I hear what you are saying. I have searched this "TIG Button" And it seems legit.

Here is another video to the button
Finger Pressure Button

The owner of 6061.com has a big following on YouTube, and no-one has taken him apart for a fraudulent product. I'm not here to call you a liar, or to defend the seller of this product. I am the first that would suspect someone of using a pedal hidden under a table! LOL.

But this button has put me on this quest.

As to your guitar suggestion, I unfortunately did not understand what you meant sir.

Thank you

I based my opinion on what I saw in the video,and it may actually be an honest product. BUT when I see the same techniques used as are used by the sellers of fake items, it delivers an impression to me that something is being hidden. THAT was the basis for my opinion in the comments.

 

OK, did that video give any hint as to HOW the thumb button actually worked?? No, it showed some results, and it showed an installation that really did not reveal much, except that it was simple and easy to install

 

Thank you for replying. Is there somewhere were I can read up more about this suggestion?

Thank you.

The following links may help

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/arduino-load-cell-hx711/

https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2020/12/design-of-a-load-cell.html

https://learn.adafruit.com/force-sensitive-resistor-fsr/using-an-fsr

 

One question is how to design a handpiece that can do as well as a foot pedal.

Continuous adjusting in the handpiece is a dexterity issue, not a functional issue.
Many handpieces have dial control, but it's not easy to adjust like a foot pedal is. Your hand is meant to hold the handpiece (aka "torch") firmly and accurately while needing positional adjusting. This is why they made a foot pedal.

It's difficult to hold a TIG torch correctly while at same time trying to thumb a dial on the torch.

 

I based my opinion on what I saw in the video, and it may actually be an honest product. BUT when I see the same techniques used as are used by the sellers of fake items, it delivers an impression to me that something is being hidden. THAT was the basis for my opinion in the comments.

HAppy New Year to all that have replied here (and those who have read it). Was away on holidays. In South Africa we have our summer over December, so I spent time on the beach. Back to work and other stuff.

I totally agree on what you say about fake items. I myself am very suspicious of EVERYTHING. LOL. I live by the "if it is too good to be true, then it probably is".

Like I said in the previous post, I would be the first one to suspect a pedal under the table. But I also am trying to think about this logically. If there is a potentiometer in the pedal, then there can be one one the torch. I am just uninformed whether a "push - harder" potentiometer exists. I am keen to pursue this some more.

 

Continuous adjusting in the handpiece is a dexterity issue, not a functional issue.
Many handpieces have dial control, but it's not easy to adjust like a foot pedal is. Your hand is meant to hold the handpiece (aka "torch") firmly and accurately while needing positional adjusting. This is why they made a foot pedal.

It's difficult to hold a TIG torch correctly while at same time trying to thumb a dial on the torch.

Thank you for your input.

I can agree on your comments, that your hand has to be steady and precise. On the welder you have a "press and hold" for arc, release for arc switch off, and then "press and let go" for arc on (all the time), then "press and let go " for arc off. And even the "4 press" option, the torch moves. So adding a amperage option will definitely cause movement.

Saying that, I worked with a Fronius TIG welder while in welding school. Two on the fly rocker buttons on the torch. That could be set-up for various functions, switching between pre-programmed set-ups, or for on-the-fly amperage adjustments. And I managed very well with that torch. problem is, in South Africa that machine is an import and un-affordable to the middle class. LOL. Lovely machine that was!!

 

"On the fly rocker buttons" might be a simpler way to go. That could control a small motor to remotely adjust the control on the welder. That might be simpler than extending the current control circuit to the torch. The motor control would not be "press harder to increase" , but an option of " press harder to raise, release to lower, and press just a bit to hold could be implemented with one "under-the-thumb" switch.

 

"On the fly rocker buttons" might be a simpler way to go. That could control a small motor to remotely adjust the control on the welder. That might be simpler than extending the current control circuit to the torch. The motor control would not be "press harder to increase" , but an option of " press harder to raise, release to lower, and press just a bit to hold could be implemented with one "under-the-thumb" switch.

On almost all welders that support a pedal, the pedal connector plugs into the same connector as does a switch or dial does, so there's no "extending".

You can't really morph the pedal function into a force sensor, not because it can't be done, but because of the dexterity issue of trying to use the torch and provide consistent pressure at the same time.

On my TIG I have a momentary switch on torch that within my finger gripping the torch, but if I need to feather amps I need to use pedal.

 

absolutely NOT a fraud, we have sold a few thousand of these and people love them. there are many videos out there showing them in use. The basics are an FSR is read and processed to control the voltage on the appropriate pin on your welding machine foot pedal input to vary the output from off to full on based on the pressure applied.