Price out the steel for a project $150 is one piece of structural steel. If you think$150 is a lot, don't get into metalwork as a hobby.

 

what is essentially the same machine

I don't think they are the same, FWIW. I am almost certain the Primeweld unit is IGBT technology while the Lotos unit is MOSFET. You can decide for yourself which is better and which costs more. On the other hand, the Lotos unit will do gouging (has a dedicated setting for it and they sell gouging consumables for it). There is no mention of gouging on the Primeweld. Again, you decide what that's worth. But there are significant differences between these two machines.

 

I cannot find any specifications nor a manual for the Primeweld Cut60D, only what is mentioned in the advertisement. The only mention I can find of it using IGBT tech is an amazon answer where someone (not the seller) says they "think" it does - which is less than convincing.

The Lotos Supreme Cut60D however does list full specs and has a manual available - which clearly specifies that it uses MOSFETs.

The Lotos says that gouging is "enabled", which leads me to think that the Primeweld could have that ability but they decided not to implement it.

They both advertise "continuous pilot arc" but I do not see a setting on the Primeweld for selecting that mode, (the same knob that selects gouging on the Lotos) and without access to a manual I am left to speculate. Is the Primeweld always in continuous pilot arc mode? If so I would think that would be hard on consumables when cutting normally.

I am not yet convinced that there are significant differences inside the case between these two machines. Certainly they come with different torches, have significantly different prices and one has a couple extra features implemented that the other does not, but their main features (blowback torch, continuous arc, CNC connector, power, duty cycle, model number, etc.) are identical as far as I can tell. It is difficult to do a good comparison without access to the full specs and manual.

 

The manual of the PrimeWeld Cut60 says: " 50/60Hz frequency is inverted to high frequency(frequency is over 100KHz) by V-MOSFET, then reduce voltage and commute current, inverter power supply generates powerful DC welding current through PWM technology" if that helps you. It does cut well. I have cut 3/4" stainless just for a test.

 

Thanks, that is helpful.

 

it maybe that primewelds growing pains have begun, a friend who i encouraged to buy a primeweld has had some problems with customer service, it isn't that there has been no response but the response is slow and somewhat curt, he showed me the emails and i was a little taken aback because i have spoken to and emailed Mike and response has always been same day, sometimes within minutes.

hopefully it is just a fluke but i suspect the volume of machines they sold due to the rep for excellent customer service has them buried in shipping new machines sold and replacement machines for warranty and they just plain cant keep up enough to maintain the level of service as when most of their offerings were out of stock and the company was brand new. time will tell.