The rise and rise of portable welding machines

It is not that long ago that portable welding machines were seen as heavy, clunky equipment. Limited in their capability, they could usually only perform one type of welding, such as stick, TIG or MIG. And because of their power output, were mainly relegated to performing light and small welding tasks.

Over the last 20 years however, portable welding machines have evolved significantly. While single-process welders are still available in the marketplace and no doubt have a place in the industrial landscape, operators can now also choose from a wide range of multi-process machines. These provide greater convenience and flexibility as they can be used to tackle various fabrication or construction jobs and projects both in the workshop and out in the field without the need to switch power sources.

Greater productivity

Apart from the ability to tackle a wider variety of work, quality portable welders also help deliver excellent welding results. According to Paul McVicar, Managing Director, Kemppi Australia, this is because of the machine’s stable arc.

“Quality portable welding machines usually provide a very stable and even arc that allows the user to deeply penetrate various metals and produce consistent, high-quality welds. This reduces the need for reworking the weld as well as post-weld cleaning, which allows the operator to increase their output, while saving them both time and money,” explains Paul.

Powerful

The CKS2 is a compact key system for installation in machines and can also be used as a submodule of the MGB2 safety door system. Diagnostics data and communication functions can be accessed via IO-Link with the appropriate EUCHNER gateway or, in the case of the submodules, directly via the bus module of the MGB2.

Also contributing to improved productivity is that modern portable welders are far more powerful than their predecessors. Today, operators can choose a portable multi-process machine that has a 320 A with a 40-60% duty cycle. Or a 200 A with a 40% duty cycle.

The greater amperage combined with the higher duty means that machines such as the new Kemppi

Mastercam 2024 offers:

B-Axis contour enhancements

Three major enhancements have been added to the B-Axis Contour Turning operation: Ability to manually edit tool axis vectors, manually edit usable insert area, and adjust stock function. This allows for much more in-process control and understanding of the motion of the B-axis head from within the toolpath interface.

Turret mounted angled milling heads

Users can now use turret-mounted angled milling heads in Mill-Turn operations. This lets you create toolpaths on angled planes using turret-mounted tools. Enjoy enhanced productivity and ease of use for both milling and turning operations within the Mill-Turn product.

Process hole improvements

The Process Hole toolpath applies previously defined processes to a part’s solid hole features, which consists of one or more holemaking operations built in an operations library. The ability to import applicable processes into the working part file will save time and money while maintaining consistency with your processes.

Holemaking enhancements

A display graphical elements button has been added to the holemaking and multiaxis toolpath dialog boxes. This control allows the user to show or hide graphical elements, such as selected geometry colors and graphical planes, depending on the toolpath type. This allows for more customized control on a hole-by-hole basis or across the entire holemaking toolpath.

Master M 205 let the welder safely create quality welds for a longer period of time to help maximise productivity.

Lighter and easier to carry

The modern, portable welding machine is also far more compact than earlier models. Smaller and often made from toughened plastics, the welders are lighter and easier to carry and transport. This allows operators to take them almost anywhere including into confined spaces. Their small size also means that the portable machines are easy to store.

Feature rich

While functionality was lacking in earlier models, today’s range of portable welders provide the professional welder and hobbyist with far more features. Equipped with safety features as well as advanced functions such as LED lighting, memory channels, pre-installed welding programs, and in-build technology for fast parameter setup, modern portable welders have the capability to deliver high-power performance for a range of welding tasks.

“Whether you’re welding indoors or outside, thin or thick metals, the better portable welders we have today let you undertake repair and maintenance tasks as well as fabrication and different projects without compromising on quality or safety. They really have come a long way,” said Paul.

Waterline toolpaths – Detect undercuts and partial cuts

Mastercam 2023 for Dynamic OptiRough and Area Roughing (3D) waterline toolpaths, are aware of undercut stock conditions, which results in improvement to the toolpath motion and less air cutting. This option has been renamed from Detect undercut stock to Detect break through stock.

www.prosoft.co.nz

Brushware for gentle cleaning

Rain-X has a new range of brushware giving car owners a suite of eight products to clean and maintain their vehicles.

