What care and basic maintenance should welders have?

Preventive care and maintenance of welding equipment are two of the most important factors in extending equipment life, as well as executing strong, high-quality welds. On the other hand, the constant care and maintenance of the welder, will result in significant savings of time and money, since they will avoid damage to the machine and errors in the execution of the welding.

Although there are several types of welding machines, there are some common criteria that must be handled for the maintenance and preventive care of any welder. Then, we detail what care and maintenance we have to take into account to preserve our tool of work.

General preventive care for a welding machine

the care of the welder, as well as any other work team, is based mainly on simple actions that must be carried out before, during and after its use. So how to do a good general maintenance of the welder?

Before starting job execution

• The first action to take is to read and understand the user manual for the welding equipment. Be sure to follow all the steps indicated in the user manual, before putting the unit into operation. welder.
• You must verify that the welding machine is connected to the outlet with the correct voltage.
• The welding equipment it must be located in a safe place, where no object can fall on it by accident.
• Verify that all wiring to the welding machine is in good condition before starting work.

During job execution

• Keep your workplace neat and clean. You must avoid contact of the machine with any source of liquid while it is in operation.
• Keep any flammable objects out of reach of the point of ignition. welding.

At the end of the job

• Be sure to turn off and disconnect the equipment from the power source.
• hold the welder in a dry and tidy environment.
• Visually inspect the components of the equipment, and verify that they do not present overheating, loose connections, obstructions in the fan blades, and that everything is in order.
• Another task that is part of preventive care for a welding machine It’s your cleanliness. For equipment used in work areas with a high concentration of dust and especially metal particles, the cleaning of the welding equipment must be done daily. For machines used in a cleaner work environment, cleaning can be done monthly.
• To carry out the cleaning process, you must first disconnect the machine from the electrical connection and lift the cover of the welding equipment. To remove dirt from the welder, blow clean, dry compressed air over your components.

Care and maintenance for electrode welding equipment

This type of welder it is not very demanding in terms of its maintenance, however, some additional recommendations should be taken into account to the general care when we talk about welding with electrodes.

In addition to the internal components of the machine, this type of welding equipment they have the electrode holder clamp and the ground clamp, which do not require meticulous care, but they must be evaluated to verify the state of wear they present, and replace them when necessary.

Another element to take into account are the electrodes, these must be kept in a dry place and protected from moisture. The ideal is to place them in a closed, dry and strong container that protects them from possible bumps and dents.

Care and maintenance for MIG / MAG welding equipment

This type of welders that are applied for MIG/MAG welding have many more peripheral elements, which require a little more attention when performing equipment maintenance, given the number of components it has.

Drive rollers and gun guide: since the welding wire passes through these elements, it is possible that it carries with it dirt or debris from the work area, which can accumulate inside. For this reason, it is recommended to clean these elements, using dry and clean compressed air, on a weekly basis.
Another option for cleaning the rollers is to remove the rollers and clean them using a wire brush. To check and clean the rollers you must first turn off the feeder.

the welding wire: must be cut to the correct length. If this is too short, dust can accumulate between the retaining head and the liner, causing problems with the feeder. It is also important to keep the welding wire completely clean, to avoid contaminating other components of the equipment and also to obtain a welding perfect.

the gun guide: You must protect the gun from any object that could fall on it or on the gun cable. Also avoid dragging these items.

the nozzle of the gun: must always be kept free of dirt or dust, to allow the correct flow of gas and the correct execution of the welding. You should also make sure to store the mouthpiece in a safe place to avoid denting or other damage.

the diffuser: this is another of the components that must be checked and that must be kept free of any obstruction. To clean the diffuser, proceed by removing the cone and use a wire brush to remove all dirt.

contact tips: to protect the condition of the tips of the welder, it is recommended to avoid making contact with the work material. Every time the tip makes contact with the work piece, the tip is damaged. Over time, the contact tips will need to be replaced, so it is important that you pay attention to the moment of change so that it does not affect the work of welding.

gas hose: It is important to make sure that the hose is never kinked, in order to keep it in the best possible condition. You should also carry out constant inspections of the hose to rule out possible leaks.

gas bottle: This is one of the components that requires important attention. You should check that the bottle is always firmly attached to the wall or to the welding machine. It should prevent the bottle from falling down and causing an accident. Once your work is finished, it is recommended to remove the regulator and place a preferably screw cap on the bottle, this to prevent any leaks and to maintain the safety valve system.

Portable MIG Welder

Care and maintenance for inverter welding equipment

For the care of this type of inverter welding machines, it is enough to follow a few recommendations during use and for periodic maintenance.

Before and during the use of the welder

• Check that the voltage and frequency of the welding correspond to the voltage and frequency of the network available in the workplace, before making any type of electrical connection.
• Protect the power cable of the machine from external agents such as oils, sharp elements and heat. Arrange the cable in such a way that it does not disturb or be exposed to deterioration, while you work.
• While the welder is running, never obstruct its vents, this will help maintain service values.
• To maintain the good condition and safety of this type of welding machine, it is highly recommended that it be serviced on a regular basis.
• Before starting any maintenance task, you must ensure that the machine is disconnected from the electricity network.

Note: After disconnecting the machine from the power supply, you must wait 5 minutes for the capacitor to discharge to a safe voltage (less than 36V).

daily inspection

• Before starting your work, check that the front and rear knobs and switches operate easily. If one does not work correctly, repair or replace it immediately.
• Check that the indicator lights light up correctly.
• Make sure that the fan works correctly and does not generate knocks, otherwise do not use the welding machine until the fan is repaired.
• See if the quick connectors are loose or preheated. Also check that the cables keep their insulation intact, never work with cables that have been repaired or without their insulating coating.
• After turning off the welding machine, check if internally you can hear crackling, hissing or any peculiar smell. In the event that any of these situations arise and you cannot deduce the reason, contact the professional service.

Monthly maintenance

• Using dry compressed air, blow out the inside of the welding machine. This with the main objective of removing the accumulated dust from the main voltage transformer, the radiator, the IGBT module, the inductance, the diode cover and the PCB.
• Check for loose or missing screws, and tighten or replace them.

Maintenance every three months

• If the model of your welder It has a led display, verify that the reading is the same as when measuring with an amperometric clamp.

Annual maintenance

• You must measure the insulation impedance between the main circuit, the sheet metal box and the PBC, if the reading is less than 1 MÙ the insulation is possibly damaged, and requires replacement or reinforcement by drying.
• Please note that any repairs that require disassembly of the welding machinemust be carried out by professional personnel.

Inverter Welder

The maintenance and preventive care of the welder These are very important actions that will allow you to perform quality work, as well as extend the useful life of the machine, therefore, we recommend taking these tips into account to give it a useful life and preserve this important tool of work.