Safe and ergonomic welding masks by fast liquid crystals

Journal article, 2008

Recent developments in welding technology, in particular the high intensity pulsed welding arc, have sharpened the requirements on speed and adjustable attenuation for safe and ergonomic operations. With this advent the conventional welding helmets based on nematic liquid crystals are facing difficulties because the nematics are not responding fast enough to stroboscopically follow the changing intensity of the arc during pulsed welding. We propose here a new generation of welding shutters based on smectic (ferroelectric or antiferroelectric) liquid crystals which are fast enough to be synchronized to follow pulsed arc regimes and hence permitting a better visibility of the object under work. The two varieties of smectic materials used are polymer-stabilized in order to make the device shock-proof, to prevent the formation of specific defects such as stripes and chevrons, and to reduce the back-relaxation time in the antiferroelectric case.