Lincoln electric compact 350 I

[Sparkey]

Hello lads, i was looking for a manual for the Lincoln electric compact 350 I....we have 2 of them in our plant and there's one small switch on that kit that i don't understand.... a switch for A and B..........all the other ones are obvious, power, wirefeed, spotweld...but that one is bugging me, i've tried it out and it gives me a lot of spattering and sparking so....dunno what it's supposed to do!
I've looked around on the Lincy site but can't find anything about this model???
Who can help me??

 

[shenion]

Could be an inductance setting. On low it will not work well on dip transfer (short arc transfer).

Any other marking or symbols on the switch?

 

[Sparkey]

No, just A and B....it is always left on B (or A....uhm...) anyways it is always in the same position, the other one wont give anything but spattering... it's only used to annoy your colleages...

What does that mean inductance setting?

 

[shenion]

Indictance is used most in short-arc transfer. With just a CV DC supply, when ethe wire hits the metal it will draw a huge current (supposedly over 800A on a 100A setting.). The wire literally vaporizes instead of melting. Lots of spatter. Then when a gap is created, the current drops to a low value. The average current is quite low as the high current is for a very short time..

With an inductor, when the wire hits the metal, the current ramps up slower until it melts and a drop is squeezed off by the current. Then an arc forms, the energy stored in the inductor keeps the current flowing (this heat heeps the surface hot and flattens out the weld.) The average current actually goes up as the time the higher current is flowing is a higher percentage of the time.

Spray-transfer does not need the inductance. It will work with it but I think it goes into spray transfer faster without it. I notice on my Miller, with the inductance high, it does a few short arc cycles before settling down to spray transfer.

The Lincoln I had, had a "reactance" knob. The manual just recommended 2 settings, they may have just used a switch in later models.

 

[Arcfire]

It could be a remote selection switch if the machine has a control socket on it which give access to the voltage control. If the switch is in the wrong position then there is no reference to the control to tell it what voltage to give out. This would explain your problem.

 

[Sparkey]

It could be a remote selection switch if the machine has a control socket on it which give access to the voltage control. If the switch is in the wrong position then there is no reference to the control to tell it what voltage to give out. This would explain your problem.

Uhm.....could you explain that a bit more....i'm afraid i don't understand it...

 

[Arcfire]

If the machine is an electronic control, say a thyristor control, to set the output voltage then a remote control can often be fitted through a socket, usually on the front panel. A switch is put on the machine to switch between the control on the front of the machine or the remote pendant. If no pendant is fitted and the switch is in pendant position the machine does not know what voltage to give out so usually gives out minimum.

 

[Sparkey]

Really? i thought that was something modern....for example the oerlikon citowave i work with has a remote control, but i'm not sure if the Linc's are fitted with that?
Thanks for explaining Arcfire, i'm not daft, english just isn't my native language!

 

[Upside down under water.]

The A and B control you are refering to is a voltage control switch that switches between low range and high range 16 to 25 v and 25 to 45 v.
This is a GOOD thing, it enables the use of a full range of welding wires and procedures. That is one of the many reasons the Compact 350i is a superb MIG machine, actually it is one of the better MIG's and one you should look to own if you can find one. They are used on site for all kinds of welding duties. They are bullet proof and give top spec welds, plus they are easy to move around. You have got to love that.
I hope that helps. Next time you are at work, experiment with the setting using all of the wire feed and amp range and you will see what a difference it can make.