TRC,

Those are big questions; I'll try to give a brief rundown.

I have both and have compared them pretty thoroughly. (I almost cried when the night class instructor hooked a stick electrode to the Aerowave, but hey for 8 grand it outta chip the slag too I guess)

Aerowave has a higher price tag to go along with that increased duty cycle. The short answer; if money is not an obstacle than I'd make the pitch for Aerowave.

You weld on weird stuff, which is the only reason anybody should consider Aerowave. However, Dynasty can go all day long on 0.090 6061 without breaking a sweat. Our Dynasty out performed its rated duty cycle during trials, but I don't know that many folks who are going to tig at high amps for more than 4 minutes out of 10 anyhow.

Now as to the Asymmetric amperage control, This is the key to aerowave... Let's set the stage by thinking about Balance control. Balance control is the "dwell time" on each side of the AC cycle right? On a Synchrowave or similar power source the "Max Cleaning-Max Penetration Balance controls go to 80% Dwell time on Straight polarity to achieve max penetration. Aerowave can run balance control all the way to 90%; this is important but useless without asymmetric control of Amperage on each side of the half cycle.

Asymmetric amperage control actually controls the amount of current on each side of the AC cycle. Its best at this point to visualize Aerowave as two power sources (one Straight polarity- and one reverse polarity +) with a computer to meter out the power.

Here is an example off the top of my head, the parameters are theoretical and not instructions in the classical sense. Lets start with your 0.090 6061, lets make it a fillet weld in an area sensitive to clearance so you want a small bead profile. Now Aerowave and Dynasty both have Exaggerated Balance Control and AC frequency control. So both machines can employ increased frequency (let’s say 200 htz.) to make the arc more conical and directional. But with 90% balance control to max pen can we get sufficient etch to make a sound weld even with excellent surface prep? Prolly not.

This is where Aerowave shines. We can adjust the amplitude on either side of the half cycle to create an arc/etch that is suitable for a very specific job. Were back at 200 htz. And 90% Max pen now lets set our amps. Trials are the only way to dial in Aerowave at this point… NOBODY has published workable guidelines for specific materials/thickness/joint geometries. You can view Asymmetric amperage control like a pulser, High + for a very short duration to get adequate etch. Or you can go the other way and set reverse polarity at a relatively low amperage (just enough to etch) and pour the coals to the negative side of the half cycle to get very deep penetration. Remember the + polarity is only required to etch the surface, once that’s accomplished the real work is done by the Straight polarity side of the half cycle..This feature allows much smaller dia electrodes.

Ok I’m gonna stop here and see if questions arise. Aerowave, like pulsed mig is complicated and there is no way around it, its just hard to explain without samples and hands on practical work. Also, like pulsed mig there are not all that many applications that can really receive a material benefit from the technology. But if you love fancy machines it’s a total blast.

what type of welding do you do and how much did you pay for it?