luck & hope that helps. Steve
We use around 400 amps and a 5/32" tungsten for 1/2" thick aluminum with our Dynasty 700's. 400 amps really isn't that much when think about the guys welding that really thick 3 foot diameter aluminum conduit on those natural gas peaking units. All I know is that they're using 3/8" thick tungsten and the noise from the A/C arc is deafening. I'd say they're well over 700 amps. The filler rod looks like a piece of aluminum rebar.lol
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