Arc Welding Shield

Hello All,

I need assistance from those who understand emf a lot more than I do (which isn't much at all).

My problem is this...

I've always work with my hands and I wish to continue doing so. But sometime back I was implanted with a pacemaker/dephibulator which pretty much put a stop to any welding I may need to do.

But as of late I've thinking about constructing a wearable shield to prevent emf from interfering with my implant.

What I am thinking is...

Taking a welding jacket and layering the inside with alternating layers of thin rubber and aluminum foil. Naturally thorough and remote testing would have to take place before any serious concideration of use would take place.

Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance,
williamj

A problem I see is that your arms may still act as an antenna to pick up the radiation and route it through your body. Does the jacket have arms?

Testing the effectiveness would be an interesting problem.

You may just have to limit yourself to acetylene welding. Does plasma welding also generate too much interference?

crutschow,

The welding jacket does have sleeves to protect against UV, but it's not the radiation that concerns me.

What concerns me is placing a conductor (implant and associated wiring) in a magnetic field (generated by the welding arc) and inducing a voltage. Any induced voltage, no matter how slight, can have some real detremental effects on my implant.

I don't think that the shielding should have to be all that heavy as I won't be using any industrial sized equipment. At most it will be a 240v AC (input) AC/DC stick welder rated @225 Amps. But mostly it will be a small 120v AC (input) wire feed unit meant for home use.

thank you for your input,
williamj

williamj,

Have you discussed welding with your doctor, or better yet, a rep from the manufacturer?
http://www.medtronic.com/rhythms/downloads/3071ENp6_Saws_online.pdf Pretty tough to keep the implants 24" from the arc and still be able to work.

Ken

here's some EMF shielding fabrics which may be sewn into your jacket and gloves. As mentioned though, in the absence of expensive test equipment, the only way to test it's effectiveness may be to try it and see if you die. Not worth it in my book.

or, maybe you could put a compass inside the jacket and see it moves when you (someone else actually) weld near it, both with and without the conductive fabric. I still wouldn't bet my life on that test either.

Maybe it would be safest if you sew yourself an entire suit, head to toe, gloves, shoes, hat, everything; an entire faraday cage suit, and ground it to earth.

If you are concerned about the magnetic field from the arc then non-magnetic materials used for EMI, such as aluminum foil, are not very effective. You would need a magnetic material, such as mu-metal, to provide reasonable good magnetic shielding.

You could perhaps just use a big sheet of thin steel plate (magnetic type, test with a magnet) between you and the welder (including all the cables) and cut holes for your arms and one large for your eyes and/or head to see your work.

Available off the shelf: http://www.armorvenue.com/armor-suits-of-armor.html

Ken