I wrote a fairly extensive post the other day about the sput welder and the parts done with it, and just when it was posting lighting caused a power failure. So I finally found a few minutes to do it over.
These parts are some I have anodized while testing the welded wire method. They turned out good, if I do say so myself. (Note that the black pieces are black oxided tool steel) It takes a fair amount of work to machine parts like this, so it's always a bit of relief to get them finished with no problems. Not that there's any doubt on the electrical aspect with a welded wire.
The large part has over 300 square inches of surface area, and was done with over 20 amps of current just for the one large piece. With the welded wire there isn't any worry about connections causing a problem.
I have noticed one distinct disadvantage when processing parts with the sput welder, although people who normally use hanging wires anyway wouldn't likely notice this. I find that rigid racking is more convienient in one sense, especially when doing multiple parts per batch (which is 99.99% of the case with us). With only a wire to use for handling, it is more difficult to handle the parts while cleaning, rinsing, and placing in the tanks so they don't touch or get banged up.
Of course the bullet proof connection (electrically speaking, since the wire could be broken off if handled roughly) of a welded wire is attractive when you need to be eliminate all possible problems. Next time, on parts such as these, I think I will attach a wire to the part to ensure the best possible electrical connection, and fixture the parts on a rack for ease of handling. This would give the best of both worlds, the parts would be securely seperated and easy to handle, and the electrical connection would be postitive.
