picked up my weldmate M200 IGBT MIG

[henrym]

a few days ago, I collected my new welder from the post office after paying an additional $32 on top of the shipping fees (USPS was a bit of a letdown... took 10 days, cost $120 USD of -which Simon paid part of- and was not delivered to the door) ANYWAY, my initial opinions:

everything came well packed and looks great. I like the torch and all leads, unit itself is well built, easy to use the controls, wire feed speed and roller tension is very adjustable, easy to swap wire rolls (I tried an 11 lb. spool, and it looks like the drive roller has two different size grooves!) polarity is simple to change... I'll do a complete writeup in this thread when I get a chance.

I only have an Argon cylinder right now, so I guess I'll get some aluminum wire when I go shopping!

as for steel, I am thinking about buying a smaller bottle for straight co2, so I can mix as needed. I don't think I'm able to buy another cylinder right now though ($$).


Henry

[Gadget]

I envy you Henry, looks like a lot of fun in your future. Keep us posted on the unit and projects.
Dan

[JoshF]

Im looking at purchasing that same unit. Im very eager to see your results with it.

[KHK]

Please keep us posted

[henrym]

sorry for the delay. I have been busy and I haven't bought respirator filters or aluminum mig wire

here are some (less than perfect) pics anyway:

front. note the mig gun connection with the cover removed. nice big crimp there.

here is the drive roller/feeder and the output terminals. the roller is quite adjustable and easy to work with. to my initial surprise, the work and stick leads are connected by eye terminals on the cables. that cord in the pic is the mig gun conductor, which can here be connected to positive, or negative for flux-core welding.

and here is the power-handling section. the layout is completely different from the MOSFET units. the IGBT must be behind those big heat-sinks:


I plugged it in and played with the wire-feed speed (current) with satisfaction and I'm not sure if it switches to constant-current for stick, but the voltage adjustment has no effect on the voltage display in stick mode.

the welder without leads or welding wire weighs about 41 pounds. pretty hefty compared to my 520D, which is just 25 and a bit.

220-240v 21A input. 20-30A? to 160 amp output in mig mode with 200 amp peak current.

[Gadget]

Looks like a very nice unit Henry, thanks for sharing.

Dan

[KHK]

Thanks for sharing.

[LONGEVITY]

Henry,

We use it on a 50amp breaker. You can use it on a 30amp as well. The stick welder ranges from 5 to 160 amp but the digital display does not reflect the settings.

[bhardy501]

Nice looking machine, I want one but dont have the money right now. Nobody wanting any work done so I am not making any extra money.