One of the joys of working on the internet is that corrections can be made quickly. You know what I’m talkin’ about: typos, wrong part numbers, confusing images….
Print, however, is different. An operations manual, for example, printed hundreds of thousands of times over– with an error– could potentially cause confusion, and none of us are immune– not even the most respected manufacturers.
We recently ran across just such a case, when a manufacturing engineer contacted us via this very blog, in response to an article we’d posted about the installation of the ceramic electrode insulator/gas distributor on the Thermal Dynamics 3A Plasma Arc Welding Torch.
Allen wrote:
The article about Plasma Arc Welding Tips from June 2007 shows a particular way to install the insulator sleeves part # 9-2240 for a Thermal PAW 3A torch. This is opposite to what my Thermal factory manual says. The manual says the collar goes towards the tip and your article says the collar goes to the torch cap. I’m confused now.
I emailed a response that included a direct link to the manufacturer’s data sheet on the 3A PAW torch which correctly shows the direction of the installation of the part.
Imagine my surprise when Allen wrote back to tell me he had called the manufacturer himself and a service tech confirmed that the manual was incorrect!
Now I’m not saying we’re always right, but I am saying it is always a good idea to double check, and ask questions. When you’re talking about Plasma Arc Welding, there are so many variables, and the last thing you want is for you an incorrectly installed part to cause a $500 torch failure.
At Arc-Zone.com we carry a complete line of performance proven no-OEM plasma arc welding torches and replacement parts for the Thermal Dynamics(R) torches, manufactured to exacting specifications to meet your production needs.
So give us call if you’re in need of plasma arc welding torch replacement parts, accessory kits, and be sure to ask about our blanket purchase order program. We’ll make sure you not only have your parts installed correctly, we’ll make sure you have the parts you need when you need them.
