The Benefits of Using welding face mask

There is no debating the vital role that welding plays in our lives. Despite its critical benefits, welding brings health risks that can be terminal.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website T-Safety.

In the United States, over half a million workers are exposed to welding-related health and safety risks each year. 

Welding protective gear safeguards employees from welding hazards. Welders are required to wear protective gear and have safety training.

Training typically involves inspecting welding equipment and ensuring workers understand safety precautions before welding.

This article will discuss the importance of wearing protective gear while welding. 

Why do Welders Need Protective Gear?

Welding fumes constitute the primary health hazard in welding operations. Individuals performing manual metal arc (MMA) and metal inert gas (MIG) welding are at high risk.

The fumes produced from the welding wire or rod consist of fine particles of metal oxides. 

The composition of these fumes depends on the metal used. Mild steel tends to generate a large volume of iron oxide with a small composition of manganese. Fumes from stainless steel are highly hazardous because of their high nickel and chromium VI oxide content. 

Long-term exposure to manganese can deliver a lethal blow to your nervous system. Fortunately for welders, they have access to welding safety gear that can protect their neck, eyes, and face from these gases.

What Kind of Welding Protective Gear do Welders Use/Need?

For head and face protection, welders are required to wear helmets and masks to prevent burns from molten metal or sparks. By wearing auto-darkening lenses and helmets, workers can prevent irreparable and immediate damage to their eyes. 

Glasses are also vital welding safety gear, especially when dealing with scenarios that may be challenging in a helmet. Wearing safety glasses can be used for certain torch-cutting and plasma jobs.

At ETI School of Skilled Trades, we recommend the Miller Electric Shade 5.0 Welding Safety Glasses. 

Respirators are another component of welding gear. This mask protects against harmful fumes. The zinc and magnesium emanating from heated metals can cause lung cancer, hearing loss, and asthma. When you are picking your welder gear, quality should be on your priority list.

This is because your hands, chest, and arms are in the direct line of molten slag and hot sparks. Welders can prevent burns by wearing a welding apron or a jacket with gloves. 

Where Can a Welder Get Training?

Are you looking to develop your skills as a professional welder in an institution with state-of-the-art equipment and trained experts? ETI School of Skilled Trades has a welding program that will train you in this field. In just seven months, you can become a skilled welder.

Enroll at ETI today to get started on your future.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website welding face mask.

Learn more about Welding Career:

Welding helmets have changed over the past 40 years from the older standard helmets that use a fixed lens as shown Figure 1. These helmets came with two window or lens sizes, the flip front helmet with a 50mm X 100mm view and the larger viewing helmet with a 100mm X 125mm viewing window.

Flip Front Helmet

 Wide View Fixed Helmet

Figure 1, Typical Standard Welding Helmets

When used in production the welder had to set up to start welding and then either flip the window down or flip the helmet down over the face to protect from the ultraviolet and infrared radiation (UV/IR) and guess where the arc would start when contacting the metal. To an inexperienced welder, this would generally cause arc starting problems and cause rework. Production would be reduced as the welder would always need to set up and flip the helmet down, which was a relatively slow way to start the arc and weld. To add to slower production, the filter lens was a fixed shade and had to be changed whenever using different levels of amperage with different welding processes and cutting systems. Again, this took some time. Another safety issue with the old-style helmets was they were made from thermoplastics and fibreglass materials that were heavy and sometimes caused neck fatigue.

In the s auto-darkening helmets were introduced as shown in Figure 2.

These new helmets also had a fixed lens, but the significance is that they automatically darken to a preselected lens shade when the arc is started to protect the welder from the UV/IR radiation. The lens windows come in many different sizes from the typical 50mm X 100mm with some helmets offering up to 70mm X 105mm or larger. The benefit from the new technology was an increase in productivity, weld quality and safety. The newer auto-darkening helmets today are made from lighter materials such as Nylon, NORYL and AMODEL and are less likely to cause neck fatigue problems and there is no need to constantly move the helmets up or down using your neck muscles.

Figure 2, Typical Auto-Darkening Helmet

The new auto-darkening helmets allowed the welder to view and position where to start the arc with the helmet down covering the face. The filter lens, when not engaged, is set at shade # 3 which is like looking through sunglasses. It allowed the welder to see where to place the welding electrode and once the arc was started the auto-darkening lens would darken to a safe shade to protect the welder from UV/IR in approximately 0.07 milliseconds. These new helmets also allowed the welder to select a lens shade from 9 to 13 using a dial on the outside or inside the helmet, so there is no need to change filter lenses when increasing or decreasing amperages or changing welding processes. Using the auto-darkening helmets today allows inexperienced welders to improve their welding skills by making it easier to start the arc and to position the electrode properly in the joint. This is performed without having to move the helmet screen manually. The experienced welder becomes highly productive because now they have the ability to move to the many positions on a part to be welded without lifting and lowing the helmet each time, they are depositing welds. This results in reduced rework and increased safety with less chances of arc strikes than with the old helmet technology.

For more ppe safety glovesinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.