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Welding is a physically demanding job and very punishing on the welders body.

In this eBook you will read about the benefits a lightweight torch has on the welder’s physical health and their performance.

Discover how to adapt your lightweight torch, so those difficult to access welds are more accessible and learn how to reduce downtime whilst increasing efficiency.

I hope you find the eBook an interesting and enjoyable read.

There are probably more than 1.5 million welders working around the globe every day. Joining metal together and building different products in industries sectors like Automotive and Transportation, Shipyards and Offshore, Heavy fabrication, Structural, Energy or General Fabrication.

Welding is an ambitious job and working conditions are not easy. Safety is important, so every welder has to wear proper protective equipment no matter if it is 10 degrees in the production hall or the middle of the summer. And often welding jobs have joints that are difficult to reach, so the strain for the welders is high as well. Often, they even have to climb into big parts, weld overhead, sitting or on their knees. In most cases, it is dirty, dark and heat is an issue as well. What they always have to carry and bring in the right positions is the welding tool in their hand – the welding torch.

What is common for the majority of the welders is that they love the work. If you ask them, they are happy to join something piece-by-piece, and they want to be satisfied with every single weld seam. The question while developing welding torches should always be how to support the welder in the best way and to give him or her the best fitting tool for carrying out their profession.

A welder’s job is physically very punishing on their body. Depending on the industry they face many different welding tasks requiring many difficult welding positions, including standing, crouching and welding on their knees.

If only there was a welding torch that could be adjusted to suit the respective shape of a particular component by exchanging the torch neck, that is lighter than comparable torches and has excellent performance?

When customizing your lightweight torch, it doesn’t stop at just fitting a different geometry swan neck. There is also the option of changing the front-end consumables to increase the flexibility of the torch further, especially if you’re using a fixed neck torch and there is only one neck option.

Whether you like the switch on the top of the handle, fitted with a short neck and a bottle shaped gas nozzle - with more than 1000 possibilities, customizable lightweight torches like ABIMIG^® A T leave nothing to be desired in terms of equipment specification and welder comfort.

It is common knowledge that welders not only use their torch for what it was specifically designed for, welding, but on occasion during the working day will also:

• Use it as a hammer to re-align their workpiece.
• Bang it on the bench to dislodge any spatter rings that have formed inside the nozzle.
• Drop the torch on the hard, concrete floor.

This knowledge is taken into serious consideration when designing the swan necks for lightweight torch necks. The body seat and the outer tube of the neck must be fixed securely into the handle to ensure the neck is protected in the best possible way.

During an internal test using MB EVO PRO torch necks, for example, the “hammering” effect is simulated and the static deformation of the necks measured. The results show a significant durability difference.

Unique internal geometry for maximum mechanical strength.

When designing torch necks for the lightweight torch range, every aspect of the welding environment is taken into consideration. The most problematic is welding spatter, which is essentially droplets of molten material that are generated at the welding arc.

Spatter is generally regarded as a nuisance and is a critical factor to consider when developing an application or product.

In the development of the lightweight torch range ABIMIG^® A T, for example, an extra shell was added to the torch neck interface to prevent the penetration of welding spatters.

During the course of a working day, a professional welder can weld in many different and challenging positions, putting their body under hours of physical strain. The most difficult and stressful position is the overhead position, as it can require both hands to steady the welding torch and achieve good quality weld seams.

It is proven that welding overhead has significant strain on the muscles and also takes a lot of concentration to achieve a consistent weld. With a lightweight torch in their hands, the muscle strain is reduced considerably especially when used with a torch neck that is optimized for the job.

It’s not just in the overhead position that welders benefit from a lightweight torch. We ran an internal handling comparison test with 5 experienced welders, performing 6 periods of 5-minute continuous welds (in total 120 mins including recovery periods).

It was unanimously agreed that the lightweight torches (in this case the MB EVO PRO & ABIMIG^® A T) both improved handling and reduced strain on the hand and forearm against a standard MIG welding torch.

