Welding is a process that uses electricity to generate extreme and localized heat to melt metal and fuse it together. Melted metal is molten liquid, albeit temporarily, which can cause problems.
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One of the most significant challenges of welding that you might not consider if you’re new is the position in which you’re welding. A “standard” weld is horizontal and flat. You can move your welding gun over carefully positioned metal for maximum ease of access.
What happens, though, if you need to weld the side of a surface, or even overhead?
All sorts of issues can crop up when welding out of position. Foremost among them is gravity. When welding vertically, your weld pool can sag out of place, leading to a loss of filler material, uneven welds, drips, and weakness in the finished product.
Overhead welding is even worse. Not only can the weld pool drip, but it can also be dangerous if it’s above you and molten metal drips down onto you. That’s one of many reasons why the proper safety equipment is 100% required for any welding you might do.
There are many considerations to make when you’re welding vertically or overhead. Specific welding rods don’t work in vertical or overhead positions; for example, they create weld pools that are too fluid and will drip out of place.
Sometimes there’s no way around it. Shipbuilding and various construction welding applications are prime examples. It’s not as though you can rotate a ship to weld the hull. Right?
Most of the time, the first step in a welding project is positioning your workpieces as conveniently as possible. That means rotating, moving, and repositioning the pieces you need to weld to get them in the right place.
Depending on the job and the scale of the materials you’re working with, this may be easy or complicated. Large, heavy pieces of metal require manual repositioning, which may require more than one person to move the pieces. Accessing the area that you need to weld can take time and effort, even after the parts have been rotated.
Thankfully, modern technology has gone a long way toward solving these problems. That’s where a welding positioner comes into play.
Welding positioners are specialized tools to help maneuver, rotate, and reposition the items you’re welding, to put them in an ideal position, no matter how large or unwieldy they are.
A positioner is not to be confused with a welding table. Welding tables are typically heavy metal tables that you can adjust in height for comfortable welding. You can clamp your working pieces to the table, often using magnetic clamps, but there’s only one position for those pieces.
A welding positioner is more advanced. Like a welding table, welding positioners have a metal surface that you can use with magnets to attach pieces you’re going to weld together. Unlike a welding table, they can be angled and rotated while holding your working materials firm.
With a positioner, you can attach your working pieces to them and rotate and angle them so that welding horizontally and flat is faster, easier, and safer:
Welding positioners are handy tools for a variety of welding applications. They can save welders time and effort by ensuring they only need to move the welding gun instead of repositioning the entire workpiece multiple times. Additionally, using a welding positioner can significantly improve the accuracy of welds, leading to higher-quality results with fewer mistakes.
Welding positioners come in various sizes and configurations; having one of the appropriate sizes for the projects you typically take on can be extremely useful for your workshop.
Like anything in this world, welding positioners come in many different forms.
The simplest welding positioners include stands, clamps, and mounts. These allow you to hang, adjust, rotate, and position materials you’re planning to weld, but they require manual adjustment of the pieces rather than the table itself. They can be similar to jack stands or arm mounts, with two or so parts of articulation to make positioning your work surface as accurate as possible using simple mechanisms.
Slightly more advanced welding positioners are heavy-duty tables with robust mechanisms, often using gearing rather than manual adjustment and repositioning.
Sometimes, you can use built-in clamping mechanisms to attach your project materials. Other times, you need magnetic clamps. Either way, these positioners have high weight capacities, allowing you to easily position and weld materials anywhere from 300 lbs. up to 10,000 lbs.
Obviously, at higher weights, you’re no longer using manual control to manipulate your project; the welding positioner typically has motorized controls.
The most advanced welding positioners are no longer tables or work surfaces. Instead, they’re large and complex machines. These machines are more like workshop installations than they are workspace tools. However, they enable many valuable features, such as computer-controlled rotation and movement, and even automated welding you can program into the machine. These features allow you to create more complex welds around surfaces that need to be rotated and highly accurate, even welds.
Welding automation is often used for extremely large, very complex, or frequently-repeated projects, and it’s a little outside the scope of today’s post, so we’ll bypass the details for now.
Welding positioners have many potential benefits, some of which you might not think about at first glance.
Instead of precariously balancing or securing pieces in awkward positions before welding, a welding positioner allows the welder to set up their work surface for maximum ease of use.
Many beginning welders train almost exclusively on horizontal welds, so they will be what you are likely most familiar with. Using a welding positioner allows you to adjust the items you’re welding to ensure that you’re working on a horizontal bead, even if you will position the finished product vertically or overhead.
Again, while this may be unavoidable in some situations, the ideal is to use a welding positioner to minimize the strain welding places on your body and mind, allowing you to weld more, longer, and at a higher average quality level.
With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder that many businesses, factories, and other facilities commonly needing to weld materials will invest in welding positioners.
There are a few relatively small drawbacks to using welding positioners, though most aren’t really drawbacks, just considerations.
Some shops need the floor or desk space to dedicate to a welding positioner. Those who can find the space often find it’s a worthwhile tradeoff, so again, this isn’t purely a drawback, merely a consideration to remember. Of course, the equipment necessary to reposition materials for welding without a positioner often takes up even more space, so that a positioner can be a net increase in floor space in some cases.
On the other hand, an automated system is unmatched for bulk welding and consistent throughput.
While every welding positioner is unique and will have its user guide, there are some generalized tips you can use to make sure you’re getting the most out of your tools.
Here are our tips for first-time users of welding positioners:
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Does a welding positioner sound right for your project? If so, we have a wide variety of positioners of all shapes and sizes available for sale, lease, or rent. Depending on your needs, there will be something for everyone in our catalog.
A low quality welding machine is difficult to work with and, in my experience, leads to a lot of unnecessary re-work. Every shop owner wants to buy the best and newest machines, but this is often way out of the equipment budget. So they settle for cheap machines built offshore or used welders bought at auction.
