Review EWM Phoenix 355 Progress Puls TDM

[Hood]

Pics of welding please hood,
Also I have to ask, what sort of money does a machine like this retail at and got to be 32amp supply really hasn't it??

I haven't really done much real welding with it yet, only a few short test runs and tacking up of the trolley I am making but it was Tig welded for the most part.
I did do a bigger job on a boat the last week but I used the 330 as I didn't have a trolley made up at the time and it was easier getting it to the car than it would have been taking the 355, that has changed now so the next job, making a net drum, will be done with the 355.

The only pics I have are the very first two I did with it straight out the box and before I tweaked it to suit my style.
Normal fillet

Vertical up.

And the few short runs I did on the temporary base I made for the wire feeder.

But as mentioned above I now have made up a trolley.

Cost wise, it depends on options you get eg it was the Progress I got rather than the Expert (Expert looking at about another £800-£1000 I think) then also whether you get the torch, trolley, how long an interconnect, which feeder etc etc.
You are looking around about the £7k plus range but if you go for a compact version like my Phoenix 330 is you can get them for around about £5K.

The fuse rating according to the manual is

Knew there would be a setting them starts should be crisp on that machine.

I thought maybe it was just the way of the newer machines, it did start ok but just seemed a bit weird in the way it was acting compared to my older 330, now it is identical in the start.
Not sure if I will get a chance to play with it today as I have to take the dog to the specialist Vet for his operation today so not sure what time I will get home. If I do though I will be trying out the other two options I attached images of earlier, thinking it would be nice to have the pulse in the Hot Start and also the End, or at least that is what I think it means, we will see

 

[Hood]

I was doing some longer welds this evening, making a Velvet Crab sorting table.

I was doing quite a bit of experimenting with the 355 to tweak things and find out what I like. Pics of some welds, all the inside corners were done vertical up as it was easier for my knackered knees than doing them on the flat as it was right at ground level. The outside corners were done on the flat.

 

[Hood]

Was farting around with the SuperPulse settings today.
The Phoenix 355 is easier to adjust than the Phoenix 330 mainly because it is graphical in nature and you know what you are adjusting without having to think what the abreviated names mean.

Anyway a couple of pics.

 

[Jim Davey]

Good product placement there

 

[Hood]

Ha ha maybe I will get a decent price the next time I buy something

 

[Jim Davey]

Or maybe I will, stranger things have happened...

 

[Hood]

Where is my violin when I need it ?

 

[Jim Davey]

You’re too tight to buy a violin, bagpipes maybe

 

[Hood]

You’re too tight to buy a violin, bagpipes maybe

Who said anything about buying one?

 

[Hood]

I had mentioned in a previous video that I wasn't sure what the Programme selection was for, Jim mentioned it was for saving different programmes but I was still unsure how it worked.

There didn't seem to be anything in the manual about it so whilst I was waiting on the Chiron finishing some jobs I decided to have a mess about with it and see if I could work it out.

I think I got it and here is a video showing what it does or at least what I think it does.

 

[Jim Davey]

Saves me doing a vid Robin, I’ll just have to add some subtitles for the English speakers and we’re away

 

[Hood]

Saves me doing a vid Robin, I’ll just have to add some subtitles for the English speakers and we’re away

Now where have I heard that line before?

How did you get on with the Binzel neck liner BTW?

 

[Jim Davey]

No reply as yet, I’ll give them a nudge again tomorrow.

 

[Hood]

Last night I was doing a bit more reading of the manual and found info on using a standard torch to change programmes. Just set up the required parameters and tested it and it works. You can set the max number of programmes in a job (0-15) so I set that to 1 as I only need it to swap between standard pulse and SuperPulse, zero being set up as standard and 1 being SuperPulse.

It worked great, momentarily pressed the trigger and it went to Programme 1, momentarily pressed again and back to Programme 0, perfect or so I thought. I have just realised that the programmes seem to be defined by the values you set and they are stuck there so adjusting the pot on the torch whilst in Programme 1 does nothing, wire feed and voltage are stuck. Put back to Programme zero and I can adjust as normal so looks like my nice handy shortcut of changing from Pulse to SuperPulse is not so handy after all
Unless of course @Jim Davey knows differently?

 

[Jim Davey]

Program 0 is technically memory or job “off” program 1-15 are saved versions of a job.
Looks like you can’t use your potentiometer torch to alter wfs (wire feed speed) in a saved job.
But, there is nothing to stop you having a few different wfs settings saved in the job memory in say 10 amp increments with SP off, and with the same again with SP on.
The best way to navigate and control the job menu is with the job master torch as you can go up and down thru jobs and have control of wfs.
You will probably find you can get the settings you need for daily use in no more than 6-8 saved jobs, just means more clicking away on the torch.
Either that or you could opt for a remote pendant that allows you to have some or all of the controls from the Drive X feeder with you as you weld allowing you to have more control with less referring back to the feeder.

 

[Jim Davey]

Nice eh?

 

[Hood]

View attachment 154759
Nice eh?

Very nice indeed, do I get the 99.9% discount off list that you gave me on the Phoenix 355?

 

[Hood]

Thanks for the info earlier, as it confirms what I found today.

In reality it is not too much of a big deal for me as really the wire feed unit will not be too far away from me now as it will be on the boat unlike with the 330 where it was on the pier/in the car and I had to jump (really hobble and cripple ) ashore if I wanted to change settings.

I suppose if I hadn't had/used the 330 I would have thought nothing of having to scroll through the graphics to get the Super Pulse switched on/off but with the 330 just having a button for it it seems a long drawn out process on the 355

 

[Jim Davey]

First world problems...

 

[henry Kadzielski]

^^^ There is a solution 'smart torch' go on you know you need it. I use Fransic's all the time, only time I go to the machine is to press the gas purge button and to turn it on