MIG/MAG Welder Wire Feeder Repair

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

Make sure to follow me on Facebook (if you still use it :D) facebook.com/realTPAI/

[@HIEPPIEFUSARO]

The Post Apocalyptic Inventor I don't used anymore, but i may come back if you ask to :p

[@jamest.5001]

I never really used it either. I'm too reclusive!

[@liveleaky7571]

James stranger no one asked you anything

[@christiangeiselmann]

Facebook? What's that?

[@AliMirjamali]

Please consider Twitter and/or Instagram. Facebook is so dead.

[@edgeeffect]

I find these videos about complex power electronics to be quite hard to understand... which is GREAT. If I just watched easy stuff, I'd never actually learn anything. And I'm learning so much from these. Great work.

[@psygn0sis]

The thing about TPAI that I really love is, he does everything the correct way. Replacing parts with the correct replacement or better. He doesn't halfass a project or "jerry rig" anything. I don't know if it's his "Germanness" that makes him do it that way or what, but I like it! : )

[@1pcfred]

The scrape job he did removing the old gasket was pretty half ass. If it was a water pump it would have leaked like a sieve. In that case he might as well just put a bead of RTV on it and called it a day. There's times when going half ass is the way to fly. Running a knife on a plastic triangle is kind of meh technique too. After a while that edge isn't quite so straight anymore. There steel is the real deal.

[@Scott_C]

"Jerry" was a derogatory term by the Allies for Germans in WWII. They hopefully don't take offense to it anymore.

[@1pcfred]

Derogatory in what way?

[@Scott_C]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_used_for_Germans Looks like it isn't as offensive as it once was.

[@paulkurilecz4209]

Of course, as Germans as sometimes want to say: "Everything must exactly so be!"

[@stoatrepublic]

I used to repair Lincoln 400 and 450 amp welders and even with those it was difficult to get parts for as Lincoln doesn't support its older models. I ended up with 18 working and reliable, 9 welding bays each with a spare welder, when I started the job at a local fabrication company most of them were dead and the company was struggling all the time so I gave them names and welding staff were more interested in looking after them. Like Radios most welder problems are actually outside the welder in the form of broken wires etc. Kinks in Bowdenzug ramp up the current draw and burn out pcb and some of the wire feed motors had run the carbon brushes down to stubs and only required a sharp tap with a screw driver handle to get them working during testing. The advice I can offer is; don't crank the tension rollers down too hard, you should be able to stop the wire feed by nipping the wire with finger and thump so the rollers are slipping and the best way to set the wire speed is so welding sounds lively just like frying bacon in a pan. Get yourself some tip dip and some anti-spatter spray and when your doing any thread tapping use the anti-spatter spray instead of cutting compound its much better. Keep these videos coming your on a roll, definitely the best workshop channel on KZbin, Dankeschön for sharing your problems with long upload times.

[@Z3n1tHL0rD]

That wire feed pressure advice is a great bit of advice, the wire quite often melts to the welding tip, if the wire feed pressure is too high you get a birds nest of wire in the wire feed machine which can takes a long time to sort out.

[@drumintercourse]

Your ability to build circuits from just scraps is inspiring. Incredibly resourceful and practical.

[@sumilidero]

Been working in a factory , repairing industrial migs everyday and always speed control electronics breaks or mains contactor or welding leads. Never met transformer failure nor rectifier/choke. Good option to buy used broken one and repair as you did. Even if going easiest way and just buying whole new circuitboard will make you cheap indestructive 400A machine lasting next 20 years in non abusive garage use :D Lovely vid! cheers!

[@isidoromaich7226]

The finest explanation of how it works and your own approach in a great and detailed video. Love it! Keep your great work you are doing well.

[@electrovoyager1125]

Yes TPAI, if you can you should really come up with the design explanations of "SMPS" series.. That's one of the most POPULAR video series in this channel. It's helped me to understand the theoretical concepts a lots...

[@sudhirpatil3434]

By far best video series on youtube.. I love watching every upload!!

[@x_ph1l]

Awesome project! Thanks! As some people already mentioned, it would be nice to have some post-gas functionality and also you might add "priming" button to the welder, so that when pressed, it would just open valve without actually feeding the wire which will allow to adjust gas flow rate and also "prime" the line on first machine use after some downtime.

