ANALYSIS: LASER SAFETY
Identifying the right facial PPE for handheld laser welding
Handheld laser welding continues to garner widespread interest among manufacturers, however safety standards are struggling to keep up, shares David Lawton, European Market Development Manager for Kentek
R
ecent years have seen a surge of new handheld fibre laser welding
systems entering the market, with their adoption and usage growing at an exponential rate among manufacturers. Such systems promise a
number of benefits including: low running costs; minimal set up requirements; ease of use; highly efficient, fast and flexible processing in spatially challenging environments; minimal consumables and post- processing requirements; and most importantly, high-quality welds of both similar and dissimilar materials of different types and thicknesses. However, at the forefront of
the minds of the firms looking to adopt these innovative systems, is whether or not they can be used safely. Looking for guidance, many will undoubtedly turn to the safety standards in place to govern the usage of such equipment. However, despite new standards being written and adopted each year in the world of manufacturing, those covering handheld laser welding (a combination of both welding and laser safety standards) are actually yet to ‘catch up’ with regards to eye and face protection.
What safety standards are currently in place for handheld laser welding? Let’s start by considering the current eye and face protection ISO Standards that apply to all handheld welding applications:
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“The only current method of compliance is to wear a certified welding helmet while also wearing laser protective eyewear underneath”
• ISO 16321-1 – Part 1: Eye and face protection for occupational use “general use” | This covers physical and optical attributes of the frame and lens including ‘mechanical’ protection. • ISO 16321-2 – Part 2: Additional requirements for protectors used during welding and related techniques | In addition to Part 1, this specifies material, design, performance and marking requirements for eye and face protectors designed to provide protection against occupational hazards, such as optical radiation, impacts from flying particles and fragments, and hot solids during welding and related techniques.
• ISO 16321-3 – Part 3: Relating to safety requirements concerning mesh protectors for the eye and face. However, ISO16321 specifically excludes laser protection, which means handheld laser welding applications must also comply with the current laser eye and face protection standards. • EN 207: Personal eye- protection equipment: Filters and eye-protectors against laser radiation | This applies to eye- protectors used for protection against accidental exposure to laser radiation and the protective ratings are declared
as an LB rating with different prefixes depending on the beam characteristics. • EN 12254: Screens for laser working places | This applies to laser filter windows and guards used to protect against laser radiation. As a ‘sister’ standard to EN207, the protective ratings are declared as an AB rating with the same prefixes. However, you’ll see that
neither of these specifically cover face protection. So where does this leave us?
The current solution for meeting PPE requirements for handheld laser welding Consequently, as there is no current standard that bridges both handheld welding and laser applications, the only method of compliance is to wear a certified welding helmet while also wearing laser protective eyewear underneath. This is not only cumbersome and inconvenient, but there is also the obvious risk of users forgetting to wear the required laser eye protection when donning their welding helmet. Until the welding and
Kentek has succeeded in creating a helmet that offers the required mechanical, heat and laser protection for handheld laser welding. However, until safety standards are updated, it must still be worn with additional laser safety eyewear
February 2024 Electro Optics 45
Kentek
Kentek
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