EWM WEGA 400 MIG with a separate WEGA DRIVE 4 feeder is an industrial MIG/MAG set of transformer and rectifier design, with a built in liquid cooler. The documentation gives 400 A at a 45% duty cycle, 345 A at 60% and 265 A at a continuous 100% load. Supply is 3 x 400 V to 415 V at 50/60 Hz, with a connected power of 18.0 kVA.
What this machine is for
The set was made for heavy workshop and production use: steel structures, frames, machines and semi trailers. You set the current from 50 A to 400 A, the voltage in steps from 16.5 V to 34 V, and in work without breaks the source gives 265 A, so you lay long multi pass welds without breaks for the transformer to cool down. Voltage adjustment has 24 working points, made of two coarse steps and twelve fine ones, so you reproduce proven parameters the next day from the step number, not from the position of a knob.
The greatest value of this configuration is the reach. The interconnection cable is from about 5 m to 10 m, the liquid cooled torch about 4 m, so the whole working zone reaches from 9 m to 14 m from the source. You set the heavy unit once, and with the feeder you go inside a structure, walk around a machine under repair or move along a semi trailer. The feeder base turns, which adds freedom at the station. The duty cycle is given for a period of 10 min at an ambient temperature of 40°C, so the figures in the table match hall conditions.
The WEGA DRIVE 4 feeder has a four roll drive and an M100 panel with manual control. You set the wire speed steplessly from 1 m/min to 20 m/min, and the factory rolls are for wire of 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm. The drive also carries cored, rutile and basic wires. Aluminium is technically possible after fitting U type rolls and picking the soft choke output, but with an interconnection cable from 5 m to 10 m the wire path has to run as straight as possible, because soft filler coils up easily in the liner.
Features and equipment
- Voltage adjustment over 24 steps, in a layout of 2 coarse ranges and 12 fine ones: the working points are repeatable, so you reproduce a technology from a number, without guessing.
- Three choke characteristics as three earth sockets on the front of the source: the hard output gives a dynamic arc under CO2 and on structural steel, the medium one is a compromise for Ar/CO2 mixtures, the soft one calms the pool under argon and on aluminium.
- Stepless wire speed setting from 1 m/min to 20 m/min from the M100 panel: you set the heat input and the deposition rate exactly to the material thickness.
- Working modes 2T and 4T: 2T for short repair welds, 4T on long production welds, where holding the trigger tires the hand.
- SPOT spot welding with a time setting from 0 s to 2 s: the tacks come out repeatable, of the same length.
- Interval welding: the circuit alternates a welding time from 0 s to 2 s with a pause from 0 s to 2 s, so the heat in thin material stays under control.
- Creep Start, a slow wire start in a range from 0% to 100% of the main speed: the filler does not hit cold material, so the start of the weld is calm and spatters less, also with 1.2 mm wire and cored wires.
- Burn-back, wire burn back adjustment from 0 ms to 250 ms: the arc holds a fraction of a second after the rolls stop, so the wire does not stick to the freezing weld.
- Post gas flow from 0.2 s to 10 s: the cooling crater stays under the shield and does not oxidise.
- Voltage free gas test and wire inching: you set the shield flow on the rotameter, and you push new filler through the rolls and the torch without striking an arc and without losing gas.
- Built in liquid cooler with a tank of about 7 l: it takes the heat away from the torch in station work at a high load.
- WEGA DRIVE 4 feeder on a turning base, with a EURO connector and coolant quick couplings: you swap the torch for any one that meets the standard.
- Open circuit voltage from 16.5 V to 45 V: the arc lights surely also on a surface covered with scale.
- Transformer design with copper taps: simpler fault finding and cheaper parts than in inverter platforms.
Technical data
| Brand | EWM |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer and source model | EWM Hightec Welding GmbH, WEGA 400 MIG |
| Feeder model and panel | WEGA DRIVE 4, M100 panel, manual control |
| Supply voltage | 3 x 400 V to 415 V, 50/60 Hz |
| Mains fuse | 3 x 25 A time delay |
| Connected power | 18.0 kVA, power factor about 0.95 |
| Welding current range | from 50 A to 400 A |
| Welding voltage range | from 16.5 V to 34 V |
| Current at a 45% duty cycle, period 10 min, 40°C | 400 A |
| Current at a 60% duty cycle, period 10 min, 40°C | 345 A |
| Current at a continuous 100% load, period 10 min, 40°C | 265 A |
| Open circuit voltage | from 16.5 V to 45 V |
| Voltage adjustment | 24 steps, 2 coarse times 12 fine |
| Feed mechanism | 4 rolls, factory rolls 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm |
| Wire feed speed | from 1 m/min to 20 m/min |
| Source cooling | fan |
| Torch cooling | liquid, tank about 7 l |
| Torch connector | EURO |
| Protection class and insulation class | IP23, class H |
| Source dimensions | about 960 x 560 x 885 mm |
| Feeder dimensions | about 680 x 460 x 265 mm |
| Source weight in the water cooled version | about 164 kg |
| Feeder weight | about 24 kg with the factory cable of 1.5 m |
| Interconnection cable | from about 5 m to 10 m |
| Welding torch | about 4 m, liquid cooled |
| Earth cable | 4 m |
| Supply cable | 4 m |
| Processes | MIG/MAG, solid and cored wires |
What you get
- EWM WEGA 400 MIG source with a liquid cooler, tank about 7 l
- external EWM WEGA DRIVE 4 four roll feeder on a turning base, with an M100 panel
- interconnection cable from about 5 m to 10 m long
- MIG/MAG welding torch about 4 m, liquid cooled
- earth cable 4 m
- supply cable 4 m
What to watch out for
The set needs a 3 x 400 V to 415 V mains at 50/60 Hz, a 3 x 25 A time delay fuse and a circuit sized for a connected power of 18.0 kVA. The source weighs about 164 kg and measures about 960 x 560 x 885 mm, so it is a stationary unit and for unloading you need a pallet truck or a forklift. The feeder of about 24 kg you carry separately. Once it stands at the station, check the fluid level in the tank of about 7 l and the tightness of the quick couplings, and also the state of the interconnection cable, because that is the section most exposed to chafing.
The control is manual, without synergy and without pulse, so you pick the voltage with the switches over 24 steps, and the wire speed with the potentiometer on the M100 panel. The factory rolls are for wire of 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm, and for other diameters or for cored wires choose the right set. For aluminium you need U type rolls and the soft choke output, and the wire path on the interconnection cable has to run straight. The housing has protection class IP23 and insulation class H.
How we sell used machines
This unit was checked in our service workshop in Krotoszyn with measurements to PN-EN 60974-4 and a load test. The price includes the first year of the basic service package: an inspection with cleaning of the machine and a validation measurement. Further years can be added. We ship across the European Union, collection in person by appointment.
