Torch Extracts 90% of Welding Fumes

1. Torch Extracts 90% of Welding Fumes Translas new welding torch, the Extractor, extracts 90 per cent of unhealthy welding fumes, according to the company. Welding fumes contain vapours, gases and smoke particles that form a health hazard. The vapours and gases released during welding can lead to serious health problems if people are intensively exposed to them for long periods of time. Iron oxide alone, which is harmful to the lungs, accounts for 50 per cent of the welding fumes. Excessively high levels of manganese and manganese oxide can even harm the central nervous system and cause Parkinson's disease. Inhaling the welding fumes released when welding stainless steel could even cause cancer. This is why Translas, a Dutch welding torch manufacturer, decided to join the Dutch research institute TNO in developing a welding torch that extracts the welding fumes directly at the source.

2. Insufficient extraction This is because the local extraction systems are not always used correctly. The extraction arm is not placed close enough to the source, or the items being welded are too big, which results in the mobile extraction arms forming an obstacle, for example. Also, the welder moves around and generally finds it too much trouble to keep a mobile extraction arm above the weld all the time. Extraction also causes problems when welding is carried out in enclosed spaces, such as tanks and in the shipbuilding industry. The safest method: extraction at the source In most cases extraction at the source proves to be the safest solution because harmful welding fumes are no longer released directly into the air breathed by personnel. The Dutch research institute TNO and the Dutch welding torch manufacturer Translas have therefore joined forces with the Innovation Platform iTanks on the development of an extraction torch that greatly reduces welding fumes and is also compact and not too heavy. This has culminated in an extraction torch

3. that extracts more than 90% of the welding fumes directly at the source and has been placed on the market by Translas under the name 'Extractor'. This system reduces the amount of welding fumes in the workplace to less than 1 mg/m3 during an 8-hour working day (the statutory standard for welding fumes in the Netherlands). The 'Extractor' can be used for all MIG/MAG welding processes in which shielding gas is used. The 'Extractor' was subjected to comprehensive testing before being placed on the market. Shielding gas To ensure that extraction directly above the weld pool does not adversely affect the welding quality, the welding head is cone-shaped and the outlets have been made smaller. This causes the shielding gas to exit the outlets at a faster rate (5m/sec rather than 1m/sec), and it is not extracted until it reaches the weld pool. The 'Extractor' torch has also been tested in all welding positions, showing that the fumes are effectively extracted even in the overarm position. Great expectations Since its launch the 'Extractor' torch has been especially well received by companies in the shipbuilding industry, offshore and tank building. The new welding torch is already being used by various shipyards and the 'Extractor' is on the recommendation list of English and German working conditions services. Translas expects to sell the first 2,000 extraction torches within a year through its extensive dealer network in more than 50 countries.