Thermal_Arc MIG

"Spot" and "Stitch" are a level below Pulse and "Pulse on Pulse", as far as cost goes.

Spot and stitch are only of value if you do a lot of sheet metal work, and from the sheet metal guys I know, even then they are of dubious value. I have a spot and stitch panel on my Betamig 250 that I haven't used in

5 years. In fact the only time I used it was to play with it after installation.

Pulsing options come either from an expensive add on module to a simpler MIG or from a much more expensive MIG to start with, like a Lincoln Powermig 300 or Miller's new Millermatic 351.

Thermadyne isn't going anywhere. They are too big to be bought, but not big enough to buy anybody else. Anyway it was Thermadyne's parent holding company that was having troubles, not Thermadyne itself.

The Fabricator MIG welders are oddly not marketed much in the western half of the US. All we get here in Seattle are their inverter TIGs and plasma cutters. From what I have heard from repair guys their MIGs are solid machines that work fine. Most are based on old Hobart designs, since Thermadyne ended up with about half of Hobarts engineers after the split up.

Spoolguns are a simple solution to aluminum MIG and Tweco's is OK, but not the best. Miller's 30A is still my favorite after about 20 years of welding.