Sput welder, where can I buy one of these?

[blackcote]

Depends on the power required. I'd have to time it but I'd guess at 10 seconds I'm waiting on the light. 20 seconds overall maybe for our typical wire size and power setting. It just seems like your always waiting for it rather than the other way around. Not becuase it can "only" do 100 welds an hour, but I remember reading instructions or on this forum to get consistent welds you need to make the weld very shortly after the green light comes on so we always wait to push the button till your nearly ready to weld. So if your workflow is not smooth (which mine never is) and you press the button to soon, green light comes on for a bit too long and you've waited to long to make the weld and you get a spark at best, or bad weld at worst.

The ideal setup would be you get to set it on manual or automatic charge. And in either case it would charge up and hold a consistent charge (at your desired setting) each and every time. If auto is selected, then it starts charging right away after your weld and after it disconnects itself interally from the circuit you've just made so you don't get shocked. This way it would likely would be ready by the time you get your next piece grounded and your wire clamped and clipped to a point. In this manner it would nearly always wait on you rather than the other way around. Did that make any sense?

[LOON]

Don't know if this really helps....but I heard something of charge time and welding....
At our signmaking shop we use this one to weld bolts, and stuff to almost any material....mostly aluminium

http://soyer.cc/de/index.php?option=...120&Itemid=163 ok....it's a german site ....but take a look....you'll find an aequivalent product in the U.S.....

It has a recharge time of about 5 secs.....to be honest it depends on your fingers, cause it's a "single-shot"....(don't know if these welders you talked about come with endless wire or somethin' ).....
But we "shoot" hundreds of bolts......even on smallest parts, without any problems....

Not cheap, but worth a calculation for peeps, who do the big jobs....

Greetinx Alex

[luminous]

Blackcote,
Thanks very much for that explanation. That helps.
I didn't realize that you had to make the weld immediately after the light came on. It makes sense for it to discharge itself so it doesn't sit "loaded and ready to fire" for a long time, but it seems like it would be nice if it waited at least a half a minute or more before it did it. I've added that to my design notes.

Thanks!

Steve

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[luminous]

Originally Posted by LOON

Don't know if this really helps....but I heard something of charge time and welding....
At our signmaking shop we use this one to weld bolts, and stuff to almost any material....mostly aluminium

http://soyer.cc/de/index.php?option=...120&Itemid=163 ok....it's a german site ....but take a look....you'll find an aequivalent product in the U.S.....

Well, that does like like a nice unit! I've used stud welders somewhat similar to that before. But... that would be total overkill I think for what most small time anodizers need, and I'm afraid that the nearly $2700 USD price tag might be little much for my target audience. Neat though. Thanks for the link.

steve

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[IAMaxxer]

I have one that has very little use on it... less than a year old...Willing to sell...

[luminous]

Originally Posted by IAMaxxer

I have one that has very little use on it... less than a year old...Willing to sell...

Sigh... where were you last month when I wanted to buy one and be done with it?
Now I've got a nice one designed, a first prototype built and tested, and I'm just about ready to send out for a run of circuit boards to build a couple more.
Adjustable from 5 to 100 Joules...

steve

[destroyer125]

Originally Posted by luminous

Now I've got a nice one designed, a first prototype built and tested, and I'm just about ready to send out for a run of circuit boards to build a couple more.
Adjustable from 5 to 100 Joules...

steve

Dont you think that was the better road

[luminous]

Originally Posted by destroyer125

Dont you think that was the better road

I think in the long run it will be the better road, but it sure is a detour I hadn't expected to take this month! But I've got jobs waiting that desperately need a good solid CD welder, so here I go. Fortunately, I don't have much of a social life anyway...


steve

[luminous]

Originally Posted by luminous

OK, OK, I'm working on the problem. I've started the design for a CD welder that should be of similar capability to the dearly departed Sput Welder.

Well, it's been a busy summer and it's taken me a long time to get this project up to speed, but now that all the firewood is split and stacked I've been able to work on the Capacitive Discharge Welder project again. I've put over 1000 test welds on mine so far, and *I* think it works quite well.
I still have to finish up a users manual and work out a couple of production details, but I expect to have some units to offer up for sale by early December. Retail price is yet to be determined.

Introducing the GemWeld 100...
http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/products/gemweld100/

Errr... please try and ignore the lettering registration error on the unit in the photo. Electronics I'm good at, but silkscreening is one of the "production details" I'm still perfecting...


steve

[blackcote]

Very nice clean unit. Looks promising. What 'technological advancements have you made on it? Since it discharges after 30 seconds, does that mean it holds a constant charge for 30 seconds or gradually reduces as time goes on? How bout charge time, what's typical for your work as I'm sure the power setting would determine various charge times? Are you getting hooked up with a distributor or plan to handle sales yourself?