Welding station - what are the requirements?

The welding station is a specific “office” of the welder, equipped with all the necessary equipment, accessories and devices necessary for the uninterrupted performance of welding work. The organization of the welding station and all work associated with its arrangement must be carried out in accordance with labor protection and life safety requirements. When planning such areas that carry out technological processes, one should be guided by the requirements for production premises and placement of equipment, transportation of materials, as well as requirements for personnel and the use of personal protective equipment.

In this case, we will talk about arranging a workplace for performing electric arc welding operations (manual, argon arc, semi-automatic).

Welder workplace equipment options

Welding stations are divided into two types:

stationary – designed mainly for working with small metal workpieces;
mobile - most often installed at large manufacturing enterprises, used when laying pipelines and prefabricated construction structures.

General requirements for the welder's workplace

The area must be sufficiently illuminated (minimum 80 Lux). It is recommended to simultaneously use natural light and electric lighting devices for welding stations.
All types of electrical equipment must be grounded.
The flooring on the site should be made of brickwork or concrete.
Specialized pockets for storing documentation and consumables.
A mandatory requirement is the organization of high-quality ventilation of welding stations to remove harmful gases.
Working surface made of cast iron, steel with power cable.
The welder must have a rubber mat under his feet.
To perform seated work, there must be a special metal chair with a dielectric seat.

When arranging a site on the street, a canopy must be made that will protect from precipitation. To protect from direct sunlight, special folding shields are equipped.

Stationary and mobile welding stations: types and sizes

In essence, welding stations are workplaces where conditions have been created for safe and comfortable work.
Depending on the energy source, they come in gas and electric welding types. Gas welding workplaces are subject to increased air exchange requirements. Electric welding stations provide reliable protection against electric shock. Classification by design is divided into stationary and mobile types. The first ones are equipped in a designated area for welding small-sized workpieces, since the area of the workbench tabletop is limited. The latter are made in the form of frames on wheels with installed equipment. The mobility of the workplace is convenient for welding complex objects.

Stationary welding station

The design of a stationary welding station involves the use of a protective cabin without a canopy.

Basic requirements for workplace equipment

Cabin area from 3 square meters.
The cabin walls are made of non-flammable materials.
The frame is made of metal.
The height of the desktop for sedentary work is 50-60 cm, for standing work – 90 cm.
There should be a tarpaulin screen at the entrance.
The total height of the cabin is from 2 meters.
Gaps for ventilation are left along the walls below - about 25 cm.
The area of the working surface made of cast iron and steel should be one square meter.
Inside, the cabin is treated with a special fire-resistant solution of light gray color, which is capable of absorbing ultraviolet radiation and does not allow ignition.

Classification of welding stations

Welding work stations are divided into two categories: stationary and mobile. They are used for different types of work and have different designs.

The stationary post and all its equipment is an open cabin at the top, which contains everything necessary for work. In these posts you can weld small-sized metal products. But they are not suitable for processing large products; here you will need a mobile welding station. It is used to make pipes, install large structures and much more.

Mobile welding station

A professional mobile welding station is organized for high-quality welding work and the production of large-sized metal structures. Such a workplace is most often organized in an open area, so a canopy must be made for it, which will protect it from solar radiation and precipitation. The main material used in the manufacture of mobile post canopies is warehouse panels.

For the convenience of storing electrodes, auxiliary tools, special equipment, and other available tools, the gas welding station is equipped with special cabinets. In this case, a ventilation system is not provided, since the work is carried out in the open air, and the harmful gases released during the work quickly dissipate on their own.

Basic requirements for organizing a mobile post

Lighting should minimize the load on the worker’s visual organs resulting from the light flux.
Lighting fixtures are most often placed above the desktop tabletop, next to it.
The gas welding station must have a grounding device.
For high-quality exhaust ventilation in a natural way, gaps of about half a meter are left between the floor base and the walls.

Electric welding arc

During electric arc welding, the air is contaminated with impurities that can cause poisoning of the human body or damage to the lungs, leading to pulmonary diseases. Impurities that cause poisoning of the body include oxides of copper, lead, zinc, manganese, fluoride compounds, carbon monoxide and nitrogen monoxide. Oxides are formed during the oxidation of copper, lead, zinc, and manganese vapors released during the welding process. Copper and zinc can be part of the electrode and base metal. Manganese can be part of the base metal, electrode metal, as well as in coatings and fluxes.

Lead oxides are formed when it is welded using a carbon or graphite electrode method. Air pollution with fluoride compounds is observed during welding using coatings and fluxes containing cryolite, fluorspar or other substances containing fluorine. Carbon monoxide is produced when welding using this method, as well as when welding with electrodes whose coating contains carbon compounds or pure carbon. Nitrogen oxides are formed in all cases of manual arc welding and to a greater extent when welding with thin-coated electrodes. The content of the listed impurities should not exceed thousandths of a milligram per liter of air.