There is another option.
Instead of buying new or renting the machines, you can buy one on the used welder market that is several years old, but you must be smart about it. There are advantages and pitfalls to purchasing used welding machines, and in this guide, I will give you the knowledge you’ll need to make an informed purchasing decision.
Once you’ve read through this guide, check out Red-D-Arc’s used equipment sales page to see all their used welders for sale.
“Ultimately, the only way to ensure you’re getting a quality machine is to rely on established retailers who have a track record of supplying reliable, well-maintained welding equipment.”
You can’t just run out and buy any used welding machine. You must go into the search with a plan and understand exactly what you need. Take the time to think about what welding processes you’ll be using and the features that you need a machine to have.
Also, consider the skill, experience, and training of your welders and fabricators. It doesn’t make sense to spend extra money on a high-end welder with the most advanced features if your employees are not able to use them. I’ve worked in several shops where top-of-the-line machines were used to tack weld simple parts together. These machines had all the best features, but they never got used.
Another consideration is the welding processes that you will be using. Many shops have welding machines for processes that are either rarely used or not used at all. I worked at a welding shop that had several machines collecting dust because they were SMAW or GTAW machines, and that shop never used those processes. These machines were very expensive and bought brand new but no doubt suffered internal damage from the metal dust that was collecting on the circuit boards.
Also, consider where these machines are used. If you have a mobile welding business, you’ll want welder generators or welding machines that use common voltages such as 110 or 220 volts.
Red-D-Arc has a selection of used welder generators for sale.
In a shop environment, you want to think about what your staff will be working on. If you build large fabrications, the welders that you buy must be able to move around the structure, whereas if your products are small and built on a fab table, you can get used welders which are fixed in place.
You can even get small suitcase-sized welders like the Lincoln LN25 PRO Wirefeeder Suitcase at Red-D-Arc
Buying a used welder is always cheaper than buying the same welder new and this is the main advantage of used welding machines. Since these machines are several years old, their cost has depreciated over time. As long as a machine is well maintained and cared for, you can get a top of the line welder at a fraction of the cost of a new one.
I have used welding machines that were older than I am and they worked flawlessly because they were maintained and cared for.
Do you really need all of that?
Modern welding machines have a lot of advanced features, but most of these features were introduced several years ago so there will be many machines on the used market that have the premium features you want. Even though Red-D-Arc stocks many new machines with cutting edge welding technology, most shops can get away with buying used welding equipment that is several years old but has been expertly maintained.
While many shops go to the local auction to buy used welders, there is a significant advantage to buy through a company like Red-D-Arc. They have access to a large inventory of welding machines and have the staff to maintain, inspect, and certify that the welder you buy is in top condition.
Even large expensive machines like the Miller AMP Digtial Subarc which is used for SAW, can be found at Red-D-Arc at a significant capital savings.
Used welders can be a great option when you are setting up a brand new shop and trying to cut costs or make your hard-earned dollars go further, but they have some pitfalls you must look out for.
Many welders have encountered welding machines in their careers that seemed great on the outside, but once they started welding, problems surfaced. Inconsistent arcs, erratic wire feed, power drops or surges, and inadequate gas flow can all lead to extreme frustration.
One of the main pitfalls of buying used welding equipment from auctions is that while it may look great in the pictures, it may not function as hoped. The equipment might appear to be in excellent condition visually, but its performance can be significantly different once put to use.
This discrepancy between appearance and functionality can result in costly setbacks and delays in projects. It’s crucial for welders and fabricators to be aware of this risk when considering purchasing used equipment, especially from auctions where thorough testing before purchase may not be possible.
You also never truly know how well-maintained a machine is. Even though it may work perfectly when you buy it, there may be issues lurking just under the surface that can lead to costly repairs.
The only way to know for sure that a used welder is still good is to lay down some beads.
Potential parts availability issues is something we wouldn’t want to overlook prior to spending thousands on used equipment. This is particularly problematic with cheaper Chinese brands, which often use proprietary components that can be difficult to source. Wire reels, coolant pumps, torches, switches, displays, and so many other parts for these machines may become a nightmare if replacements are needed down the line.
In contrast, reputable sellers often provide comprehensive repair services and can supply parts as needed. This accessibility to replacement components and expert maintenance can significantly extend the lifespan of your equipment and minimize downtime.
Opting for well-known brands from established retailers not only ensures better performance and reliability but also guarantees easier access to parts and servicing. While this approach may require a higher initial investment, it offers long-term benefits in terms of equipment longevity, consistent performance, and reduced frustration from parts-related issues.
When purchasing used welding equipment, it’s important to consider more than just appearances. While a machine may look pristine in photos or at first glance, its true performance can only be determined through many instances of actual use. This is particularly true for equipment bought from auctions or sites like Craigslist, where testing is often not possible or very brief.
To mitigate these risks, buyers should consider purchasing from reputable sellers who thoroughly test and refurbish their equipment. These sellers often provide warranties and stand behind their products, offering buyers peace of mind. By choosing a trusted retailer, welders and fabricators can significantly reduce the chances of encountering unexpected issues that could lead to project delays and additional costs.
Ultimately, the only way to ensure you’re getting a quality machine is to rely on established retailers who have a track record of supplying reliable, well-maintained welding equipment. This approach may cost more upfront but can save considerable time, money, and frustration in the long run.
Over the years, many welders have opted to purchase used equipment, often with mixed results. Some sources have been proven to be particularly unpredictable, with some machines performing well while others fall short of expectations. In contrast, welders purchased through reputable retailers like Red-D-Arc have consistently demonstrated superior quality and reliability.
For more information, please visit Automatic Welding Positioner Factory.