Some of you might find this interesting. These photos were posted on Facebook today by a well known company building fuselages and selling them.
They are MIG welded, they are atrocious by any standards. I saw the welder in one of the photos, it looked like a little Millermatic 185 which is a small machine for home use and very light industrial which is a stretch. Sub $1,000 machine.
In the comments a couple people chimed in a said something but the owner started saying how the industry uses MIG now and it's the new standard.
Yes, some companies do use MIG but they are very high priced units that are designed to manage heat (amp) in a manner that's not even close to the little machines. And these professional machines are ran buy professional welders who are skilled and do this every day all day.
Unfortunately people will see that company post and assume they can buy a cheap MIG machine and build airplanes which is crazy. While it's possible to do it preheating with a torch it's ludicrous for a beginner to assume the can do it safely and consistently.
I can't believe this company posted that to be honest. I lost all respect for them. I won't mention the name but they focus on very old replicas and it's not hard to figure out..
Anyhow. If you're considering MIG as some means of making the process affordable this is NOT where you want to save money.
They are MIG welded, they are atrocious by any standards. I saw the welder in one of the photos, it looked like a little Millermatic 185 which is a small machine for home use and very light industrial which is a stretch. Sub $1,000 machine.
In the comments a couple people chimed in a said something but the owner started saying how the industry uses MIG now and it's the new standard.
Yes, some companies do use MIG but they are very high priced units that are designed to manage heat (amp) in a manner that's not even close to the little machines. And these professional machines are ran buy professional welders who are skilled and do this every day all day.
Unfortunately people will see that company post and assume they can buy a cheap MIG machine and build airplanes which is crazy. While it's possible to do it preheating with a torch it's ludicrous for a beginner to assume the can do it safely and consistently.
I can't believe this company posted that to be honest. I lost all respect for them. I won't mention the name but they focus on very old replicas and it's not hard to figure out..
Anyhow. If you're considering MIG as some means of making the process affordable this is NOT where you want to save money.
