Gone are the days when welders worked with welded shields that were held in front of the face with one hand while the other hand had to weld the part. An ordinary shield can only be seen in small workshops or when carrying out infrequent household work. For professionals and those who carry out welding work on an ongoing basis, new generations of welding masks have long been invented and released, including the Chameleon mask.
It is often an elegant helmet with a built-in light filter, while the latter is fixed in the headband and is not lifting, but can be removed and replaced. The principle of operation of the light filter, which has a welding mask "Chameleon", is based on the use of a complex structure of polarizing films, liquid crystal components, supplemented by infrared andultraviolet filter. Placed under a protective glass when connected to a lithium battery and a solar battery, this design automatically produces light shading depending on the lighting conditions. And the light emitted during welding, let's say, is simply unbearable for the human eye due to its extreme brightness.
The "Chameleon" welder's mask, in addition to its main function - optimal light shading - also has the ability to scatter reflected light, which also has a positive effect on vision. A slight design flaw is that the light, passing through several layers, is somewhat scattered, which reduces visibility.
The Chameleon Mask has a number of features to consider when purchasing it, including:
- optical class (from 1 to 3), which determines how geometrically clearly objects can be seen through the "puff" filter;
- light scattering - an indicator of the turbidity of the filter;
- homogeneity - the degree of uneven shading;
- degree of shading depending on viewing angle;
- on time - shows how quickly the light filter turns on when welding starts. Professional mask "Chameleon" has this indicator no more than 50 microseconds.
The filter of the mask must be certified and qualified for this or that type of work. In the absence of these characteristics, it is better not to buy a mask. It is believed that qualitylight filters are produced by companies such as Speedglass, Optrel, Otos, Tekmen, Shine and Balder. They have international certificates that guarantee quality, convenience, ergonomics and reliable eye protection. Sometimes manufacturing companies purchase the above filters for welding helmets of their brands, but this does not always guarantee the high quality of the final product. Therefore, it is better to buy the original mask "Otos", "Shine", etc.
For those who cook a lot, the best purchase would be a "Chameleon" mask with removable rather than built-in batteries, because. their service life is limited to 2-3 thousand work, after which the elements must be replaced. Agree that the replacement is much easier to make if the design of the welding helmet does not need to be opened.
