Welders should take care of their health by protecting from various health hazards. They should follow the manual/codes and can’t simply ignore them, says Vishwanath Kamath, Managing Director, Fronius India Pvt Ltd.

With the rise in automation, how much of a role do you see AI and IoT playing in the welding sector?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) play an important role in the welding equipment sector. And advanced intelligent microprocessor[1]based inverters that are Industry 4.0 ready welding systems consist of several microprocessors networked by means of bus systems form a network internally. Basically, such IoTenabled welding power sources perform the following role in the case of Robotic/ SPM-Based/Manual MIG & MAG applications for:

• Processing of digital welding parameter characteristics • Realisation of the resulting target signal curves for current and voltage at the arc • Welding data acquisition and local storage of recent data records • Automatic limitation of the welding power as a function of the permissible load capacity of the connected hardware components • Provision of networking capabilities for cable networks (e.g. Ethernet), wireless networks (e.g. Bluetooth) and near field communication (e.g. NFC) • Self-detection and self-diagnosis of installed components such as welding torch, cooling unit, display and wire feeder etc. To meet all these requirements, welding equipment consists of transformers with ferrite cores, power electronic components, copper cabling for the supply and management of the welding current and various electronic control prints that are connected via digital interfaces. The fully autonomous welding cell, which is capable of independently solving welding tasks, is certainly a goal that comes within reach, thanks to the use of Industry 4.0 concepts.

What are the steps and precautions to be taken when it comes to the safety of the welding workers?
Welders should take care of their health by protecting from various health hazards. They should follow the manual/codes. Every welding equipment comes with a manual and several warning labels. Ignoring them is not wise, but the reality is we do ignore them. The equipment manufacturer can explain more clearly on the right way of using the equipment. We should pay attention to the warning labels and go through the manuals.

Beware of electric shock
Welding electric shock is more powerful and life-threatening than a household electric shock. If you have a heart complaint or other physical issues, the damages can be catastrophic. So, how to avoid welding electric shock? First, never touch the electrode with your bare hands. Always use welding gloves too, while handling manual metal arc holders/electrodes.

Dress properly
There will be no harmful effects of arc welding on your body if you dress properly. Exposed skin to harmful welding infrared and UV rays will leave a damaging effect on your body. Besides, don’t forget about the welding sparks. Such sparks may catch in your open pocket and pant cuffs. You may not be noticing this since you will be under the hood while welding. The consequences can be catastrophic.

Wear PPE
Even when you think it will be a few seconds of welding tasks, you have to wear all the welding gears like helmet, gloves, jackets, and so on. You can’t even think about wearing shorts or shirts with short-sleeves while welding. For your welding jacket, always think about flame-resistant clothing. You can find a lot of lightweight welding jackets nowadays. The days of heavy welding jackets are long gone. Don’t think about touching the welded materials even when you are wearing welding gloves, rather, use pliers and wrenches.

Trouble-free breathing
Welding smokes and fumes cause serious health hazards. The situation gets worst when you have to weld in a confined workspace. There won’t be any breathable air left to breathe unless there is a good ventilation system installed. If you are not able to breathe freely, inform your welding engineer about the issue at the earliest.

Feet protection
Make sure that your trouser legs go over the shoes, the shoes should be made of leather, as wearing tennis or cloth shoes won’t provide the best foot protection.

Welding helmet
It is probably the most important welding safety gear. There will be serious eye injuries (arc eyes) if you look at the welding light directly without any welding hood. Arc eyes are very painful conditions. Driven by developments in telecommunications such as the Google Glass or the Microsoft HoloLens, the welder safety welding helmet is increasingly coming into focus as a communication platform between man and machine. The rather old idea to display welding parameters in the protective glass of the helmet is becoming of greater interest. In addition, the helmet could also be equipped with voice control, which is connected to the power source. To enable this, it is necessary that the helmet can be wirelessly connected to the power source. Recent developments have already made such a connection helmet / power source possible. Through this connection, the power source sends information about the status of the arc to the helmet. The helmet then utilises this information to control the automatic darkening function of the protective glass accordingly. This prevents non-response of conventional auto[1]darkening in light or obscured arcs.