Auto-Darkening Welding Glasses
The company announced its newest auto-darkening welding lenses. The Speedglas 9002 lenses are said to provide an enhanced level of versatility to the welder by offering 61 user-selectable combinations of shade/delay/sensitivity. Greater choice and control mean the users can weld comfortably and efficiently.
The lenses incorporate three new "delay" settings, which let the user decide how quickly the lens changes from dark-to-light. This company says this added level of flexibility can improve efficiency. For example, if the welder is making a series of tack welds and wants to quickly check each weld before moving to the next position, he/she can reduce the time for dark-to-light switching. The delay setting can also improve comfort. For example, if the welder doesn't want to see the brilliant glowing light form a high amp stainless steel weld pool (after the arc is off), he/she adds time before the lens switches from dark to light.
The lenses also employ newly developed detectors, which increase sensitivity to a range of welding methods, even stable arcs like those from low amp TIG inverters. Four user-selectable sensitivity settings are included. The sensitivity function also improves performance when welding pipe or tube, when arcs are partially obscured or when the arc is partially blocked by the welder's hands. By selecting a greater sensitivity setting, the lens provides reliable auto-darkening even with hidden arcs.
When the welder strikes an arc, the lens auto-darkens from shade 3 to the user-selected state: shades 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13. Ultraviolet and infrared protection is constant, whether the lens has darkened or not.
Two versions of the lenses are available. The 9002V has a 3.57" × 1.68" (91 mm × 43 mm) viewing area. The 9002X has a large 4.09" × 2.13" (104 mm × 54 mm) viewing area and solar panels, which double battery life to 3,000 hours on average. The lens comes with the company's Speedglas 9000 "breathable" helmet featuring aerodynamically designed exhaust vents to reduce carbon dioxide, humidity and heat.