[@panicfarm9874]

Is everyone in Germany a engineer? There’s so many of you guys on KZbin that are engineers. You’re a great teacher

[@christiangeiselmann]

Grant Hoth Not everybody in Germany is an engineer. And not every engineer is as ingenious. And we have couch potatoes, too.

[@panicfarm9874]

Christian Geiselmann oh come on I knew that, i was kidding.

[@christiangeiselmann]

Grant Hoth Oh, sorry. I was a little bit naive when reading your post. Cheers.

[@paulrautenbach]

I think a lot more of them get taught engineering than in the UK or US.

[@atech6580]

Please continue your smps build series and show us how to build those buck and boost converters properly ..

[@volkhen0]

Yes yes yes

[@alanpartridge2140]

Yes please do, I know it's a lot of hard work but those already done are absolutely brilliant and easy to learn from.

[@FlyingShotsman]

Another voice in support here! Your explanations and animated drawings are so clear and easy to follow, it would be wonderful to see detailed explanations of your switching converter designs.

[@alanpartridge2140]

Ok TPAI, I'll give you £10 on paypal for every new video in the SMPS series, I'm sure there'd be other people who would also do this.

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

This would be a good idea to do before moving onto the lathe. That way he can show us how to CNC the lathe using the motor controllers he has developed. Rotary encoders would be needed, but GreatScott showed how to make those out of old hard drives. Add in LED display driving and you are halfway there.

[@georgedennison3338]

A couple of things which will make your MIG welding life easier is nozzle gel, and wire cleaner/lube. Nozzle gel is to reduce spatter stick on the expensive copper nozzle on tip of the gun. Wire cleaner/lube is two little sponge like devices which clip onto the wire between the spool and the wire feeder. One is slightly abrasive, (I used a piece of ScotchBrite and a wooden spring type clothes pin, before I found the ready made cleaner), and one of the devices has a non abrasive material likely soaked with a lubricant. You can buy a can of the lube, to re-treat the lube device. I never was able to find a material to use with a clothes pin. The abrasive cleaner must be before the lube device, or the abrasive will prematurely wear out the plastic liner in the gun's wire feed cable.

[@leonardpearlman4017]

Wire feeder with WIRE STRAIGHTENER! You don't see that very much. I love the construction of the wire-feeder generally, modern ones are often more or less plastic and sheet metal, I've often wondered (since this part is small, simple and important) why they didn't have a more solid construction. SO, this is sort of the wire feeder of my dreams here. This is all kind of heroic... I think here in the US a lot of people would look at this and say "Oh, it's broken" and that would be the end of the discussion. You're doing a lot of thoughtful greasy work here, but it seems like a lifetime investment.

[@victoryfirst2878]

Even though I am in America, I feel that we are brothers of different mothers. I really love your channel and use it to get new ideas from your project. Keep on making more and I thank you for the explanations too.

[@silaswitmond8416]

Your videos are really awesome, they are the only high quality electronics videos on KZbin, and they have stimulated me as well to make stuff myself ( I'm 15 years old). If I were 18, I would support you on patreon. Keep going and I hope to see more from you.

[@aqib2000]

Silas Witmond you can send via PayPal or bank transfer

[@beakittelscherz5419]

Hey Silas. You must be 19 now. Do you still play doing electronic projects? What are you up to these days?

[@bj20715]

Excellent explanation of what you're doing to being this old beast into the modern age! You really have a knack for explaining these circuits and the motivation behind your designs.

[@scottcarlon6318]

In America, we might call the connector cable as a cable or wire bundle (cable bundle ). Thank you for efforts, I enjoy the videos very much, keep up the great work.

[@loveisalliam]

You are a very multi talented guy thankyou for explaining everything. You must have a big place to store all your rebuilds great video great engineer.

[@alienspacewear3527]

I am totally impressed. You did such an awesome job congrats

[@sudhirpatil3434]

Honestly speaking, i have never come across more intilligant guy in my life!I sometimes do not understand stuff, but trying to learn more n more from you.

[@MultiArrie]

You really rebuild the welder, not only that you explained how the welder works. I have repaired a view aircooled mig welders myself the single and 2 phase types from Electra Beckum and Migatronic. In the Netherlands is not common to have 3 phase power. One tip if you are welding indoors and say up to 160Ampere you can set the gasflow down to 4 liter per minut.

