PurgEye® 100 Weld Purge Monitor - comprehensive version

PurgEye 100 Weld Purge Monitor

The Company that launched the first Weld Purge Monitor in 19751, Huntingdon Fusion Techniques Limited, (HFT) has introduced a new dedicated Weld Purge Monitor™ especially for tube and pipe joint welding.

A Weld Purge Monitor™ is necessary to show welders when sufficient oxygen has been removed from the work zone to allow welding to begin and to make safe, oxide free welds, without the discolouration and coking that might otherwise occur.

Having developed the models MKI to MKV, over a period of 30 years, in a particular style the Company has embraced evolving and advanced technology to create a new instrument which we designated the PurgeEye® 100 that offers significant advances over all other instruments intended for the application of weld purging.

Principal PurgeEye™ 100 Features:

Designed for Welding:

From the outset, HFT set about to design their instruments to suit the welding environment.

The principle consideration was to build electronics that would make readings accurate at the lowest level of oxygen sensor technology.

Oxygen monitors, using the same sensors, need to tell their users, that oxygen levels are accurate near ambient levels of 20.94%, for health and safety purposes.

Weld Purge Monitors need to give their users total accuracy at the other end of the scale, to show welders when all of the oxygen is now absent, to a particularly low level.

Furthermore, within the welding environment, there are lots of stray electromagnetic signals that interfere with electronically operating products and the production of stable, correct readings. So our experience of 'electromagnetic shielding' of welding electronics has been very valuable in the design of the PurgEye® 100

Zero Calibration Facility

Until now, users of Weld Purge Monitors and oxygen monitors have had to make a nominal calibration of their instruments to start using them each time. This was achieved by carefully turning a potentiometer knob back and forth.

Because of the instability of the readings with oxygen measuring instruments of this type, the setting was lengthy and time consuming.

Now with the new Huntingdon Fusion Techniques 'Integrated Auto-calibration' feature, at the press of a button, the start level of 20.94% is shown instantly. Then once purging has reached the lowest oxygen level, the button can be pressed once more, to calibrate that reading precisely giving instant calibration at 0.01% O2

No need for monitors to be returned to the factory for yearly calibration.

With other oxygen measuring instruments, it is necessary to have them returned to source for calibration, either for yearly checks of for recalibration once sensors are changed. Now with the new HFT calibration facility this time consuming and expensive operation can be eliminated.

Tripod Mount

Another first for Huntingdon Fusion Techniques, is the integration of a tripod mount facility in the housing of the instruments.

Monitors can now be located securely in an accessible viewing position without having to resort to additional clamping fixtures and eliminating the risk of instruments falling to the ground, often from great heights.

Protective Rubber Housing:

In the event that customers have a policy about instrument protection and security, HFT does provide a rubber housing as an additional accessory with the PurgEye® 100

Greater Digit size:

The digits are 41% larger on the PurgEye® 100. This means that they can be seen more clearly by the operator and from longer distances.

Accuracy at low level readings

The PurgEye™ 100 has an algorithm in the software to correct the reading at the low oxygen levels to ensure accuracy and repeatability of readings.

As mentioned already above, most low cost Oxygen Monitors are made for oxygen measurement at breathing levels for personal safety rather than welding and they are unable to read accurately as oxygen levels fall below the atmospheric reading of 20.94%

Low Battery Indicator

When the battery life is too low to provide sufficient power to run the PurgEye™ 100 correctly, a battery symbol appears in the screen/touch screen warning the operator to change the battery.

Replace Sensor Indicator

Similarly, a sensor symbol will appear on the screen with alerting the operator change the oxygen sensor.

This particular feature is a great advantage to the user, because immediately that symbol appears, the user has time to have his purchasing department obtain a new one, without having to stop a job while waiting for delivery for a new sensor, as would be the case for other types of oxygen measuring instrument.

Sensor replacement:

HFT old style instruments and other oxygen monitors have a complicated sensor wiring system that involves plugging in of wires and clips. The New Style PurgEye® 100 replacement sensor, has no wires but connects easily by simply plugging it on the brass terminal pins located within the housing.

Cost:

Due to expected demand and pre-order levels, it has been possible to keep the selling prices of these UK Manufactured and CE marked units the same the same as the obsolescent versions.

Video:

A short video showing these points in graphic detail is available on the Company web site, URL: http://www.huntingdonfusion.com/en/products/weld-purge-monitors/purgeye-100.htm

PUBLISHED: 31 Jan 12