July 25th, 2008 
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Many organizations do extensive pre-study comparing prices while buying welding equipment and consumables. Although this practice is worthy of commendation, the fact remains these buyers may more often be obsessed with initial savings of money but lose sight of long-term productivity savings, which alone can be more beneficial to the organization.
If a proper plan is conceived and implemented for reducing overall welding costs, the productivity savings will be considerable and also recurring in nature. Productivity savings will allow a company to keep saving eternally even if the price paid for the original equipment is higher.
A careful analytical study will reveal that not more than 20 to 25 percent of the cost of welding pertains to materials, while the rest of the costs are for labor and other overheads. By saving on the material costs of welding, the company does not stand to gain much whereas if a company can save even 10 percent on the costs pertaining to labor and other overheads, the company would have saved an eight percent on the total welding costs. This is true for manual or semi-automatic welding process mild steel application. Here are some ways a company can meaningfully reduce welding costs and realize productivity savings.
It is a fact that at many workplaces, the operator has to visit a tool room now and then, to collect a new contact tip, coil of wire or any other accessory. This leads to a loss of valuable productivity time.
Instead, companies should stock at least a limited supply of all necessary items – like shielding gas, flux and wire – near the welding station. One more noteworthy step would be to opt for larger spools of wire such as from 60 lb. spools to even larger packages of 1,000 lb. reels.
Welding operators should also monitor shielding gas waste. A surge turbine can be fixed at the end of the gun for a digital readout of the gas surge and flow rate. If the surge rate is high, investing in a surge guard is worthwhile as it can minimize the pressure and eliminate gas surges and waste.
One of the most common causes for wastage is over-welding from which no shop is free. The reason could possibly be due to operators not having a fillet gauge. There is also the tendency to apply some extra cover to make sure there is enough weld metal in place. Over-welding leads to avoidable waste of consumables as also valuable man hours.
Do some research to explore ways to create greater efficiency in welding. This includes examining wire diameter, wire feed speed, voltage, travel speed, gas type, transfer mode, etc. Find out ways to improve product designs to eliminate superfluous welds.
Operating under proper safety conditions will save money in the long run by reducing employee accidents and resultant workmen compensation. Constantly look for ways to reduce welding costs, increase work efficiency and improve productivity. This has to be an ongoing and continuous exercise and you will be able to realize over a period of time how much you have saved.
Constantly look for ways to reduce welding costs, increase work efficiency and improve productivity. This has to be an ongoing and continuous exercise and you will be able to realize over a period of time how much you have saved. Of course, it is a fact that different welding methods have different machine costs, labor costs, material costs, and energy costs. Besides, the use of automation and robots can drastically increase these expenses – although there may be a favorable cost-benefit ratio.
Watch the video related to mig welding
My first week of welding at home.
Help answer the question about mig welding
Where can I find a cheap MIG or STICK welding machine for beginners?My fiance' wants to buy my father a mig or stick welding machine. My dad use to weld but no longer does. He enjoys welding and would like to do it for fun .. but I honestly don't know what I'm looking for .. but I know I want to keep it under $300.
About Author
Gavin Bone is an author for Welders. He has written articles Plasma Cutters. For information visit our site arc welder
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ok ok
But you have to promise to watch my new beef jerky in the oven video …lol
you may want to do a search on that (google). That may give u the help u need. Good luck!
mig welders need a shield gas unless u use flux core wire.
the best way to get a nice bead id to set your heat, and turn up the wire feed speed,…..strike an arc and turn down the wire feed till you get a nice bead with little splatter
Possum
Consistency, quality, and operating cost. Remember, you don't need highly trained welders, just machine operators to run them.
I would recommend Lincoln Electric wire it’s nice and you can make pretty welds with any wire it just takes some practice and if you shine ‘em up, you can get you welds to look like TIG welds!!!
Do you recommend a certain brand of flux wire? And is it hard to make the welds look decent?
There is a big difference between MIG and TIG welding, in both the process, and the skill level required of the weldor. They really are two different processes altogether, and the MIG is the much easier of the two.
There is much to read on the web, including some great information at the Miller and Lincoln websites. They can give you a pretty great overview of TIG welding. But, as with many skills, it takes hands-on practice as well as study, to be successful.