[@Reuben1024]

lovely build quality and serviceability -so much better than virtually all new units; fascinating to see, and heart warming that it is being brought back to life. Good on you Sir!

[@mekkarmikke]

Another high quality video! Great explanation, and as always very interesting to hear your own thoughts and reasoning behind the descisions you make. Keep up the good work!

[@Thor110]

I absolutely love your videos and really enjoy seeing equipment that would other-wise go to waste repaired and brought back to life. I pick up "Trash" or broken things all the time to scrap, repair or use for other purposes. Keep up the great work! We live in such a wasteful society that doesn't properly educate it's populace in maintenance/repair of anything, but instead prefers to churn out new products day-in and day-out, each often competing with one-another to end up on the shelf or in the bin.

[@TERRYB0688]

Well here's the thing I watched both videos, I was fascinated with everything but when it finished realised I hadn't a clue what you where talking about 😂

[@waiakalulu3501]

More welding and welder modification videos!!!! I'm learning a lot, and I appreciate the clear explanations. Seems like a lot of stuff may not be absolutely required, but rolling down the street, it sure is nice.

[@AdamosDad]

I real enjoy how you show the very practical application of electronic and mechanical engineering, as an electronics tech in the US Navy and later a senior maintenance operator (motor controls) for a very large corporation (Now happily retired ) I could say you would have been a welcome member of the prototyping engineering group. ⚡️👍🏻

[@TheMadMagician87]

Excellent series on the welder modifications, thanks!

[@thebrokenbone]

Awesome job on the electronics! Hope you can comment in the future on the current cut switch circuit. Next time you have to make a gasket hit the paper over the actual piece with light strokes of a small hammer so to mark or lightly cut the paper. Take care and thanks for sharing.pete

[@1pcfred]

Yeah his gasket seal skills offer some room for improvement. But I guess for a gear box good enough?

[@Sailingon]

I can't speak German but love when you add the German words for things

[@Atlas9464]

You would make some appreciative woman a great husband as my wife loves the fact that I repair a lot of things around the house ,but unfortunately am not good with electronics, but all the same I love to watch and even learn some things.Thank you so much.

[@georgelewisray]

CC vs CV ::: You referred to the possible use of this machine for 'Stick Welding' which is a CC (constant Current) process and my understanding of MIG-MAG is that it is a CV (constant Voltage) process. My little research indicates that the older/classic machines "manual stick or TIG 'vs' wire feed" have different transformer designs. You have shown an extraordinary grasp of the practical aspects of electromagnetic design. What's up? / / / THANKS as usual !!!

[@georgedennison3338]

I realized there are two reasons for US viewers to be envious of living in Germany. The great salvage yards you have, and three phase power in your homes! To get three phase in the US, you have to pay for the electric company to bring it to your house. I do some occasional handyman work for a machine tool company close to my house. They have been in business since post WWII, and unlike many machine tool dealers, take old equipment as trade-ins. So, I have lots of old three phase equipment available, at very good prices/free. So, I looked into getting three phase, where I live. Turn out, three phase is about 100 yards from my home/shop. The power company told it would cost $27,000 to bring three phase from there to my house, THEN I would have to install a three phase panel. One hundred yards...

[@xysix2548]

Excellent work. Just an idea for you on the motor brake circuit: You could connect your mosfet to energize a contactor /relay instead of the low-value resistor. The contactor in turn would connect a hi-value capacitor of suitable micro-farads in reverse polarity across the motor. Normally the capacitor would be charged up to twice the supply voltage, or ~68 VDC. When the button on the gun is released, the contactor drops out, the contacts transfer, which causes the capacitor to discharge its built-up charge through the motor coils in reverse. Because it is only a single shot, the doubled voltage spike will not hurt the motor, but will force it to act quickly. This arrangement would only be necessary if you wanted the motor to ''stop on a dime and give nine cents change.'' This is the type of circuit that is used on an electromagnet for a crane.E.g. a junk-yard crane.

[@jjr56991]

Great video, really enjoyed witching. I enjoy seeing old equipment get a new lease on life.

[@crazyirishman121]

Fantastic episode ! Would love more details on buck converts and current sensing circuits.

