SIP / Cosmo Wire Feed Solution

[Sean]

that's a beast of a motor to fit in the cabinet and at £70 i doubt itll make the welder £70 better.

wire wound liner and the transformer mod which cost £10 and £25 respectivley made a huge differance. The motor only struggles when dirty wire has been down the plastic liner and the plastic dust acts like hot glue when it gets to the sparky end of the torch. Id tried the oft touted curtain wire trick but the curtain wire was too soft and tended to let the umbilical kink increasing the friction. Think it was a Clarke one from MM which is quite stiff.

 

[steve buck]

Hi all,

I've been registered on this forum for a while now, but have been lurking quietly in the background most of the time! Great site by the way - amazing how much I've managed to learn from here.

Unfortunately, I discovered this forum after I'd purchased a Cosmo welder - probably would have gone for a different machine if I'd have known about the bad reputation SIP / Cosmo have

Anyway, I have run about half a dozen small reels through it over the last few months without any problems. Then within a couple of days of putting in a large reel, I started to experience problems with the wire feed.

The motor was turning, but the rollers were slipping and not feeding the wire through.

On closer inspection, I could see that the plastic pivot that carriers the idler roller was flexing. This resulted in the rollers being out of true, and losing the grip on the wire.

I came up with a simple solution that stops this from happening. So far, I've run another large reel through without any problems at all - wire feed is much more stable and no signs of slipping.

A couple of photos below to show the simple solution. Hopefully this will be of use to anyone who's suffering these sort of problems with their SIP / Cosmo machine. Probably worth trying before changing to a steel liner?

View attachment 1938

Hello I see you mod for Cosmo welder iv had the Sam problems and my top part of the feeder that you clamp down onto the bottom wheel has broken but the bit that you screwed your metal plate to is still in tact do you know where I can get the part from any help would be much appreciated thanks

 

[Sean]

sip themselves sell spare parts item 22? Cosmo welders were painted Sip
https://www.sipuk.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=10091+

 

[Lee Fowler]

Hi all,

I've been registered on this forum for a while now, but have been lurking quietly in the background most of the time! Great site by the way - amazing how much I've managed to learn from here.

Unfortunately, I discovered this forum after I'd purchased a Cosmo welder - probably would have gone for a different machine if I'd have known about the bad reputation SIP / Cosmo have

Anyway, I have run about half a dozen small reels through it over the last few months without any problems. Then within a couple of days of putting in a large reel, I started to experience problems with the wire feed.

The motor was turning, but the rollers were slipping and not feeding the wire through.

On closer inspection, I could see that the plastic pivot that carriers the idler roller was flexing. This resulted in the rollers being out of true, and losing the grip on the wire.

I came up with a simple solution that stops this from happening. So far, I've run another large reel through without any problems at all - wire feed is much more stable and no signs of slipping.

A couple of photos below to show the simple solution. Hopefully this will be of use to anyone who's suffering these sort of problems with their SIP / Cosmo machine. Probably worth trying before changing to a steel liner?

View attachment 1938

Can I ask a question please, my migmate 105 has just started playing up, the wire feed is like it's working as a spot welder. Admittedly I've just put gasless wire in it but the wire feed as always been constant in the past.
Have you had this issue or do you know how to resolve this problem.
Great upgrade by the way on the rollers.
Cheers Lee

 

[Cobbler]

Have you changed the tip to the correct size for the wire? Only a guess, but I would say you need a new torch liner If everything is ok.

 

[angellonewolf]

Can I ask a question please, my migmate 105 has just started playing up, the wire feed is like it's working as a spot welder. Admittedly I've just put gasless wire in it but the wire feed as always been constant in the past.
Have you had this issue or do you know how to resolve this problem.
Great upgrade by the way on the rollers.
Cheers Lee

^^^ have you changed over the roller if you been using .6 wire before gasless wire is normaly .8 and as above change the tip as well

 

[Cobbler]

^^^ have you changed over the roller if you been using .6 wire before gasless wire is normaly .8 and as above change the tip as well

Good point, the gas less roller is normally serrated to grip the wire as well. You don’t say, but have you changed the polarity? It won’t help the wire feed, but will help with a consistent weld.

 

[Sean]

if its on a plastic liner on the main umbilical the debris gts dragged in to the swan neck liner where its just hot melt glue.
tip size is important as is polarity. I never got on with the self shield wire in the 105.

 

[Punkieys17]

Just to add to the brace mod. My ancient Gas/Gasless Cosmo 170 had bent its wheels so far out of alignment the supports had bent. I stripped the adjuster lever and the lower roller holder to expose the three plastic stubs that locate them. I then used a hot air gun to gently heat up the nylon plastic stubs to bend them back up right. I did it in stage so not trying to correct it in one swoop - I was afraid I would snap one. The benefit of doinf this is on assembly the rollers will be aligned and then the brace will not be fighting stress already present. In effect I reversed the damage then used the brace to ensure it doesn't repeat. By the way thought I would check the roller bearing in the adjuster and it was surprisingly bad. The correct size is a 609 - they are so cheap online its criminal not to replace it if you have the unit apart. Overall a great mod.

