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Trailer Mfg. Doubles Productivity Using Pulsed MIG
- Pulsed MIG replaces conventional MIG and TIG welding
- Pulsed MIG prevents burn-through, minimizes rework
- Faster travel speeds than TIG, excellent bead appearance
- Lower consumables cost, less wire changeover time
- Operators quickly learn new welding system
Customer Testimonial
“To keep up with demand, we purchased two Millermatic® 350P all-in-one MIG welders. As a result, we nearly doubled production of gates, toolboxes and other aluminum parts.”
— Randy Sobolik, trailer foreman, Alum-Line
Application
High volume production of aluminum trailers and toolboxes, custom aluminum products.
Key Business Issue(s)
Increasing productivity of aluminum parts to meet market demand.
Challenge(s)
- Welding thin-gauge aluminum
- Reducing cycle times by decreasing burn-through and warping, as well as by eliminating or minimizing rework, repair and scrapped material.
Previous System & Process(es)
- Spray transfer MIG welding with a conventional 250-amp MIG welding power source paired with spool gun for aluminum gates made from 1/8-in. wall tubing.
- Conventional squarewave AC TIG welding for producing toolboxes made from .080- to 1/8-in. aluminum diamond plate.
New Solution
- Replace conventional spray transfer MIG and conventional squarewave TIG welding with the pulsed MIG welding output of the Millermatic® 350P.
- Because pulsed MIG is a cooler process than spray transfer, it minimizes burn-through and warping, producing a quality weld on the first pass.
- The good appearance of a pulsed MIG weld bead also enables it to replace TIG in this application (see the un-retouched photo of a weld bead made by an operator using the Millermatic 350P for the second time)
Results
- Production doubled. The Millermatic 350P's pulsed MIG capabilities nearly eliminated rework, which reduced gate welding cycle time from approximately 60 to 30 minutes.
- Increased travel speed. Pulsed MIG welding increased welding travel speeds on toolboxes by at least 30 percent. It also reduced distortion and the additional fabrication steps required to compensate for it.
- Lowered consumables costs.The Millermatic 350P lowered consumables cost because 16-lb./12-in. diameter spools can be used instead of 1-lb./4-in. diameter spools. Wire on larger spools costs less and reduces downtime because operators change wire 16 times less frequently. Further, the push-pull gun design and more advanced welding process greatly reduced tip use by minimizing burnbacks.
- Quick operator acceptance of the new product and process. The Millermatic 350P's simple control panel and built-in parameter chart enabled operators to set the machine and begin making production welds after an hour or two of practice.
