NEW Welker Rotary Machine

**tattoosteve** · 05-07-2014, 01:59 PM

Ok guys the wait is over. Welker arrived a few days ago and I have had some time to write a full review.

First impressions:
WOW! This thing screams quality! All stainless steel and Aluminum parts, no plastic at all.
It truly is a "new" rotary and not some regurgitated design that everyone seems to be doing.

Its a lot smaller than I thought it would be.

Performance:
Vise grabbed both stainless tubes and disposables no problem. Any tube I put in there was very secure.
The Welker runs a Faulhaber motor and I lined at about 10v and shaded around 8-9v.

Super quiet! I was going to make a video showing the sound, but no sound was being picked up on the recording. It would have sounded like the video was muted. You know how some machines are quiet until you load a needle then all of a sudden not so quiet? Well not this, perfectly quiet even loaded.

There is no give or dampening, but It did feel like the machine had some sort of internal dampening. Could have been my imagination, but I'm not really sure what the dual plane system does inside of there. It ran a 3rl soft as a feather with a little wrist control or a 15mag no problem.

Ok lets talk vibration. It is not dead still, however it has the least vibration of any machine I have ever used. I'm being a little nitpicky here because it is not 100% vibration free, but more like 95%. How little the vibration is impressive.

Cons:
The vise is great, but it could be a tad lower if you are using disposables. Some of the disposables I have did fit, but it looked like the vise was barley grabbing the top of them. Maybe it was designed that way, but it did hold them secure.

The needle bar retention bearing is a bit strange. It is at a fixed position and cannot be adjusted in or out. It does click to the right out of the way when you are loading a needle then snaps back into place. The only way to get more tension on the needle bar is to put a bigger bend into it. At first it was awkward trying to get the bend right, but after using it for a few days I was bending them perfect each time and things went much faster.

With a rca attached the machine is sorta long. This makes maneuvering the machine and rca cord a little awkward at first. I had to make sure I wasn't slapping clients in the face with the back of the cord. I might try a 90 degree cord just to see if that helps, but after the second day I was used to it, and really once the cord is attached the whole machine just balances perfectly.

Final Thoughts:
This is now my main machine. I love it! Its truly a masterful design. Welker has raised the bar in the rotary game.
This is probably the first time I dropped over $500 on a machine and feel like I got my money worth.

I dont collect machines just for the hell of it, I buy and use my machines to improve my art and this is one machine that is so smooth that you could actually say it will help you pull better lines. Ignore the cons, Im being incredibly nitpicky this machine is bad ass!

**slicksteel** · 05-07-2014, 04:39 PM

has a double slider! from the website!
"
11. Technical Patent Pending drive system.
The internal (rearward) slide cancels out the up and down forces generated by the front slide and needle movement. This is achieved by matching the mass of the internal (rearward) slide to the mass of the front assembly (front slide, needle and rubber nipple). Across the whole range of motion regardless of chosen stroke or running speed the internal (rearward) slide and front assembly (front slide, needle and rubber nipple) move in opposite directions of each other at a mechanically matched speed and distance effectively canceling out the hopping action associated with the up and down movement of the needle.
The crank shaft has two journals driving a desmodromic type system. The crankshaft is supported on one end by the motors internal bearings and the other end supported by a stainless steel pilot bearing effectively taking the full load of the forces involved with decelerating , reversing and then accelerating the masses at 140Hz (cycles per second) off the end of the motor shaft and displacing it between the motor and the pilot bearing effectively eliminating any applicable motor and drive shaft flex. The crankshaft journals driving the front and rear slides are arranged 180 degrees opposed to each other giving the crankshaft a natural balance.
The end result:
This is referred to as being Dual Plane Balanced.
Up and down shaking associated with tattoo machines from the needle and armature bar or front slide as it pertains to a rotary machine moving up and down has been cancelled out.
The side to side shaking (the motion that draws ink up and out the top of the tube of rotary machines) a result of an eccentric cam type drive system as it attempts to balance the up and down motion actually causes the side to side shake. This too has been canceled out by design.
There for by canceling these effects we get a stable platform of operation with all components working within there optimal range. Reducing stress on the motor from shaft flex and various other factors as well as vastly reducing the fatigue experienced by the artist.
We encourage these machines to be run at speeds equal to coil liner and shader machines. Optimal range of operation is between 9.5 volts and 10.5 volts for shading and 10.5volts to 12 volts for lining.
We have found that artists tend to start at lower voltages due to previous experiences with rotary machines. Once they start to become antiquated with this type of machine they naturally start moving toward normal operating speeds that coil machines are tuned for.

Made in the USA"
http://www.eternaltattoosupply.com/z...%20cutaway.jpg