MIG inverter advantage?

[jbwilson]

Appologies if this qustion has been dealt with before on TBN. All things being equal, is an inverter MIG welder easier/better/neater than a transformer welder for welding thin sheet metal (eg car panels)? Is the difference as great as that between an inverter and a transformer stick welder? I recently used an inverter stick welder and was impressed over its lightness and welding smoothness over my transformer welder and was wondering if I would see the same degree of improvement for MIG welding light steel panels.

Thank you

 

[Shield Arc]

I've never done auto body type welding. There was a time in my life where I thought 3/8-inch thick material was sheet metal. These inverters just amaze me!:cool2: The control they have over the puddle just floors me. For years I had a Linde VI-206 transformer Mig welder. It had variable inductance control. That was really sweet! You could dry the puddle up for out of position welding, or wet the puddle out for flat welding. I thought that was the best thing since chocolate ice cream:laughing:. Then I bought a Lincoln V350-Pro with pulse. Now this machine is totally amazing!:thumbsup:
Here is a 16-GA aluminum outside corner joint done with a spool gun, ran with pulse.

 

[roadhunter]

I like the inverters for stick welding but the mig takes some getting used to IMO. The old Miller transformer mig I have is so easy to weld with. Flip up the cover and the settings to get you close are right there. Then a little fine tuning and you are ready to go.

 

[smalltown]

jbwilson I hope I am not ruining your thread. If so I would gladly ask the moderator to move my question.

I would like to ask if inverter mig welders have been around for enough time to prove their reliability?
I see that the new Lincoln 210MP is an inverter machine verses the Miller 211 that apparently is a transformer machine.
Something that I wonder about (without having any knowledge about) is the cost of repair for the electronics in the inverter machines, are they big bucks compared to a transformer machine?
Would either type of machine be considered bullet proof?
It does seem like more and more inverter machines are coming to market.

 

[jbwilson]

I've never done auto body type welding. There was a time in my life where I thought 3/8-inch thick material was sheet metal:

Ha - in my town 3/8-inch steel is foil! No, not really in Australia's capital city where people sit at a desk all day long. Your welder is too high end for our needs/pocket. We're thinking more of an equivalent to a Lincoln 180C and its inverter version. If I understand correctly, a pulse function gives you a better chance of eliminating weld blow through on thin metals and that may be the determining factor for buying an inverter.

John

 

[jbwilson]

Roadhunter - Thank you. My MIG experience is limited to using some high end machines several years ago at a tech college (with the aim of achieving proper penetration in 5.0+mm sections) and very recently with a very cheap transformer MIG machine which was ok providing you didn't weld anything more than 2.0mm and less than 1.6mm. So hoping that a good quality light industrial welder will be fine for 0.8 - 1.0mm sheet metal after a bit of practice.

 

[jbwilson]

Smalltown - I welcome your question. Hoping that TBNers experience with inverters is that they last well beyond their warranty period. John

 

[Shield Arc]

With auto body welding, I understand it's more about technique than the welder. I've seen where they use a series of small tacks. Sometimes they weld solid between tacks, sometimes not. Just use bondo to fill in between the tacks.
If possible they will use a copper or aluminum heat sink behind the panel to absorb the heat.

 

[Arc weld]

Inverters use less power but transformers have been used for auto body for decades. I much preferred a Miller Dimension 452 transformer to a Miller XMT 304 inverter for MIG welding root passes on pipe. One of the instructors at the tech school also said he preferred the schools older Hobart transformers to the XMT's. He said you could get the arc to what ever you wanted on the old Hobarts. It was almost like the arc on the XMT was too smooth. I think maybe there's a learning curve to an inverter coming from a transformer. The one shop I worked in that converted to the XMT's did have more problems with "piping" (elongated porosity) when they switched to the XMT's. Roots looked good and seemed to go in nice but x-rays don't lie.

 

[jbwilson]

Shield Arc - Thank you. Yes, hoping to be able to stitch weld car panels using one inch stringers and gather that would only be achievable with a good machine and a bit of practice. I want the welder to cope with other chores with steel up to 3.0mm, maybe even 4.0mm if I can find something that versatile within our budget. I'll use a stick welder for anything thicker. Just from experience a cheap MIG welder cannot even tack weld anything thinner than 1.0mm without blow through or playing up. In order to weld thin sheet metal it is best if the welder has 1) a low output around 30amps - available on both transformer and inverter welders and 2) a pulse function - only available on inverter machines. Which one has more influence on ease of welding thin stock? Our budget is up to aud$2,000 but would prefer to spend less. In Australia, $1,200 will get you a Lincoln 180c, which meets the requirements of 1) but if the pulse function significantly added to ease of use we would up the ante.