Whether you are purchasing 1 machine or 50 machines, buying welding equipment can be a significant investment. If you want to purchase welding or plasma cutting machines with the highest performance & to last 25+ years then read on.

In todays ‘throw away’ society so much equipment is built in China to the lowest cost possible with little consideration of lifespan or repairability beyond the initial warranty period. Much of this equipment is simply junk & ends up in a skip in no time.

However, machines bought through reputable UK or EU importers may be better. They can have have good back up, often a long warranty such as 5 years provides the customer with the confidence to buy. This may sound attractive but don’t expect a long life from any low cost import, you will end up buying again much sooner than expected!

If you invest in a quality European made or US made machine you can expect 3+ times the lifespan of the low cost import. BUT normally these are very expensive.

Here at OXFORD Welders our equipment is priced very reasonably, you are not paying for sea freight, import charges or wholesaler profit. Yes an OXFORD may cost a little more than a Chinese made machine, but you end up with an awful lot more machine for your money.

So we can be sure of the long term reliability our inverter machines are built differently from almost all competitors equipment. One of the major differences is at the heart of the inverter – we use only IGBT power modules (2 of) in a H bridge configuration mounted onto a aluminum heatsink. Competitors typically fit 12-24 individual IGBTs/mosfets soldered onto a PCB. This provides no more than 3.3mm clearance between PCB connections operating at 330-600V. In every workshop dust & damp are common, this often leads to catastrophic failure of the equipment.

Every OXFORD inverter has 2 x IGBT power modules mounted on a heat sink like below. These are sealed from dust & damp & have 12mm between connections.

This is the most rugged & reliable technology possible.

Every OXFORD machine is made in our workshop in York Great Britain. We use exactly the same technology & parts as our industrial TECARC machines. No badging up or other cheating, its all made by us!

We do NOT use surface mount electronic technology & we do NOT fit any microprocessors. Welding & cutting machines do NOT need computer technology & software. IT equipment is fantastic on a desk but delicate inside industrial welding machines where it adds an extra layer of unreliability. In our experience most customers want to pick up the welding torch & weld instantly without navigating software menus.

Did you know microprocessors have a typical lifespan of 5-10 years in a clean dry environment. If you buy a welding machine with this technology, when the microprocessor fails that’s the end of the product unless new PCB’s are still available.

Our technology & build methods are simple so OXFORD equipment can be maintained anywhere in the World by an Electrical Engineer.

We build our own PCB’s from scratch, wind our own transformers & inductors, assemble power modules, make wiring looms & then assemble everything together into the steel case.

Prior to testing every machine undergoes our initial QA examination to ensure all parts are fitted correctly. Then we perform an electrical safety test to IEC60974-1.

Every machine we make is then vigorously load tested & adjusted as needed.

Every MIG, TIG, MMA & PLASMA inverter is weld / cut tested by hand to be certain the performance is 100% perfect!

Still not sure? Come & see us, view our products & production & try our machines, just let us know a before visiting.