The range of eight products includes: car wash brush with hose connection (66 RXCWB), ultra absorbent drying towel 130 X 75CM (66 RXDT), 1.6m extendable wash brush with removal head (66 RXEXT16), jumbo sponge (66 RXJS), deluxe wheel wash brush (66 RXWBD), mag wheel spoke brush (66 RXWBM), extendable triangle microfibre window cleaner (66 RXWCD), and a premium microfibre wash mitt (66 RXWM).

These products are designed to help keep drivers a confident step ahead of Mother Nature on the road and include state-of-the-art materials that ensure thorough, yet gentle performance in order to ensure a deep, comfortable clean without compromising your vehicle’s integrity and looks.

BIB loader/unloader for the semiconductor industry

esmo group (esmo), a full-service systems integrator that provides innovative and advanced engineering services has launched lykos, a modular Burn-in Board (BIB) loading and unloading system designed to eliminate manual placement and orientation errors.

With high demand for microchips, the industry needs an efficient way to manage the volume and turnaround time during burn-in, a process to detect early failures in semiconductor devices.

Manual burn-in methods — including hand placement, manual flipping, and manual stacking — are slow, error-prone, and can damage delicate wafers, ultimately leading to costly downtime and product defects.

lykos, a reliable and portable device handling system, offers users modular machine configuration and options that can meet specific requirements and applications.

Featuring ergonomic control panels and user-friendly software, the system eliminates the need for manual placement and orientation, ensuring reliable and accurate operations. integrates with existing production lines and can be customised to meet specific requirements.

With its advanced automation capabilities, lykos enhances operational efficiency, reduces manufacturing defects, and accelerates production cycles.

The lykos features fully automated open top sockets (OTS) loading, flexible BIB clamping for different sizes, and an impressive conversion time of less than 3 minutes, including BIB change.

Other key features of lykos include:

• Device pin1 orientation in BIB

• Handling of devices up to 1x1mm

• Highly accurate and reliable 4+1-axis portal pick-and-place robot system (±0.05mm accuracy)

• Integrated camera system for pick-and-place position teaching

• RS232/TCP/IP or optional GPIB tester interfaces

• High MTBF values, low maintenance efforts lykos represents a significant leap forward in board handling technology, offering distinct advantages over traditional manual systems. It seamlessly

New E4Q e-chain with extender crossbars for safe guidance of large

A clever adapter system ensures quick and easy adjustment of the E4Q energy chain to the hose diameter.

To be able to safely guide large hoses, igus has now developed a new extender crossbar design for its E4Q modular energy chain series. With the help of an adapter system, the chain can be individually adapted to the hose diameter. The tool-free E4Q opening mechanism ensures easy installation and filling of the energy supply.

In 2019, igus launched a new series of energy chains under the name E4Q, which has already proven itself in applications worldwide - from machine tools to linear robots. The E4Q scores points with long unsupported lengths and long travels. It is particularly popular because of its modularity. In addition, the user can save 40% assembly time and 10% weight compared to the standard E4.1 series.

“Some customers wanted to guide large hoses in addition to cables, which is why we have now developed the E4Q e-chain with extender crossbars in a design study,” explains Phillip Hagedorn, Product Manager e-chains at igus GmbH. The extender crossbar can be mounted on the energy chain with an adapter system.

For inserting hoses, e.g. those used in the wood industry, igus relies on the proven E4Q crossbars. These can be opened and closed without any tools and are available in 15 different widths. This offers users a high level of variability when configuring their energy supply.

Guide hoses and cables safely in one system

“We have developed two different widths and heights of the adapters,” explains Hagedorn. “This gives the customer the option of adapting the extender crossbar to the hose diameter.” By using the extender crossbars, the interior space of the energy chain increases significantly. In addition to the hoses, other cables can also be accommodated and routed that way.

With the product range of cable-friendly interior separation elements, the energy chain can be easily divided so that customers can lay out their cables and hoses as desired. Costs can also be saved with the new e-chain with extender crossbars, because instead of a large energy chain, the user can simply insert a smaller chain with extended crossbars for more inner height.

• Optional positioning vision system, ionizer, vacuum generator, and signal light tower systems

The E4Q can be quickly adapted to the hose diameter with an easily installable adapter system. In the “e-chain expert”, customers can now directly equip their ready-to-connect energy chain with smart condition monitoring – and avoid unnecessarily early replacement. (Source: igus GmbH)

Find out more about the E4Q e-chain with extender crossbars at: www.treotham.com.au