#Shade 14 welding lens skin#

If a dark lens has no UV filter, it will allow more ultraviolet radiation to get through to cause significant damage to the sensitive structures in your eyes. The danger of this is that the darker lenses dilate the pupils of your eye more. However, the shade number doesnвЂ™t indicate how much UV light is filtered. Now, a common misconception is that the shade alone blocks UV rays. This wavelength range includes ultraviolet radiation (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C), visible light, and infrared radiation.

Welding arcs generally emit radiation whose wavelengths span from 200 nanometers to 1,400 nanometers. On the other hand, gas welding requires #4-#8 lenses, depending on the plate thickness. So, while you may need a lens shade #10 for arc welding at 60 amps, you will need a shade 12 when welding at 200 amps. Again, the more current needed, the more light is generated. But the American Welding Society recommends a shade 12 lens for such purpose.ДЇor most types of arc welding, youвЂ™ll need lens shades that vary from #9 to #14, depending on how intense the emitted light is. OSHAвЂ™s minimum shade requirement for arc welding using rods from 5/32вЂќ to 1/4вЂі thick, which use 160-250 amps, is a shade 10 lens. A welder may use a shade 9 in the situation above. However, OSHAвЂ™s minimum shade requirements are insufficient for many welders. If youвЂ™re using an electrode thatвЂ™s under 3/32вЂќ, which needs a current below 60 amps, then the OSHA minimum protective shade number is 7. For instance, if youвЂ™re doing shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), you may be using rods that are anywhere below 3/32-inch thick to more than 1/4-inch thick. Basically, the thicker the electrode, the more electric current is needed. The intensity of the light emitted by the welding arc or flame depends on amperage needed, and amperage is dependent on the thickness of your electrode. How dark the lens is depends on what type of welding youвЂ™re doing. In some cases, a shade 14 lens is needed for the job. Shade 13 is considered the darkest, but is actually just the typically used darkest shade. Any shade below 4 is too light to protect your eyes. Lens Shade for WeldingДЄlthough lens shades can range from 0-14, welding lenses have shades that range from 4-14. By the time you get to shade 13, only 0.00072% of the light gets through ( 1). At shade 9, only 0.037% of the light gets through. ThatвЂ™s why most auto-darkening lenses start around shade 3 or 4 - to allow welders to see the area before the arc activates the darkening of the filter to shade 9. ThatвЂ™s a lot darker than the previous shade, but it still allows you to see your work. A shade 4 lens allows about 5% of the light. ThatвЂ™s still bright enough for you to see the work field. For example, a shade 3 lens blocks about 86% of the light, which means only around 14% of the light gets through. The shade number tells you how much light the lens or filter blocks. So a shade #10 lens is in effect a DIN 10 lens. The shade number stated is based on the DIN rating, which is the standard way of telling how much light is being blocked by the glass.

In a nutshell, the higher the lens shade number, the darker it is and the less light it allows to pass through. The shade number indicates the amount of light that passes through the lens and, thus, tells you the level of protection a particular lens offers.

How much radiation a lens blocks depends on its shade. Not only do they protect your face from heat, sparks, and spatter, but they also have filter lenses that shield your eyes from damaging levels of light emitted by the arc.ДЄ welding lens, an essential part of your helmet, is either a piece of glass or a filter, that reduces the amount of radiation that gets into your eyes. Welding helmets are probably the most important protective devices for welding. Recommended Reading вЂ“ Best Welding Helmet Under $100. PPE includes glasses, goggles, helmets, face shields, welding jackets, and gloves.

#Shade 14 welding lens skin#

ThatвЂ™s why welders are supposed to wear their personal protective equipment when working to protect their skin and eyes from intense radiation. Welding arc produces electromagnetic energy, mostly in the form of ultraviolet and infrared radiation, which causes burns, injuries, and even cancer.