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Welding Aluminium With Mig Wire

aluminium welding MIG

How To Gas Welding Aluminium

Unimig 240   by Alex W

The Unimig 240 Amp Pro-Craft Welder is cheaper, smaller and looks pretty schmick but how does it compete with the bigger bulkier models of their competitors?

Unimig hasn’t been around as long – since 1985, but they doesn’t seem to be holding them back and they have started to branch out and expand into all areas of welding and cutting equipment areas.

Designed for both heavy duty applications and for the home handyman or hobbyist this machine has been seen to be very effective at what it is designed to do.

Not to mention that all their products do comply with Australian standards.

This light industrial welder is great for automotive, rural applications and light fabrication with some expert results seen on some work with light steels, stainless steel and aluminium.

The machine itself comes with a few different features:

Welding Aluminium Alloy 6061

Oscillating TIG Autofeeder Welding on Aluminum 6061

Tig Welding Aluminum Cans

Tig Weld vs Aluminum Cans

tig welding stainless steel to mild steel

Hobart Handler 210 vs Millermatic   by Easy Metal Works

The Hobart Handler 210 is the portable (weighing only 76.5 lb or 34.8 kg, so you can take it easily from jobsite to jobsite) MIG welder that has maximum of 210 amps of welding power for handling 3/8 inch thick mild steel and enough control for 24 Gauge material. It is designed to handle a variety of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. The ease of connecting an optional direct plug-in spool gun expands the capability of the Handler 210 for aluminum welding.

It has enhanced magnetics and infinite wire feed speed control offers easier fine control of the output parameters for improved arc performance with less spatter, resulting in a better bead appearance and less cleanup.

If you have to do aluminum works, you have probably heard that TIG is the right choice for that. Not this time – Handler 210 welds aluminum as well as steel. You do get a bit of black but that easily wipes off as the magnesium in the aluminum oxidizes.

Ergonomics & Safety. Built-in contactor for easy use is also an excellent safety feature which makes wire electrically “cold” when not welding. You will have easy access to polarity changeover includes storage holes for spare tips. Dual groove drive rolls make it easy to switch between .023/.025-Inch (0.6 mm) and .030 to .035-Inch (0.8 – 0.9 mm) wire. And self-resetting thermal overload and motor protection prevents overheating.

Comparison. The Hobart 210 and similar Millermatic equivalents (Millermatic 180, 210, 211) have pretty much the same output, duty cycle and they use the same drive mechanisms. The feel and weld quality should be virtually identical. So what are the differences?

The Millermatic is a dual voltage machine that can operate on 230 or 115 volts. That means it would be easy to take it to a buddy’s house and weld lighter materials by plugging into a standard 115 volt circuit (20 amp service). However in order to take it with you, it should to be light. Millermatic does not fall into that category and also costs up to two times as much.

Millermatic offers adjustable voltage up to 7 positions, which might seem as a big plus, however experts sometimes consider infinitely adjustable voltage control not to be an advantage over the tapped voltage units. Tapped voltage units are easier to setup and get the arc dialed in.

The Millermatic will be of a slightly better build quality since Miller now owns Hobart and sells the Hobart as a lower cost alternative to the Millermatic line. They don’t usually skimp where it really counts though. Things like the drive mechanism will most likely be identical.

Hobart also offers more current for welding aluminum, so if you are uncertain so far but are planning to work mostly with aluminum go for Hobart. Spool gun coming with Hobart is the Miller Spoolmate 3035 equivalent.

About the Author

This article has been written by producers of Easy Metal Works – product resource and review website dedicated to Hobart welding and cutting equipement, and other metal works products. Hobart Welders tools are known for excellent quality and reliability. However, with so many product models that are offered today, it is hard to choose which one is the most appropriate for your needs and budget

tig welding stainless steel 3/4 inch pipe.