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Maybe I'm wrong but I think the push for aluminum repair is getting ahead of the tools
Last month in our Charlotte shop, we got a 2022 F-150 with a crunched bedside. The manager bought a new $8,500 aluminum welder, saying it was the future. We spent three full days just trying to get the settings right, burning through practice panels. The final weld looked okay but the heat warped the panel so bad we had to order a whole new part. Now this fancy machine just sits there while we handle ten steel jobs a week without a hitch. Has anyone else felt pressured to buy gear you don't really need yet?
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adam5176mo ago
Oh man, that hits home. We had the same push from corporate to get an aluminum-capable frame machine last year. It's been used exactly twice, and both times the repair time doubled because of the prep and special clamps needed. Most of our work is still on older steel-frame trucks.
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danielhenderson6mo ago
Hot take: Expensive paperweight.
Longer response: Sounds like management bought the hype, not the right tool. That money could have paid for a lot of actual productive shop equipment. It's frustrating when the people making the calls aren't the ones dealing with the fallout on the floor. Now you've got a boat anchor tying up capital and bench space.
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