Thread: Touch Panels on Welders.

Yep, I can see how it would be really easy to use a touch panel with welding gloves on. Where do they get these ideas from?

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Yep, I can see how it would be really easy to use a touch panel with welding gloves on. Where do they get these ideas from?

It actually works very well, my BOC/EWM Smootharc 230 TIG has a touch panel as did the Miller I used previously. Both are easy to set with the thin TIG gloves on. My thinking is that the touch panel should be reliable as the panel is sealed from dust unlike an analogue panel.

There are special gloves for TIG welding?

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

There are special gloves for TIG welding?

Yep, much thinner than the heavy gloves used for MIG and stick. They give much more feel for feeding the rod into the puddle.

Originally Posted by Gavin Newman

Yep, much thinner than the heavy gloves used for MIG and stick. They give much more feel for feeding the rod into the puddle.

They are great for all that, except the pilot arc on my old Transtig 180 is a bit powerful and somedays goes through them. I am sure it just does it to remind me what electricty feels like
Gavin, thanks for the comment about the panel, I did not consider that aspect,
rgds,
Crocy.

Originally Posted by Old Croc

They are great for all that, except the pilot arc on my old Transtig 180 is a bit powerful and somedays goes through them. I am sure it just does it to remind me what electricty feels like
Gavin, thanks for the comment about the panel, I did not consider that aspect,
rgds,
Crocy.

From my experience the HF arc will go through any thickness glove or clothing. I've had it jump through my overalls when I'm sitting at my welding bench - that really hurts. My TIG does the same thing from time to time despite all the sophisticated electronics and computer control. Electricity will always find the path of least resistance.

My TIG has membrane switches and a pot, so my thoughts on which is more usable are probably not strictly relevant.
However, I'd be worried about how susceptible the touch screen is to damage from all the accidental things in a welding area - showers of angle grinder sparks, hot ends of rods, spits of metal, the stuff on the shelf above finally paying attention to gravity and the list goes on*.
It will depend a bit on how you weld and where the unit is situated in relation to your work area.

Michael

*Yes, we all say that we don't work like this but it seems to happen anyway

Originally Posted by Michael G

My TIG has membrane switches and a pot, so my thoughts on which is more usable are probably not strictly relevant.
However, I'd be worried about how susceptible the touch screen is to damage from all the accidental things in a welding area - showers of angle grinder sparks, hot ends of rods, spits of metal, the stuff on the shelf above finally paying attention to gravity and the list goes on*.
It will depend a bit on how you weld and where the unit is situated in relation to your work area.

Michael

*Yes, we all say that we don't work like this but it seems to happen anyway

True enough although I suspect that the panels are a lot tougher than might first seem the case (I certainly hope so given the amount I paid for the unit!). I have my TIG mounted on a trolley which I keep away from any grinding. When it's not in use it is kept covered up for protection. It's the same with the lathe, mill, surface plate etc, then they are not in use they have heavy, oiled, covers over them to protect them and to try and keep the dreaded rust at bay.