[@brianhamilton7688]

Needs an adjustable burn back timer to leave the power source on for a little time after the wire feeder stops. Usually set somewhere between .1 to .7 second. Also may need a pre purge to start the gas a second or two before the wire feeder.

[@Reuben1024]

pre purge and burnback both very useful as well as post flow - wondering if the current sense may be heading towards a 'synergic' style control ?

[@absurdengineering]

This is some good engineering. I love how it turned out.

[@AtticusDraco]

fantastic success in saving that thing from the graveyard! tbh, a lot of your explanation went above my head but because of your accent it sounded legit. i got a good chunk of it though,, good show i appreciate your efforts

[@specialized29er86]

Good to see someone doing a decent repair, most folks theses days just unbolt the old part and bolt on a new part and give no thought of the rest of thye machine.

[@repcsi]

that welder is getting seriously future proof , great job! :)

[@leonardpearlman4017]

Yeah! That machine will survive, and rebuild the world!

[@allesklarklaus147]

The wire feeder brake in off the shelf welding machines might be done with the wire spool. The tension on that plastic screw usually has to be adjusted so that when you let loose of the trigger there is no more spool turning action

[@paulrautenbach]

Great to be back doing projects and this one has been very interesting. Good clear explanations. Thanks.

[@SeanBZA]

Don't forget you also would find a post weld gas flow good, using a off delay relay to give a few seconds of gas flow after welding as have a gas valve installed. Second transformer is easy to connect to the common ( one phase) and the 220VAC tap on the main transformer, or just connect to the unused 220VAC secondary, allowing you to use a 3+E power cable, not having a neutral conductor again and still allowing you to have 220VAC parts. Old motor controller I will guess there is a unijunction transistor in there to do the timing, and that has had either a parameter shift or has simply failed open circuit. Nearly unobtanium new these days, but it can be replaced with old stock USSR ones with almost similar action, or with a small modification using a NPN and PNP transistor ( or a BRY39 GCS thyristor) and some resistors to emulate it. I have that exact model Einhell welder as well, my modifications to it were to install a 120mm 220VAC fan in it to provide cooling for the transformer, a small light to illuminate the current setting bar on the shunt thread ( painted it white again as well, it was rusty and dull) from the inside and added a really beefy diode ( used 100A stud diode on a chunk of aluminium plate), a 40A circuit breaker and a socket on the front panel, to use as a very beefy battery booster, capable of bringing a flat battery up to usable power in a few seconds of connecting it to the welder. Breaker limits your charge time to a few seconds on a flat battery, so you do not buckle plates too fast, and as it picks up charge it will not trip for longer, just set the shunt to minimum current.

[@tengelgeer]

The part of the second transformer using the N was exactly what I thought! Easy to restore the versatility of not using the N. And about PWM vs voltage for a motor, you usually have more torque if you use PWM vs fixed voltage...

[@kamikazeratte]

Very nice work and exceptionally well explained, thanks alot! BTW, 26:55 nice "easteregg" (Fallout poster)!

[@vsevkrawczeniuk8019]

Hose package makes sense. I probably would've called it a loom but your name for it describes what it is a little better

[@Rod_Knee]

Superb work! Your explanations are also excellent. I've learned a huge amount from this channel. Looking forward to the Lathe video.

[@christiangeiselmann]

Incredible knowlege and dexterity, really. Both in engineering and in video making. (I start being suspicious that actually you are a professor of electro engineering.)

[@normanboyes4983]

You do good work - fantastically well. Very thorough!

[@caemaridwn]

Great video nice to see how you changed things. I look forward to the video on the arc welder I have one of those

[@danandrei96]

huh, the way they used those thyristors to "cut" the sine-wave is basically old-school PWM . really cool to see it used in such old machines

[@hellbillyaustin6883]

Great work, great video!, just got a new mig welder, i have'nt welded for 10 years!, its gonna be a steep learning curve!!.......and burnt fingers and clothes with holes from grinding!!lol!. Have a great new year, keep up the good work. All the best matey!.

[@TheFurriestOne]

Great upgrade, good for another 50+ years!