Impurities that cause lung disease include oxides of iron, silicon, aluminum, particles of free carbon and other dust released during manual electric arc welding. These impurities, when inhaled for a long time, cause damage to the bronchi, resulting in pulmonary diseases.

To prevent air pollution by impurities, it is necessary to provide thorough ventilation of the rooms where manual electric arc welding stations are installed. Ventilation can be general or local. General ventilation should be flow-exhaust. Clean air must be supplied directly to the welding areas. In winter, this air must be heated by air heaters.

According to the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, when welding with metal electrodes with TsM-7 and UONII coatings, the amount of clean air supplied to the workshop should be about 4000-5000 m3 per 1 kg of molten electrodes.

Supply and exhaust ventilation must be provided in all manual arc welding rooms. Local ventilation is installed when welding stations are located in certain places. In this case, exhaust hoods are installed above the welding tables. Vessels must be provided with local supply and exhaust ventilation when welding is performed in them. In these cases, supplying air directly under the shield or mask gives good results. In this case, the amount of air should be about 25 m3/hour.

Air supply directly under the welder’s shield or mask should also be used in the case of welding non-ferrous metals: copper, brass, bronze, lead, aluminum and its alloys. The need to supply clean air is due to the fact that when welding non-ferrous metals, a significant amount of harmful metal oxides, as well as harmful gases, are released.

Places where welding work must be sufficiently well illuminated by daylight or artificial light. Good lighting of workplaces reduces eye fatigue for workers and is one of the conditions for increasing labor productivity. Illumination of workplaces should be at least 50-100 lux. To reduce the absorption of light by the walls of the cabins, they are painted in light matte colors. It is recommended to use zinc white, crown yellow, and titanium white. The listed dyes absorb ultraviolet rays well.

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Features of the welding station

If necessary, welding equipment is moved to an open area. Therefore, posts are divided into two types - stationary and mobile (mobile). Welding transformers will be located at the workplace to carry out welding with alternating current, or a rectifier for direct voltage. Welding stations often include:

Switch.
Power network.
Electric holder.
Welding cables.
Power supply.
Exhaust probe.

The post cabin must also have its own specific dimensions: 1.5 m and at least 2 meters in height. Inside it is equipped with a metal table; an exhaust probe must be installed in the upper part. The table has one or more drawers for storing any tool. You should never forget about personal protective equipment; this includes overalls, which must be issued to the welder.

Post device for manual arc welding

All necessary materials, tools and welding equipment must be available at each welding station. In short, everything that a welder needs to work. This is a welding machine of the required type, electrodes and holders for them, grounding means, a power source, as well as a minimum set of metal furniture.

The welding post can be stationary or mobile, depending on its purpose and location.

Stationary welding station for manual welding

This is a workplace that is equipped on a permanent basis. Its dimensions depend on the size of the products being welded. As a rule, this includes a metal table and a chair that is adjustable in height. The power is supplied directly to the table, and the welder

works without leaving the table. All products are delivered to his workplace. Instead of a table, a special tilter is often used, which makes it easy to move and rotate parts as needed by the welder.

Electric welder station equipment

When equipping a welding station (stationary or mobile) for electric welding, the following conditions must be met:

grounding is connected to the desktop and equipment housings;
good illumination of the desktop surface (a combination of artificial light and natural light is allowed);
floor made of fire-resistant material;
table cover made of steel or cast iron, at least 20 mm thick, with a connected ground cable;
drawers or pockets for storing tools, electrodes, technical documentation;
stool with seat made of insulating material for welding while sitting;
the presence of a rubber mat on the floor near the table.

When welding is carried out outdoors, the workplace is covered with a canopy or awning made of waterproof material to protect from rain, snow, and sun.

Stationary

Stationary welding stations are made in the form of booths without an upper ceiling.

When arranging, take into account the requirements of regulatory documents:

The area is not less than 3 m², the walls are 2 m high. A screen made of tarpaulin or non-flammable plastic is hung at the entrance.
Ventilation gaps of at least 50 mm in size are left from the floor to the bottom edge of the walls. When working with inert gas, the gap is increased to 300 mm. The gaps are covered with a metal mesh with small cells.
Install a table with a tabletop of at least 1 m². For working in a sitting position, its height is 60 - 70 cm, for welding standing from 85 cm.
The walls are made of sheet iron, asbestos-cement slabs or non-combustible materials treated with a fire-resistant composition.
A lamp is installed above the table.
The walls are covered with light gray paint that has the ability to absorb ultraviolet radiation (zinc-based compositions or titanium white).
An exhaust hood is installed or, when organizing a welding station in the workshop, it is connected to a centralized supply and exhaust air exchange system.
The floor is poured with concrete or laid with bricks.
A switch is installed inside the cabin to quickly turn off electrical equipment if an emergency occurs.