4 ms·

> 'welding eyes' (basically sunburn?) Like a more concentrated sunburn. A welding torch will create much higher intensity UV than you're typically exposed to,

by eyegor 7y ago

> 'welding eyes' (basically sunburn?) Like a more concentrated sunburn. A welding torch will create much higher intensity UV than you're typically exposed to, and you're staring right at it. So instead of your skin, it burns the cornea directly. I've always heard it called "flash burn" after the flash caused by welding.

xwdv 7y ago
Why don't they just make a welding mask that uses goggles with a video feed so you don't have to be exposed to any UV?
- ivanbakel 7y ago
  I don't claim to be a welding expert, but the immediate and obvious answer to "why don't they simply do X", where X is more expensive and more complex than the current solution, is that for those reasons X isn't going to catch on.
  - paulgerhardt 7y ago
    True. Also if I was 3M or Bosch and going to invest in a project like this I would want exclusive IP. There is already an incredible tech demo of this that may inhibit corporate investment: https://hackaday.com/2012/09/11/augmented-reality-welding-mask/ https://hackaday.com/2012/09/11/augmented-reality-welding-ma... Using computer vision, it looks at the flow rate and arc of the weld and turns any mediocre welder into a good welder. Having been in a power plant factory in China (which is to say a factory that makes power plants) - bad welds are still very much a problem and a system like this could go miles to improve the craftsmanship of medium skill work there. In the US or Germany a headset like this may cost a few grand (going by Dräger Xplore 8000 prices) but even if China finds a way to get them down to $200 (as with the Shanzhai AR headsets) it's still nearly a months salary for a worker - questionable if an operation would spring for it if they're cutting costs so many other places.
- jdietrich 7y ago
  Because an inexpensive auto-darkening welding helmet will provide full protection against IR and UV.
- dotancohen 7y ago
  Welding is a highly-skilled precision process. Welders look at the color of the molten steel, the color and brightness of the arc, the flow of the steel, and even the smell. No video feed will have high enough resolution, latency and refresh rate, or color reproduction and brightness fidelity for the task.
  - xwdv 7y ago
    Maybe it doesn’t need to? If a computer can simply look at the weld with sensors and detect attributes it can overlay them on the video feed for a welder to see. Then you can turn welding into a lower skill process and create more job opportunities.
    - dotancohen 7y ago
      > If a computer can simply I believe that the term "simple" is being applied incorrectly here.
  - anon73044 7y ago
    >Welding is a highly-skilled precision process. And, yet, every automobile on the roads today has had some portion or it's frame welded by a robot. Not just spot welds, full on GMAW, and for hundreds/thousands of vehicles a day. >No video feed will have high enough resolution, latency and refresh rate, or color reproduction and brightness fidelity for the task. Counter example: robotic surgery. Sure, there's fewer UV, IR and X-rays, but it's only a matter of time before a better CCD/CMOS sensor and lense comes along.
    - throwaway2048 7y ago
      There is a difference between welding the same part automatically millions of times with exact, very tight known constraints that are always the same, and doing small batches and one off custom welds. The two are not comparable.
- NikolaeVarius 7y ago
  Welding is hard. Dealing with a video feed is not something I want to be doing. You're supposed to use a welding mask
- kube-system 7y ago
  Welding masks already block UV. People get arc flashes when they make mistakes in using the equipment -- striking an arc with their helmet up, or someone else in the area striking an arc when they're not wearing theirs. Video goggles would suffer from the same weakness :)
  - TylerE 7y ago
    Actually the wouldn't...the point would be to always have them on from the minute you walk in the door.
    - kube-system 7y ago
      You can do that with the auto-darkening welding helmets that are currently in common use. But people don't, because it's annoying.
hammock 7y ago
Can happen in snowy places too, we call it snow blindness
- tim333 7y ago
  I think snow blindness gets the retinas more than the corneas. Had it once. Not nice.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

by eyegor 7y ago

xwdv 7y ago

Why don't they just make a welding mask that uses goggles with a video feed so you don't have to be exposed to any UV?

ivanbakel 7y ago
I don't claim to be a welding expert, but the immediate and obvious answer to "why don't they simply do X", where X is more expensive and more complex than the current solution, is that for those reasons X isn't going to catch on.
- paulgerhardt 7y ago
  True. Also if I was 3M or Bosch and going to invest in a project like this I would want exclusive IP. There is already an incredible tech demo of this that may inhibit corporate investment: https://hackaday.com/2012/09/11/augmented-reality-welding-mask/ https://hackaday.com/2012/09/11/augmented-reality-welding-ma... Using computer vision, it looks at the flow rate and arc of the weld and turns any mediocre welder into a good welder. Having been in a power plant factory in China (which is to say a factory that makes power plants) - bad welds are still very much a problem and a system like this could go miles to improve the craftsmanship of medium skill work there. In the US or Germany a headset like this may cost a few grand (going by Dräger Xplore 8000 prices) but even if China finds a way to get them down to $200 (as with the Shanzhai AR headsets) it's still nearly a months salary for a worker - questionable if an operation would spring for it if they're cutting costs so many other places.
jdietrich 7y ago
Because an inexpensive auto-darkening welding helmet will provide full protection against IR and UV.
dotancohen 7y ago
Welding is a highly-skilled precision process. Welders look at the color of the molten steel, the color and brightness of the arc, the flow of the steel, and even the smell. No video feed will have high enough resolution, latency and refresh rate, or color reproduction and brightness fidelity for the task.
- xwdv 7y ago
  Maybe it doesn’t need to? If a computer can simply look at the weld with sensors and detect attributes it can overlay them on the video feed for a welder to see. Then you can turn welding into a lower skill process and create more job opportunities.
  - dotancohen 7y ago
    > If a computer can simply I believe that the term "simple" is being applied incorrectly here.
- anon73044 7y ago
  >Welding is a highly-skilled precision process. And, yet, every automobile on the roads today has had some portion or it's frame welded by a robot. Not just spot welds, full on GMAW, and for hundreds/thousands of vehicles a day. >No video feed will have high enough resolution, latency and refresh rate, or color reproduction and brightness fidelity for the task. Counter example: robotic surgery. Sure, there's fewer UV, IR and X-rays, but it's only a matter of time before a better CCD/CMOS sensor and lense comes along.
  - throwaway2048 7y ago
    There is a difference between welding the same part automatically millions of times with exact, very tight known constraints that are always the same, and doing small batches and one off custom welds. The two are not comparable.
NikolaeVarius 7y ago
Welding is hard. Dealing with a video feed is not something I want to be doing. You're supposed to use a welding mask
kube-system 7y ago
Welding masks already block UV. People get arc flashes when they make mistakes in using the equipment -- striking an arc with their helmet up, or someone else in the area striking an arc when they're not wearing theirs. Video goggles would suffer from the same weakness :)
- TylerE 7y ago
  Actually the wouldn't...the point would be to always have them on from the minute you walk in the door.
  - kube-system 7y ago
    You can do that with the auto-darkening welding helmets that are currently in common use. But people don't, because it's annoying.

hammock 7y ago

Can happen in snowy places too, we call it snow blindness

tim333 7y ago
I think snow blindness gets the retinas more than the corneas. Had it once. Not nice.

deleted 7y ago

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