[@metalpachuramon]

This is very interesting, the last problem you mentioned about not stopping correctly in high speeds, it just occurred to me that you could connect the motor in some sort of h-bridge config, so that, instead of shorting the motor when releasing the trigger, you could invert the polarity of the motor, so that it's reverse electromagnetic force is reversed again to counter the inertial rotation... Although I don't actually know if this works anywas

[@allesklarklaus147]

I think the weld bead and the sound suggest the wire speed is a little too high for the voltage/current, but overall both are a bit too low for the thickness of that base metal. Maybe crank up the voltage 2 positions and than give a little more wire if it sounds weird.

[@yanfishtwig2356]

@23.53 well put man "The Zen Of Electronics By TPAI"

[@John_Smith__]

I see that the Server Fan RC boat lost at least one fan :) ... but it was put to good use! Great video! Keep it up!

[@AmyAndrewAdventures]

Another great video! I would really love to see a future video on upgrading a "cheap" welder!!

[@LostLinguine]

I'll always appreciate you for having a sunset sarsaparilla poster in your work space💘

[@Tony-nn2bg]

Thank you for a great video, really educational. One thing that left bothering me is the use of -10% tap on the primary transformer side, should it not be +10% since the voltage is higher?

[@arto1313]

great work just amazed, trying to think what i am capable of doing.

[@ATLaboratory]

Great, welding machine and power electronic devideces are the most interesting thing that I could find. So in this videos I cane see power transformer and old school technology, and something more modern as buck converter:) I remamber an old episode of yours where you speak about stick welding machine and the electronic "inverter". Do you have some news from that time? I'm very interesting in power electronics, specially power inverters and power supply:)

[@mikescudder4621]

Thanks for the lesson! Again, thats a beauty of a welder you found! It would be a dream for me to find something like that... My cheap mag welder isn´t even rectified. I´m working through your videos but i´d like to understand more about why you took off the inductor?? It seems all quality mig welders have an inductor.

[@Visentinel]

Hey I just watched the smps tutorial bit when I got to the end it isn't finished. Please dude finish it its so awesome.

[@solveit1304]

cool! My sugestion is to use 230V AC motor instead of DC. You can easly find it in microwave oven :)

[@gafaff]

Wouldn't have a clue about the difference between a chopper motor control versus a switching converter, but by gosh I love the aesthetic of your schematics :)

[@dontwanttousemyrealnametol6765]

I think you should leave some documentation inside the enclosure.

[@stoatrepublic]

In Both German & English with references to KZbin videos and a thumb drive containing the videos as backup lol.

[@1978garfield]

Very cool set up. You are just 1 switch and a connector away from running a spool gun (provided your wire feed runs on 0-24 V DC). Spool guns make it easier to weld aluminum. There are lots of them that fit the standard Euro (ABICOR BINZEL) fitting. I am glad this machine wound up with someone like you who could rebuild and re-engineer systems rather than someone who would have had to have scrapped it becase they could not find parts. What brand was this machine?

[@q12x]

wow - a monster project and tremendous knowledge !

[@elliotgranstrom3296]

Great video as always! I would realy like to see a video tutorial on how to upgrade "buzzbox welder" in the future! Ps. Try to keep your face out of the welding smoke, your lungs will thank you!

[@hypershine6080]

You are the man, we need more people like you👍

[@NOBOX7]

nice build

[@Larsema1]

Or maby they had a 220V inlet to connect the transformer in countries/constructionplaces where they use 200-220V between phases and the main transformer D-connected. Couldn't you just have used the 230V outlet from the old transformer instead of a neutral input, or used the 24V output connected directly to your rectifier + switchregulator? Very nice channel by the way! Must have watched at least 10 episodes in a row now and liked everyone!

[@volkerball3]

If you have it can you share pictures from the old controller and the new ?

[@colinsmith6340]

Why didn't you put that second transformer onto the 220 fan output connections? Just wondering.

[@brotschuh]

Haha, so ein Einhell Elektrodenschweißer hat mich mal so aufgeregt, daß ich ihn gekickt hab. Dann hab ich mir einen aus China bestellt und der ist (für nen Hobbyschweißer) megageil. Ich war extrem überrascht, daher glaub ich nicht dass sich das Upgraden lohnt.

[@jerrysmagic007]

This is my favourite channel!

