mobile machine shop

[tom60634]

i am looking to make a mobile machine shop ontop of a 5th wheel trailer my space will be 20 feet wide by 30 foot long

i am thinking of having 2 welders a 1000 amp sub arc with mig capability and a low power power mig any mig welding will likely only be done with flux no gas and done with a clamp to a grounded work surface coated in silicone spray

what models would be best suited for this application and what size gen should i have

and could i have a short list of tools i should have for prep and finishing the work i will be doing will be for a independent film company so repairing light stands and such and custom items for special sets along with customizing our gear to our liking bottom line we have to work with mostly with steel high carbon alloy and a hint of aluminum that would often be very thin and likely not weldable to start with we will not be working with copper unless its in the form of wire no brass

we will just be working with steel and stainless steel ranging from thin sheet to close to 1/2 inch we do not want to deal with any gas a tig seems to much trouble so how thin can we go with a mig or should we go with a 3rd option such as spot weld with rolling and or crimping the edges

to give some idea we have to work with brackets that hold a backdrop to a pole these brackets are over 1/4 in thick to sheet metal for electrical enclosures alloy tubing for camera dollies some of the stuff we will have to do might be a one time use that has to be made to exact spec some of it will get used over and over again and just have to work every time me i am more of an electrical engineer meaning i do the wiring for lights and all other power related issues on set but also get tasked with fixing stuff or making stuff work when outside of porpoise rather it be 120 lighting on a 240 line used the earth ground for that jabbed 3 foot long pipe into the ground it worked so welding is not my thing but i will have to learn i have a new worker joining me that used to do welding in a factory that will be joining me from time to time his advice is yet to heard but my research says sub arc and mig are a good choice for us

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I don't understand why you think you need a 1000 amps of welding power if you are only welding 1/4" steel!

 

[the snooper]

and as for a generator its going to be huge to run a 1000 amp welder

 

[tom60634]

well i want a 100 percent duty cycle and i do not know what sizes we will be working with i am wanting to make a weighted camera dolly with a magnetic breaking system that would require 2 or 3 people to push it the idea behind this unit is the magnetic breaking system would be tied into a gear box at a high rpm for a quick smooth stop and smooth constant motion without track this thing will be big and heavy likely 1/2 inch or even 3/4 inch i do not want to do stop and wait style work if i start a job it needs to get finished quickly as somebody will be waiting for my work in many cases i could probably do with 600 amps as i will not be doing over 1/4 inch very often but the ability needs to be there as in i might need to work on a car at some point or even hoisting equipment depending on what and were we are filming just want to have the ability of if i see it i can work it no matter how big when it comes to small stuff we have the old fall back of epoxy and if its to light we likely do not even want to use it

 

[tom60634]

yep i know a 30 kw gen is not small its about the size of a kitchen cabinet

 

[the snooper]

yep i know a 30 kw gen is not small its about the size of a kitchen cabinet

and then some

 

[tom60634]

so 1/4 in and smaller most of the time with an occasional odd ball job of some size if somebody asks for it be done we have to make it happen this does not mean cgi in every case its an option in many cases but our standard gear is not gonna be over 1/4 in for the most part

 

[biffa]

Why on earth do you want a sub arc for a mobile welding shop by the sounds of it all you need is a decent mig welder and or stick welder for the thicker stuff, sub arc would take to long to set up for your needs power wise I wouldn't think you need more than 300 amps

 

[Bill Edwards]

I'd buy a 200 (ish) amp welder generator/just a generator which will run a 180 amp MIG which will be fine for nearly all your work. Then you can use the 200 amp welder generator to stick weld anything needing extra power.

 

[tom60634]

ok so sub arc takes along time to setup so scratch that mig i know is pretty basic and you say 300 then i should go with 500 mig and and the highest power stick welder i can get these welds do not have to be pretty most of the time just be solid should as i really do not know what we will be asked to do we need to be ready for it all me i am caption over kill i am the the type that runs 10 gauge wire for a 100 watt amplifier but my work never fails when it really matter if we are not using a 1000 amp welder we can use a 20 kva gen or 2 10 kw gens these are not hard to find and will power any number of tools we will be using the idea of building it into a trailer gives us an indoor work space and being its not something we would occupy when moving means we can have very large slide outs to allot of space when we are stationary but normally my handy work involves a drill a jig saw circular saw or even saws all i have made every thing from steel cages for fans to one time use items that have yet to be named but i have gotten into welding yet but i have heard a story of how some dude welded his wedding ring to the fender of a car with a wrench in contact with the battery not really the same thing so stick welding can go up to what thickness and mig can go down to what thickness and how difficult is tig welding if i chose to go that way and if how difficult is the gas option are these tanks small enough to fit into the bed of a pickup with the 5th wheel mount in the bed as well or would i have to park the trailer at home depot http://www.turnoverball.com/sites/default/files/products/companion_in_bed_web.jpg

this mount is not normally removable and is pretty big not overly delicate if damaged the trailer can be toed by a simi trailer but i would rather avoid that hassle

 

[the snooper]

if you are going to be welding steel half inch thick will this be on structural stuff, safety critical things that can injure / kill people ? the film company may want a fully qualified welder, their insurance may insist on it

 

[BrokenBiker]

a 20 foot wide trailer?

