Solid State vs. TMI - Why Should I Upgrade?

With the last TMI welder installed in 1992 and a greater customer focus on productivity, efficiency, worker safety and energy costs; Thermatool are now looking to replace all existing TMI valve systems around the world. For a limited time Thermatool will pay up to €5000 for your current oscillating valve welder, in part-exchange for a new solid state system*.

Thermatool’s latest range of Solid State CFI (Current Fed Inverter), HCT™ (HazControl™ Technology) and Compact Welders incorporates Solid State modular MOFSET technology. A TMI valve welder will typically operate at 60% efficiency, compared to an average of 78% for Thermatool CFI welders.

This efficiency is the ratio of mains input power compared to the calorific power induced into the tube expressed as a percentage. Thermatool has always expressed the output power, unlike other welder manufacturers, at the power induced into the tube rather than the power available at the output of the welder terminals. By using some simple algebra it can be seen that for each kilowatt of power applied to the tube a vacuum tube welder will use 30% more power.

The operator of the vacuum tube machine must plan to replace the tube between 1 and 4 years on a recurring basis. The cost of this replacement will be in the region of €15,000. With this in mind, we can calculate how the costs accrue for each machine based on tube replacement every 4 years. After 10 years the Solid-State machine has already saved over €166,000. By the end 15 years of operation, the solid-state machine will have saved a massive €249,000.