[@jerrysmagic007]

favorite

[@MrMalarix]

Awsome project, You sir have realy acumulated electronic knowledge. What about that einhel transformer? What are You planning whit that? IT is a hobby machine and IT has a verry short duty cicle, and i am not talking about the termostat, but IT weld great and at some point IT welds like crap so maybe You would look into the arc caracteristics , inductance, voltage drop, hysteresys, and so on. A verry simple device that deals with the hardest to control electric phenomen, the electric arc

[@stewartalbert3523]

If you can move the entry of wire into cable adapter closer the possibility of wire kinking will be reduced. As close to feed roll as possible . "Birdsnest " is term used when wire tangles. When that happens welding current is often on case of wire feeder . Messy !

[@tiffstead3164]

This was a really good one! Great job

[@ralph9987]

Du bist der Wahnsinn. Toll. Kann ich nur ein Teil der 3 phase Trafo benutzen ohne sie gle Phase switchboard wenn ich nur single Phase habe ?

[@jamest.5001]

I would like to see some one build a huge boost converter. like 12/24 volts to about 200v and output 50amps+ I don't know how efficient it would be . I'd like to build a 120v inverter . this is a awesome video...

[@rocketman221projects]

That would need around 1000 amps at 12V, that's not really practical. You can just buy a 10KW power inverter, but you will want one with at least a 48V input.

[@kioshiootori9657]

Just curious, if someone could find another one of these how much would you charge for a similar/the same rebuild? Im in the USA and have been looking for something like this for a while, with of course an optional 1-2 phase to 3 phase transformer(or control circuit for that removed panel) to allow mobile work -- and have you though about using something like a Raspberry Pi 4 to allow logging of hours, diagnostics, experiments, or cellphone app control of the main unit and wire feeder? Just curious as it could in theory allow an in welding helmet digital readout of current, or other helpful information, or for dangerous experiments a remote cutoff or adjustment UI

[@sarahmayer8539]

Very impressing, great work!

[@Udavvf]

but why did'nt you use main transformer's 220v secondary winding used for original fan and impulse power supply, but added new transformer?

[@l3p3]

Man hätte daran ein handelsübliches, kompaktes 12-Volt-Netzteil anschließen können. Verstehe ich auch nicht, warum. Entweder Prinzipientreue oder einfach nur zu Übungszwecken.

[@wtsuser]

L3 P3 ich glaube der ist kein deutscher, sonst wäre sein Name QWERTZ

[@storm19001]

Wow who woulda thought we had a New Vegas guy over here. :)

[@nicktohzyu]

15:15 why did the fan need an isolated power source?

[@bassbez6417]

What type of grease did you use in the gear box love this channel

[@psi23k]

Another fantastic informative video 👍 thanks

[@gangleweed]

All those sparks and lots of spatter........one reason I got rid of the mig welder set up I use to have in favor of a DC stick welder and a plasma welder.......later on I acquired a 250 amp DC cold welder with Tig capability.

[@AdityaMehendale]

At 26:20, instead of adding a "brake control circuit" why didn't you just replace the freewheeling schottky-diode with a MOSFET in a push-pull configuration?

[@HIEPPIEFUSARO]

Love the video. Waiting for the next part. Thump up

[@WallStreet749]

I really love your videos.

[@wikum87]

Are you not going to post next video of smps? Pls post

[@COM70]

Could I add an amp meter as well as pulse width/ amplitude modulation or even introduce high frequency modulation to my transformer welder. It is quite a good welder €1000 but old and not good for welding upside down or out of position.

[@pieterbrepoels6563]

Hello do you have a list of components you used for the new controller? Maybe a diagram with the components and the right values of the components. I need to build the same controller for my old welder. Thank you en keep up your good work!

[@pieterbrepoels6563]

?

[@slawekw79]

HI , great video, I really enjoyed it. But why did you connect L3 phase to (-10%) tab? In my knowledge ( I'm an engineer as well) it should be (+10%). I understand that you already had a 230/12v transformer and 12v fan but there is a lot of cheap 230v cabinet fans similar like Rittal. Greetings and keep it up!! Well done!!

[@theimpatientbrewer]

How about making a welder into a plasma cutter? That would be interesting.

[@andiyladdie3188]

Outstanding job!

[@KhalilHabassi]

You do not need a neutral. It can take 220 directly from the transformer