I finally managed to buy a MIG welder

"kanadanmajava1" (kanadanmajava1)
08/11/2016 at 16:44 • Filed to: None

I have been planning to buy a new MIG welder for couple of years but I have been hesitating. I wanted to buy a model that isn’t yet well available as used. There was one on eBay but I managed to miss the deal due a short notice meeting at work. I have been quite close to buy a new one.

But on Tuesday my friend mentioned that his friend’s start-up company had one unused one for sale. I went to see it in yesterday and I bought it.

It’s not a complete set but it was reflected on the price. It was quite a good deal. It hasn’t seen much use and it’s pretty much like a new. It seems to have been used in an experimental robot welder in the local university.

The device itself is a monster of a MIG welder. The MIG part is able to push a current of 390 A in 100% duty cycle. The separate power supply could even go up to 440 A. This kind of current would of course blow the main fuses of my house. But with any sensible currents my garage’s fuses should be fine.

The wire feeder is a separate unit. The set also came with a water cooled torch that has integrated wire puller. The set is missing one high current cable between the units, the 24-pin control cable for the wire feeder and the water cooling pump. I’m probably going to use a normal torch as that one is a bit too heavy and cumbersome to use. The connection for the torch is similar with the regular MIG welders.

The 24-pin control cable is a bit more challenging to source. The connector type is military spec 24-28 with screw lock and there is a female in the other end and a male in the other. If I could figure out the pin-out I could probably make a new cable. I’m quite sure that it’s just a “straight cable” as there wouldn’t be much sense to have any other pin-out. The manufacturer is a Finnish company that still exists so I could also ask from them.

Any good ideas where could I find mil spec connectors cheaply?

Locally I cannot find anything with a reasonable price but eBay offers some military surplus stuff. The female connector looks like the one in the left. The male is similar but the center part of course differs.

DISCUSSION (13)

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 16:53

Good looking setup!

www.mouser.com has served me well buying replacement connectors (OEM wiring harnesses, OBDII, etc) for projcets in the past, and this is probably the right starting point for your search.

Looks like they’re set up for multinational sales on the web portal, as well.

iSureWilll > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 16:54

You’re in luck. I sell mil-spec connectors all day long. If you have a part # I should be able to source it.

iSureWilll > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever
08/11/2016 at 16:56

Just for reference, I work in the industry and Mouser usually does have a lot of stuff in stock and access to alot of products. Prices are generally on the high side though.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 16:59

Impressive. Most impressive.

kanadanmajava1 > iSureWilll
08/11/2016 at 17:27

Oh! That’s promising. I have been trying to decipher Amphenol’s catalog. My example was sold as a connector M3106E24-28S. The manufacturer is unknown.

“M” is some manufacturer specific code. Amphenol’s would be “97" but some other use also “MS”. Amphenol would use either “A” (Solid Backshell) or “B” (Split Backshell) instead of “E” (environmental resisting for some manufacturers).

The last “S” stands for socket and other would be “P” for pins. “3106" stands for plug type connector with soldered terminals (“4106" for crimped terminals). There are a lot of optional designations too.

So I guess anything might work if the model numbers would be xx3106x24-28S and xx3106x24-28P.

just-a-scratch > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 17:31

That looks like a monster for a home shop. Congrats.

iSureWilll > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 18:30

ok cool. MS3106s you can find lots of places. You can use any QPL’d manufacturer for any mil spec number that starts with a M or MS. In this case, Amphenol, ITT Cannon, Deutsch, Aero (JTECH/Conesys), Cinch (Emerson/Trompeter), etc. If there is a letter after the P on the end, it just denotes the rotation of the keyways so you can use the same connectors with different polarizations. I could probably sell it to you but it would be easier for you to just order it online at one of these places. All have stock to build and can probably ship within 4-5 days or less.

http://www.peigenesis.com/en/shop/f/MS31…

http://electroenterprises.com/index.cgi - Search for the part #

https://products.avnet.com/shop/SearchDis… - if this doesn’t work, try avnet.com and search for the part #

Some extra info for you... Part # breakdown with all the available inserts and connector styles. Let me know if you have any questions!

http://www.peigenesis.com/images/product…

iSureWilll > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 18:31

Meant to mention also... The “97-” number from Amphenol is their commercial part #. The “MS” just means mil spec and any QPL’d (qualified product listed) manufacturer uses this on their connectors.

Frank Grimes > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 19:05

thats awesome. where can i get one? I have two migs a 180 amp and a 135amp both are lincolns but man I want one with like 250amps to weld heavy stuff.

kanadanmajava1 > iSureWilll
08/11/2016 at 19:41

Thanks for the help! The amount of possible mil spec connectors seem to nearly infinite. I might have now figured the most of possible options for these. Still finding out what certain letters stand for is a bit hard.

AVNET has an affordable Amphenol model CB3106A2428P but I couldn’t out what separates it from an MS3106A2428P. My guess is that it might use a bayonet lock which wouldn’t be a good thing.

kanadanmajava1 > Frank Grimes
08/11/2016 at 19:46

Aren’t Millers good devices? I know that even some Finnish enthusiasts are using them even though we have two local manufacturers still left. They had one really nice machine that would work as both MIG and TIG welder (MPi 220P or something). But I think it might too limited for your current requirements.

Frank Grimes > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 21:26

I just want a huge mig I have a tig and two migs. Millers are good but really expensive.

iSureWilll > kanadanmajava1
08/11/2016 at 23:07

I'll double check for you tmrw. There really is an infinite amount of possibilities. If you ever need any other info I'm happy to help. Shoot me an email. W low 636 at g male com