welding question: no welding mask required? (2023 Update)

[rick]

This popped up on FB. What welding is this, ..... no welding mask required.

I understand MIG & TIG, this seems to be a touch contact weld, but no retina burning light ?

[Andy Burns]

fibre laser welding?

probably ought to use googles!

[chop]

Yeah, had the same question, not because it doesn't require a welding mask, just because it is so convenient to use.

[chop]

Not convinced. She isnt getting the shooting offshoots that that one produces.

[Rob Morley]

Probably metallic hot glue with added CGI sparks, there's been a trend for fake welding videos see:

[rick]

New one for me :-)

If it was UK ... probably be sign & eye protection for Laser use .....

[Brian Gaff]

You mean goggles. Anyway, I'd have thought anything able to weld metal has to be very hot and heat tends to come with a lot of radiation and hence possible eye damage. Brian

[Tim+]

An electrical arc produces a lot of nasty UV, but does this happen with laser welding I wonder?

Tim

Brian Gaff [e-mail] wrote:

[Paul]

The article on it, is hand-wavy.

Apparently they can make devices up to the 20kW level. But there's no indication of efficiency and how much pumped energy (and waste heat) is involved.

Formerly, you could put 1kW of energy into a CO2 laser and get 100W of cutting power. And that would be infrared (IR). Ten percent efficiency is considered good for conventional lasers.

I would think, rather than goggles, you want a robot using the equipment, and you want to be out of the room while that is running.

And rather than fiber, the fiber is scaled up and is a rod of material. And it's not a conventional laser, because there are no Brewster windows or mirrors on the ends, and the light just shoots out in one pass.

Even if you use laser diodes as a pump source, laser diodes throw off heat too, and laser diodes must be kept cool (<70C) or they extinguish.

Paul

[Andy Burns]

The power/laser/cooleing units for these things seem to be getting on for 1m^3 with a thick umbilical to the hand-piece (or as you said, to a CNC driven robotic head).

[Paul]

We won't know, unless it says on the tin, what will be shooting out.

I'm really surprised the equipment does not come with specifications.

Even a lambda would be nice.

Paul

[Rod Speed]

Brian Gaff [e-mail] wrote

Blacksmiths don't wear darkened goggles to stop the radiation damaging their eyes.

[Rod Speed]

Nope, plenty of other examples in the facebook short videos where you can see that the joint has instant welded strength.

Not on facebook.

[John Walliker]

Which is why many of them (and glass blowers) develop cataracts...

John

[Rod Speed]

Many of the general public develop cataracts, so that proves nothing unless the rate is significantly higher than the general public.

[John Walliker]

's_cataract "Glassblower's cataracts are a form of cataract due to an occupational exposure. They are formed by many years or decades of exposure to infrared radiation while working in the occupation of glass blowing, or working close to hot or molten metals such with metal foundry workers[1] or blacksmiths."

John

[Rod Speed]

Pity there are no stats quoted with blacksmiths or even any industry recommendations to wear darkened goggles when blacksmithing.

And the welding being discussed is nothing even remotely like the time exposure seen with blacksmiths for us non professionals.

[John Walliker]

Well, they don't necessarily need to be darkened for glass blowing or blacksmithing as most of the radiant power is in the infra-red. As for welding without goggles, the effect of the intense ultra-violet light produced is very painful conjunctivitis.

I'm sure you knew all this already.

However, I have seen oxy-acetylene welding being done on structural steelwork without eye protection on a building site in Beijing.

John

[Rod Speed]

Can't see how IR would produce cataracts.

Sure, but that isn't the cataracts we are discussing with blacksmiths.

Yep.

Just seen a short video on facebook with stick welding with no mask at all, looks like china.

[Fredxx]

I guess radiative heat on the eye surface could raise the temperature. Skin has a dead layer, and the layer below cooled by blood.

Flame can give off significant UV, such that it's an established means to detect flames.