If your fiance has ever welded with a gas torch, he might already have the skills he needs. Unlike a MIG welder, a TIG does not feed an electrified filler wire for you. You are in control of a separate heat source (the torch) that you must manipulate in order to melt the base metal together, while adding the filler by hand to the molten puddle you're creating. It's the same way a gas torch works, just with electricity, rather than gas, as the heat source.
The tricky part comes in learning how hot to make the puddle, how much heat to apply (with a foot or hand controller), and how to coordinate the filler at the same time. Quite often, TIG welding involves metals like aluminum or stainless, which have their own quirks that need to be considered. It's by no means impossible to learn all of this…and it can be a very valuable skill to have, often paying higher than MIG welding jobs.
If your fiance shows this prospective employer that he is a professional who takes pride in his work, has studied the subject, and is willing to learn, he may get his foot in the door and start down a new path on his welding career. I wish him the best. Study all you can, and if you know a buddy who is good with the Oxy-Acetylene torch, go visit him right away for some practice!
Best of Luck!
Hope you are not using pure argon (just a wast of money for pure). You should be using a 75/25 mix of argon/co2. The shielding gas shields the molten metal from the atmosphere, more so oxygen and nitrogen to prevent porosity, and reduce the chance of cracks. To rent a tank you should call a local welding supply for the prices as the price varies quit a bit by location. I am in Ohio so a price I would give you would not be true for your location.
Here is a good site to look at, http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/index.html
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/Mig-welding-tips.html
(32 years welding)
ok thanks. I have a REALLY tight budget so i would rather use cheap wire..but i still want the weld to look and perform decent. Im gonna lift my lawnmower about 4 inches so i need it strong and i want it to look as good as possible so i was just asking. Thanks a lot!
glad you asked, Mig welding is really a simple task if you can already stick weld. what you see is what you get with a mig. follow the following process and you'll do great.
if right handed hold the handle slightly to the left just enough to see the wire sticking out of the nozzle, weld to the left in an overlapping circular pattern usually between 1/4 and 7/16 wide the lens should be sufficient if for arc welding. a quick practice on scrap metal should ease your concerns quickly. you will see the deposited weld in the lens and no chipping needed
First off, are you a good welder? If you have limited experience, you will not get good weld penetration with a MiG welder. Also if you use one of the cheap welders that you can buy at Lowe's or auto parts stores, they don't produce enough power to get a deep penetrating weld.
MIG means machine inert gas. Those cheap welders are called MiG but are just wire feed welders and not MiG. You must use gas to get a good weld. A cheap gas to use if you are a good welder is carbon dioxide. The weld is good only if you are very experienced. Next you can use 75/25 gas mix which is 75 % argon and 25 % carbon dioxide. Doesn't take as much skill and produces a reasonable weld. For a top job, use 100% argon. It costs a little more but does so much more.
If you buy a MiG, get a good one in the $2000 dollar range, such as a commercial Lincoln, Miller or Hobart. Go to welding school at your local Vo-tech and practice, practice, practice. Once you learn, you can weld car doors, bodies, exhaust, frame or anything else you so desire. As a good MiG welder, you can get a top paying job and be set for life. I prefer a auto darkening helmet when I weld. It makes learning so much easier.
That weld looked pretty good. better than I everd did with that machine.
i have seen worse welding from 30 year olds realy nice job
thanks
you’ve got some pretty good videos and now I’m thinking about buying that little arc welder…. How thin of metal can it do and can you make a video trying the welder at all amp.
I used it to make a “suit of Armor” like dude that was made of tacked pieces of paper thin tin like steel and it worked if I hit it real fast. I mainly use it for 16gua-3/16ths/ Sure I’ll make another video with it turned up. I’ll go do that right now as a matter of fact.
If the nozzle is arcing it means the insulator between the nozzle and gas diffuser is probably shot. You will have to either replace the insulator or make sure you don't touch the work piece.
Arcing outside the weld zone is not good, can lead to inbrittlement and cracking.
Oh, and good job on buying a miller…i hate it when people buy crap gear and expect miracles(or ask me to perform them with their junk welder)
Mig welding job listings in Dallas TX:
http://electricalengineer.electrical-designer-guide.com/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-mig+welding/l-dallas+TX