Unhandy, heavy torches, which are not ergonomically adapted to the work processes, make the daily work for welders more difficult. Often long seams have to be welded without stopping and the heavy hose assembly is dragged behind or has to be lifted into the correct position.

Or when welding is done in an overhead position. Every welder knows what we are talking about: The welding material drips, the muscles are aching, the back hurts and the weight of the welding torch including the hose assembly quickly becomes a burden.

The hose assembly in particular is an important factor when it comes to weight reduction. Lightweight hose assemblies can weigh 30-50% less than a regular hose assembly, which has a significant effect. Of course, you shouldn't skimp on the material inside, because the plasma welding torch still has to be just as powerful as before.

Using light metal components for current-carrying cables in the hose assembly instead of the usual copper ensures a significantly lower weight, makes welding more comfortable and maintains performance - that of the welding torch and that of the welder.

The position of the trigger on the welding torch also has a decisive influence, because during a long working day this trigger has to be pressed countless times. If the welding torch lies comfortably in the hand and the distance and angle between the finger and the trigger are optimally selected, less energy is needed to reach the trigger and apply the required pressure.

A ball joint at the transition between the handle and the hose assembly specifically relieves the welder's wrist: the hose assembly is flexibly guided downwards directly behind the handle, thus reducing the leverage effect on the wrist. In addition, a ball joint facilitates oscillation during welding.

This study investigated the effects of welding current and torch position parameters, including torch-aiming position, travel angle, and work angle, on bead geometry in single-lap joint gas metal arc (GMA) welding. High-speed filming and macrographs of weld cross section were used to observe the effect of each welding parameter on the properties of the bead geometry, including penetration, leg length, and toe angle. Response surface methodology was used to establish the relationship between the welding parameters and properties of bead geometry and to estimate regression models for predicting bead geometry. Both welding current and torch-aiming position were found to have significant effects on bead geometry, with strong linearity between them and bead geometry. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the estimated response surface models was 0.7226 for penetration, 0.8802 for leg length, and 0.8706 for toe angle. Further, experimental results indicate that the estimated models are very effective.