Rush Kane and his signature OTC Daihen TIG welding machine at FABTECH 2021

I caught up with Rush Kane of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Kane Industries to talk about his partnership with OTC Daihen and the new RKX220 Pro TIG Welding Machine he helped develop. The collaboration, which was years in the making, and the big reveal of Rush's groundbreaking signature machine was certainly a highlight for the welding community at the Chicago metal fabrication tradeshow.

OTC Daihen and Rush say the RKX220 offers next-level high precision applications with AC+DC low amperage (1-220A DC / 3-220A AC) and EN mode arc starts. It also features a CK Worldwide torch, gas supply, and consumables kit.

"We started this endeavor in 2017," OTC Daihen General Manager Sales and Marketing Mike Monnin said during the RKX220 unveiling press conference. "We had this machine and we wanted to know what this machine was capable of. We didn't really know what we had. So we spent some time talking to Rush, and he was willing to take the machine and run it through its paces. He liked what he saw, but he didn't love it. He provided us a lot of feedback, which allowed us to improve the product to his specification. And we thought, 'Why don't we just put your name on this thing? It's your machine. Your audience would appreciate what you put together here.'"

Rush and I talked about why this kind of collaboration between weldign machine manufacturer and welding influencer is such a huge step for the industry.

I even got to test out the RKX220 and left Rush a little gift.

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