also a 1000 amp machine will, by rule of thumb, blow holes in inch thick steel. I cant see any need for that much power and have never seen a machine that has that much power. Just get an oil cooled stick welder and learn to weld properly, maybe throw a few runs down if needed. Mig will effectively weld to just below .040" with good wire and technique. A 250 amp inverter seems more than enough for what you want to do. As for a genny, that will depend somewhat on the welders you buy as each one will require slightly different input currents, some require voltage regulation, some just flat out wont run on a genny. You will also need a handful of angle grinders, one for cutting, one for grinding, one for flap discs, unless you want to be changing the disc every 30 seconds. You will also need wire brushes, a drill with a decent set of drills, a slag hammer for arc, a decent welding table, ppe.

as this is to be a mobile machine shop, what other machinery are you looking at? Lathes, mills, cnc? Plasma cutters, bandsaws?

gonna need one hell of a big genny to run all that along with lighting, heating etc. Unless you plan on only running one thing at a time with no one else working with you, but even so, still a big genny

 

[Shedendman]

Ok,me being a dumb dumb here,can you get a 1000 amp welder,if so whos uses them,sounds mahoosive

 

[the snooper]

 

[Shedendman]

oh right not as big as i thought it would be,dumb dumb again,what shade lens would you use for a 1000 amp

 

[BrokenBiker]

i still cant see the need for 1000 amps in a small machine shop dealing with film sets. A 250 amp inverter mig or a 200 amp inverter mma set would be more than enough.

 

[Spark plug]

Don't forget big welders can weld big stuff but not all can weld thin stuff as welders get bigger the low end current seems to increase

 

[tom60634]

also a 1000 amp machine will, by rule of thumb, blow holes in inch thick steel. I cant see any need for that much power and have never seen a machine that has that much power. Just get an oil cooled stick welder and learn to weld properly, maybe throw a few runs down if needed. Mig will effectively weld to just below .040" with good wire and technique. A 250 amp inverter seems more than enough for what you want to do. As for a genny, that will depend somewhat on the welders you buy as each one will require slightly different input currents, some require voltage regulation, some just flat out wont run on a genny. You will also need a handful of angle grinders, one for cutting, one for grinding, one for flap discs, unless you want to be changing the disc every 30 seconds. You will also need wire brushes, a drill with a decent set of drills, a slag hammer for arc, a decent welding table, ppe.

as this is to be a mobile machine shop, what other machinery are you looking at? Lathes, mills, cnc? Plasma cutters, bandsaws?

gonna need one hell of a big genny to run all that along with lighting, heating etc. Unless you plan on only running one thing at a time with no one else working with you, but even so, still a big genny[/quote]


i was thinking of a small cnc machine and a 3d printer the welder i was thinking go big so i can have a 100 percent duty cycle angle grinders i am aware of what those are a slag hammer just seen that in youtube video the other day 1

so 600 amp welder for the big stuff as you stated 1000 amp is just to big if it will burn holes in 1 inch steel and i do not see working with 1 inch steel to often just for one project i can not guarantee that i would not have any 1.25 inch parts in that as i have not drawn up the plans but a 600 amp welder would more then likely be able to do that my experience with welding at the moment involves a screw driver and a live 120 outlet needing to be changed ya if you are careful you can change them live and if you follow certain precautions the worst you will do is melt half way though you screw driver and blow the breaker not likely to get shocked unless you touch the live wire or the metal of the screw driver and avoiding being grounded i will likely be making my own welding bench as i will want it to fold up when not in use and such but it will not flimsy that will be another thread so its settled 2 300 amp mig welders and a larger 500-600 amp stick welder no 1000 amp unit cnc angle grinders drill press and drill jig saw 15 inch cut off wheel and a 3d printer i will at times have another worker or maybe 2 other workers besides me so a 30 kw gen might be a must being such units are as big a kitchen cabinet or bigger i might be looking at a 40 foot trailer but this is why i am here to ask these questions now not after i realize its to small and bigger gens are more likely to run sensitive equipment and i have ways to regulate stuff but getting the right welder will be a much better option rather then a better regulator as that would just increase the load on the gen and waste even more space but the cnc and 3d printer will require extreme regulation and i know how to make that happen

 

[tom60634]

if you are going to be welding steel half inch thick will this be on structural stuff, safety critical things that can injure / kill people ? the film company may want a fully qualified welder, their insurance may insist on it

we have one coming onto the crew very soon but i am stuck with planing things as he this other welder still works a regular job waiting for things to happen and that will be very soon as in within 2 months as far as 1-2 inch or bigger one project i am planing is a weighted camera dolly with an active geared magnetic breaking system in it so that a slow push has a copper tungsten alloy disc spinning at 700-1000 rpm so that we can get a smooth roll without a track even down hill this unit might even have a small electric motor in it but at 500 pounds or more it will take at least 2 people to push it and with the breaks fully engaged it could down 30 percent grade for some distance without gaining to much speed but in most cases when its big somebodies life depends on it but that camera dolly if something failed in that being that it will have a very low center of gravity and the distance to fall will be 8 inch give or take but this is not always the case this item is built thick to be heavy and not because it needs to be supper strong but yes if this managed to hit the side of a car at 10 miles an hour i think the dolly would be fine and the car would be half totaled but not likely life threatening

 

[biffa]

You sound like you are way out of your depth if your seriously considering needed two migs a 600amp machine, considering you are not a welder, I would advise you to go to miller or Lincoln telling them exactly what your requirements are and listen to the advise they give. personally I think all you need is a 300 welder/generator so your can you your power tools and with the addition of wire feed units you can run mig etc,