Mig Welder required for robot chassis

[Tornup]

Hi All,

Was hoping someone was able to help, i'm starting to get into hobbie robotics and think its a good time to learn how to weld to make building them slightly more easier....

im not in a massive budget (2 kids to feed! lol) maybe £200-£250(£300 at a push)

I will be mainly welding box section and some steel plates about 1.5-2mm thick..

I highly doubt(at the moment) i am going to be able to get 32AMPS to my workshop. so a 13amp plug is all iv got access to...

i hope you can help!

Look forward to hearing your responses!

Tom.

 

[madkayaker]

hi there. always fancied building a robot as a kid but by the time i had the knolage robot wars had finished! (on TV anyway) what material are you planing to use as that will have a big bearing on the type of welder



Just read the steel bit (missed it first time round) you would be best with a mig for the budget look at the Clarke range but don't forget to factor in gas, wire, welding helmet etc

 

[Tornup]

Hi Madkayaker, thanks for your reply!

Yeah, always wanted to build a robot as a child too, now im a little older i thought its about time i get away from the computer(i work in IT) and get my hands dirty with some tools making a big powerful robot lol...

Clarke range but don't forget to factor in gas, wire, welding helmet etc

Do you have any model/product in general?

what are clark's entry level welders like? i noticed they are not live torches(what i read somwhere is a good thing because it stops Arc eye when lining up the weld) but are the entry level models capable of giving me the functionality i require to "Grow" into?

Many Thanks for your replies!

Tom.

 

[madkayaker]

i had a clarke 90 and killed it but was trying to weld thicker stuff and it was second hand. there better regarded than others in that price range. one thing to consider is once you have a welder you will want to stick the world together one piece of metal at a time so spending a little more now will save upgrading in the future (until you decide you really want a good mig and have saved £600+) currently have a Clarke 100 that i keep for thin work as my big mig runs thicker wire and id rather change migs than wire! as i don't do much under 3mm thickness

 

[madkayaker]

http://www.weldequip.com/clarke-160tm.htm is a good deal and you will get good support from Steve

 

[Tornup]

Thanks for linking me to that model! It looks perfect for what i require!

on a side note, what is the "gas" used for? and what is the difference between a gas-less and a refillable/disposable gas mig?

Thanks for your replies.

Tom.

 

[chunkolini]

I started out with a Clarke, I had a 130amp model. I killed it after 6 years of vile abuse. I would reccomend them to anybody starting out, go for the 150amp model.
Chunko'.