Vortec CaseStudy ArcOne0 pages

ARC ONE: Keeping Welders Cool
Respiratory equipment uses Vortec’s personal air conditioners
ArcOne manufactures and distributes personal protective equipment for industrial welders
including auto-darkening welding helmets, safety glasses & goggles and respiratory protection
products. The firm, founded in 1992, has developed a reputation for innovative technology
through expert in-house design and engineering. Its technologically advanced products have
made this Taunton, MA-based company
a leader in providing high-quality products
that meet welders’ needs. In addition to its
dominant presence in the North American
market, ArcOne is also one of the most
highly respected names in welding protective
equipment in Europe.

The Challenge
Jim Watkins, Engineering Manager at ArcOne,
has directed the development of new product
lines for the company since 2003. He
oversees all facets of creating new products
from R&D to engineering and quality control.
The ArcOne team developed a concept for
personal supplied air respirators for welders to
use as cooling sources.
“Previously,” notes Watkins, “welders did not
have cooling systems although they often work
in very hot environments—either outdoors
or in shops without air conditioning. Our
familiarity with this marketplace told us that
they needed a product that would significantly
enhance working conditions.In concert with
ITW Vortec, we developed a design for a
product which would enable the exhaust of hot
air away from the user while bringing cool air
into the helmet.” To manufacture and market
their Supplied Air Respirators (SARs), Arc One
needed a lightweight personal air conditioner
(PAC).
ArcOne’s design for an air-cooled helmet involves high pressure compressed air entering a PAC
where it is converted into a low pressure cold air stream which cools the worker and also a
low pressure hot air stream which is exhausted. The welder can adjust the cold air stream’s
temperature and flow volume by turning a knob at the end of the PAC. A short hose connects
the outlet of the PAC to the respirator’s helmet or hard hat. The cold air flows through the short
hose from the PAC into the helmet via the air hose.

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