The test carried out was a constant oscillation in U-profile steel. The aim was to create torsion and strain on the wrist.

Scientific studies, taking measurements according to the PIMEX* method (PIcture Mixed EXposure, used to describe the synchronous recording and visual presentation of workload and employees’ medical data in real time), show a significant reduction in musculoskeletal load when using a lightweight torch fitted with the right torch neck for the job.

To get the best results when welding, it is important to feel comfortable and have good posture. Selecting the correct torch neck (dimension, angle and alignment) is crucial when achieving that.

While welding overhead, we compared a welder using a standard torch against a lightweight torch, in this case the ABIMIG^® A T 355, which was fitted with an extra-long neck. The effects are shown in the graphs below:

* The PIMEX method (PIcture Mixed EXposure) refers to the synchronous recording and visual representation of work strain and medical data for employees in real time.
** Measured by ABICOR BINZEL in cooperation with an academic partner.

The front-end of any welding torch is subject to extreme conditions, mechanical and thermal, as well as spatter adhesion. As a result, the torch neck is the non-consumable part of the torch that will need replacing the most. The time required to replace a standard fixed torch neck could take from 30 minutes up to one hour and requires tools to do so. With the lightweight torch range ABIMIG^® A T, a neck change takes less than 30 seconds.

There’s a welder working on a large shipyard using a standard fixed neck MIG welding torch. Their torch neck becomes damaged and now needs replacing and replaced quickly as the job has now stopped.

There’s a problem though - they don’t have a spare neck and the tools needed in their possession, and the consumables stores/maintenance area is a 15-minute walk across the other side of the shipyard. Add that to the repair time, and production will have stopped for well over an hour - the production manager is not going to be very pleased. With a torch neck system using quick change torch necks – such as ABIMIG^® A T, this scenario could be prevented.

Now the welders can take a spare neck with them to wherever they are working on the site. If their original neck fails mid-job, they can quickly change it over themselves without any tools and be back to welding in under 30 seconds.

This makes complicated, time-consuming on-site torch neck replacements a thing of the past.
 

In each position welding was carried out for 5 periods of 5-minute welding with pauses of 30 seconds between stages. After their performance, blood lactate, blood pressure and heart rate were measured and the subjective perceived exertion was queried during the welding activity. To assess the subjective perceived exertion the Borg Rating scale was used (known as Borg RPE). On this scale from 6 to 20, with 6 being “no activity at all” and 20 being “maximal exertion”, the evaluation of the exertion increases linearly with performance and can then be related to the physiological measurement parameters.

The muscle activity was measured using 8-channel EMG and the software for computer-aided recording and analysis of the data. In addition, at the same time, the welding activities were recorded with a video camera. Eight muscles were measured on the dominant hand.

Another scientific study of the Department of Sports Medicine of the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Germany examined the strain of muscles and its effect on the welder performance in form of welding seams using a low weight torch compared with a standard torch of the same amperage. Both welding torches have been tested by the probands in the welding positions PE and PA.

All measured factors have real impact on the quality of the welding seam. Therefore, the science proves that reduced muscle strain makes better welding possible.

This really brings the scientific studies to the next level and proves that the positive effect claimed by welding torch producers is not just another marketing slogan.

Measured subjective operator fatigue, when using the Borg RPE scale, highlighted an improvement of up to 25 %, when comparing the weight-reduced torch to the conventional air-cooled torch of the same amperage performance level.

Here again one can state that using a lightweight torch gives a better feeling to the welder and results in reduced fatigue while carrying out his profession.

Taking all the positive effects on welder’s health, fitness, overall feeling and performance a trial of low weight air-cooled torches is an excellent idea for safety-conscious and welder-friendly businesses. The use of reduced weight welding torches really is a win-win situation. Welders feel better, can work more comfortable, have more fun welding and welding seam results are better. For the company this leads to less rework, increased productivity in the welding departments and lower costs for illness and sick leave. Combined, this makes lightweight torches welding equipment that produces benefits at all levels of the company.

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/exertion.htm