 

[Misery dog]

If its something that makes for a smoother wire feed delivery, and is easy for the relatively competant to do, its a worthwhile exercise. Could help turn a poor welding machine into something that is at least average. I can see malcolm doing a custom page, soup up your SIP , with SIP owners all having meetings over the country showing off the modifications they have made, could be the new fashion for the would be boy racer, custom modified SIP welders

rtb, you are correct in your assumptions......

If you want all the details including relevant part no's and contacts then drop me a PM.

After getting Malcolm's approval I am going to make a post about the transformer supplier anyway. Really helpful guys and all.

hi, i have all the wire probs with stuttering as well and would try adding a new transformer to my sip but could do with all the info on how to do it, or have you done another post for this, i have looked but cant find any, also have you any idea what the copper braiding at machine end of wire sleeve is for .

 

[Hutcho]

Do the brace mod and see how you get on - personally I wouldn’t bother with the other mods - Clarke is a decent welder

 

[skotl]

hi, i have all the wire probs with stuttering as well and would try adding a new transformer to my sip but could do with all the info on how to do it, or have you done another post for this, i have looked but cant find any, also have you any idea what the copper braiding at machine end of wire sleeve is for .

First off, definitely do as Hutcho suggests and try the brace mod first - it's easy and (should be) £free

The other thing to do is make absolutely sure that your wire isn't rusty and that the torch wire lining isn't rusty. Note that if it's ever had rusty wire in it then the lining is toast and you need to replace it (however that's not expensive).

Sooo... to the wire feed mod. I did a post a few years back where I detailed the mods I'd done to my SIP with handy-dandy links: https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum...ade-my-topmig-150-actually-rather-good.48253/

The first link on that page contains an excellent description by BillJ on what to do in what order. That said, it could also be useful to read that entire thread as lots of people will have similar questions to what you're probably going to have

 

[skotl]

Oh - and if you want more info on what exactly is happening, and why it is an improvement, I did this writeup a few years ago: https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/sip-wire-feed-power-mod-question.100453/post-1550422

 

[Misery dog]

First off, definitely do as Hutcho suggests and try the brace mod first - it's easy and (should be) £free

The other thing to do is make absolutely sure that your wire isn't rusty and that the torch wire lining isn't rusty. Note that if it's ever had rusty wire in it then the lining is toast and you need to replace it (however that's not expensive).

Sooo... to the wire feed mod. I did a post a few years back where I detailed the mods I'd done to my SIP with handy-dandy links: https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum...ade-my-topmig-150-actually-rather-good.48253/

The first link on that page contains an excellent description by BillJ on what to do in what order. That said, it could also be useful to read that entire thread as lots of people will have similar questions to what you're probably going to have

yes done the mod but it still moves think it needs a new bearing but don't know where from and what its called

 

[Misery dog]

Oh - and if you want more info on what exactly is happening, and why it is an improvement, I did this writeup a few years ago: https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/sip-wire-feed-power-mod-question.100453/post-1550422

hi,all i need is to know where i can buy a top pressure roller for sip migmate 150, i keep hitting blanks when searching .

 

[shallowal]

I just had to comment because I am so excited to finally be able to use this welder that I've had for nearly 20 years thanks to just one mod on this forum. I could almost use it in gasless mode with 0.8mm wire with frequent interruptions, but it wouldnt feed properly on the 0.6mm gas wire at all. The feed motor sounded like a car trying to start ie: wah-wah-wah.... and would frequently stop feeding. Putting the brace across the feed rollers totally changed the machine and for the first time ever I could weld something.
Now to learn how to weld with mig properly.
BTW" my welder is a Toolex 140n brand, but looks exactly like the sip welders mentioned in this thread.

 

[skotl]

I just had to comment because I am so excited to finally be able to use this welder that I've had for nearly 20 years thanks to just one mod on this forum. I could almost use it in gasless mode with 0.8mm wire with frequent interruptions, but it wouldnt feed properly on the 0.6mm gas wire at all. The feed motor sounded like a car trying to start ie: wah-wah-wah.... and would frequently stop feeding. Putting the brace across the feed rollers totally changed the machine and for the first time ever I could weld something.
Now to learn how to weld with mig properly.
BTW" my welder is a Toolex 140n brand, but looks exactly like the sip welders mentioned in this thread.

Welcome to the forum

Glad you’ve got it going - the same “how to make your sip somewhat usable” threads were where I started too

 

[Red'n'Black]

Welcome to the forum

Glad you’ve got it going - the same “how to make your sip somewhat usable” threads were where I started too

And me.

Welcome aboard @shallowal