Will ESAB phase out Fabricator models?

[Rondo]

I'm a little confused. So my Tweco 211i, which was made by Victor, is now made by ESAB, or actually by some Chinese company and bought/resold by ESAB? So Tweco as a brand doesn't even exist any more? What about those Tweco Velocity tips? Are they going to be around, maybe by another name? What a hassle.

A company named Colfax Bought ESAB and later bought the Victor brands and stuck them in with ESAB.

[Rondo]

One thing people might forget is that ESAB doesn't own anything. They don't even own themselves. They are owned by Colfax who tells them their every move. Now that Victor is also owned by Colfax they have the same issue. Both companies were used to doing their business their own way and now being owned by a company that doesn't know the welding and cutting world, They are both struggling.

[weldinON]

Nope. They purchase over seas and re-sell. Florence S.C. Plant is closed. They haven't manufactured there for years. I believe the last machine they built was the Mig Master 250. As soon as the look changed, that is when they started sourcing instead of building. Actually the last product manufactured in Florence was the dieing end of Purox Gas apparatus. 3-4 years ago they stopped production on Purox and outsourced torch sets that were poor quality and they were saved by Colfax buying Victor. I am very familiar with the Warrior and other High end ESAB equipment and No they do not manufacture them.

Where do they purchase the Migmaster, Warrior, Origo, Aristo, line of welders? Also all of their cutting machines and automation equipment??

[Brand X]

Scott,

Northern Tools site shows that the unit is no longer available. No matter, I'll still ask if you the unit offers anywhere near the level of top end voltage (MIG) that the Fabricator 211i does?

Looks like my discontinued Fabricator 181i is still available in the Fire Power version.

I found it's twin. Output is the same as mine.. Just lift-arc, euro gun,and digital panel. I did see 193 amps stick on mine Plugged in the wall (tektronics amp meter) Low-end mig is great. Stick will run to 170-175 output on my MQ-6000 genny..It probably is happier running 160/165 max without overheating the breaker That's doing pretty dang good.. 21 amp 240 breaker in the generator. Not as good a tig machine as the Tweco, but one heck of a stick/mig unit..Added a 12 ft gun that is a exact match for the factory 10 ft one.. $64.00,and I really like it..Feeds perfect..

PeeWee 85s puts out 95 amps.. The newer 95s has 90 amps stick.. Thought it ran hotter.. Just enough to tell the difference.. Looks like it's a keeper..That's running on a good 20 amp 120 volt circuit..


http://www.welding.com.au/equipment/view/weldmatic-200i

http://www.welding.com.au/assets/doc...eet_3:2015.pdf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201781140469...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Rondo]

Where do they purchase the Migmaster, Warrior, Origo, Aristo, line of welders? Also all of their cutting machines and automation equipment??

There are no Migmasters any longer. Warrior, Aristo, Automation Gantries, Plasma Power Supplies and Robot Cells all come from over seas and they have for some time. it must have been a well kept secret. They still have Thermal Dynamics which is made in Mexico but the Large Automation Plasma's are China. The XT Plasma torch is still patented so it's still made in Mexico too.

[weldinON]

There are no Migmasters any longer. Warrior, Aristo, Automation Gantries, Plasma Power Supplies and Robot Cells all come from over seas and they have for some time. it must have been a well kept secret. They still have Thermal Dynamics which is made in Mexico but the Large Automation Plasma's are China. The XT Plasma torch is still patented so it's still made in Mexico too.

Great, looks like I misunderstood. Sounded like you were saying they were outsourced, but now I see you realise they are made by ESAB in Europe. Migmasters are still available for the time being, robotics cells are done through integration and the origin of those is most likely going to be local to where the project is. "Large automation plasmas" is a very broad term but I'm not going to split hairs on that.

[Rondo]

Great, looks like I misunderstood. Sounded like you were saying they were outsourced, but now I see you realise they are made by ESAB in Europe. Migmasters are still available for the time being, robotics cells are done through integration and the origin of those is most likely going to be local to where the project is. "Large automation plasmas" is a very broad term but I'm not going to split hairs on that.

Yes sir. Sorry for the confusion. I'm not trying to bash importing welding equipment. fact is no-one manufactures in the states anymore. Miller is assembled here and Lincoln has sourced from Mexico, China and Italy for years. Hypertherm is as close as it gets but I have a newer Hypertherm with most of the parts inside imported. it's the way of the world. Plus European technology is 10 years ahead of the States ie: Fronius, Kempi, Lorch. We have nothing like that here. OTC in Japan and actually a few good ones in China so why not..

[MetalMan23]

No one's said anything about the mm280.......... Heard a few comments saying there aren't any MIG masters anymore but that's not the case

[Brand X]

No one's said anything about the mm280.......... Heard a few comments saying there aren't any MIG masters anymore but that's not the case

What I don't know is, if Colfax (Esab) owns the Polish factory the 280 Migmaster's are built in? I wish more machines, like the Plasma cutters would come out of there instead of China.. If they would of just stuck with them a bit longer to get the reliability up, because they had world class performance. (IMO) That is from owning the latest Victor, and Hypertherm air plasma's. In many ways,might as well just buy Generic China stuff,because they work just as well as the rest of stuff coming out of there. just need to find the companies that produce good stuff, and cut out the middleman..