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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    69

    Default Miller vs Fronius vs ......

    Hi Guys
    I'm looking to make a move on a new TIG for work soon and interested in your thoughts.
    After something with a high duty cycle in the 250A range for ally.
    Water cooled torch.
    Since a welder at this level is not cheap looking for something that's very future proof.
    Current models in the hunt are the Miller Dynasty 400 and the Fronius Magicwave 3000.
    I tend to end up with a large range of welding.
    Heavy structural, pressure vessel, thin sheet all in a range of materials.
    I've had a Miller Synchrowave and it was fine for steels but I didn't like it as much for ally as newer inverter models. Several friends have Miller Dynasty's and they are really nice to use.
    Thoughts? Options not looked at?
    Let us know what you think.
    Cheers
    Edwin

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default

    EFI_914
    I had a Magic Wave 1700 and found the accessories such as the footpedal very expensive -in 2010 it was a $1000. I could only expect the the water cooled unit will be along similar lines.
    The tig torch/ foot pedal connections are Fronois specific so theres no chance of using an aftermarket pedal. Ditto the Tig torch and handpiece consumables.

    Having said that, it was ultra reliable and a joy to use.They are super engineered with the inverter arc control that is expected in today's industrial welding units

    Working at a professional level you can't afford anything but the best and latest equipment. I can,t speak about the latest Miller units as I have no exposure to them but would suggest inquiries towards the Miller accessory costing and information on the machine hand piece/ foot pedal connection being compatible with the standard alternate torch cable connector and torch consumable parts consumable parts such as ceramic cups and the like.

    Grahame

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    69

    Default

    Hi Grahame
    good to hear your experience with the Fronius.
    The accessory prices are equally eye watering with both brands. The foot pedal is still 1$k for each but they are wireless now.
    what blew me away was the 2k for the trolley. Pretty sure that's the first project to make.
    Im not sure there is a wrong decision with either of these brands but always keen to hear of the best and worst case stories that might be around before spending the price of a new small car.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lebrina
    Posts
    1,910

    Default

    For what it's worth, I dislike Fronius machines due to their use of Fronius specific connections and Fronius specific componentry internally. They are a PITA to get repaired when they break down (they will like all machines). My welder repair shop described Fronius machines as the perfect machine if you were welding in an operating theater cleanliness, but there were more rugged options. I spent a fair bit of time on a Fronius pulse mig welding Aluminium and while the machine itself was quite good (although it could not handle any form of contaminated material at all) the mig gun as supplied by Fronius was undersized leading to liner melting issues and the Fronius contact tips didn't hold up either (M8 Binzel tips were a direct replacement and far far better).
    My personal impression is that Fronius machines hype and must have status greatly exceed their performance, much like many car marques.
    It is all well and good to have current technology and high end machines, but they must be both reliable and repairable in a cost effective and timely fashion. If a welder goes down, it will always go down in the middle of an important, time sensitive job.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Syd
    Posts
    492

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Robbers
    It is all well and good to have current technology and high end machines, but they must be both reliable and repairable in a cost effective and timely fashion.
    Wouldn't say that's Miller's strong suit either if that's the two choices. The Dynasty we had here, wasn't cost effective to repair once out of warranty....and quoted time for the replacement board to ship across suggested they'd be using a rowboat!

    Having used both a 200 and a later 350, you wonder what's the go with their arc starting too, dunno whether 50 v 60hz makes the difference in the electronic boxes, but never had those issues with old Syncrowaves. Crappiest of our local Chinese re-brands with the thousand yellow knobs will start easier, even if there's more reliability issues there - let alone Kemppis.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lebrina
    Posts
    1,910

    Default

    You've definitely got a point there Hunch. It seems that even dirty old welders are being overcomplicated and their reliability is suffering. Even the cleanest workshop is a harsh environment for electronics.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Syd
    Posts
    492

    Default

    Do remember an old small fridge size tig from years past with the big winding handle on the front. Had a look inside that at one stage, probably half an inch of crud in the base, but it's probably still going somewhere, unlike these modern marvels.

    Miller do say to use an air hose on them every so often, but at least in industry, I'd bet that's not all that common if there's a large array of welders at hand. Seems a bit counter intuitive to me too, blowing metal laden grinding dust from the outside of the machine, seems a sure fire method for it to end up on the inside, even if it's not sucked inside by the cooling fans.

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