Necks & Liners

Necks and liners are the two parts most likely to be blamed last and diagnosed first. Erratic wire feed, birdnesting and burnback are liner problems far more often than they are drive-roll or machine problems.

Liners

• Steel liners suit mild steel wire. They are the default and the cheapest to run.
• Teflon and composite liners are required for aluminium and other soft wires, where a steel liner shaves the wire and fills itself with swarf.
• Sizing is by wire diameter range and gun length. A liner cut short leaves a gap at the diffuser; a liner cut long kinks. Both cause feed problems that look like machine faults.

Necks

Swan necks take the physical abuse in a MIG gun - dropped, levered and heat-cycled. A neck with a loosened internal conductor produces intermittent arc behaviour that is nearly impossible to diagnose from the outside. If a gun has gone erratic and the consumables are new, the neck is the next thing to change.

Replace them on a schedule

Liners are consumable. Shops running production wire volumes should replace on a calendar, not on failure - a liner change takes minutes, a birdnest mid-run costs an hour.

Free shipping over $175 across Canada, or pick up in North York.