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Welding fumes and forced positions make welding a job that can have long-term negative effects on health. Unfortunately, the risks are still underestimated and welders are often exposed to great dangers. Companies may be afraid that the cost of properly protecting their workers is too high. They associate protective measures with extra work or complicating the welding process. But are these concerns justified? And what are the best options to minimize welding hazards?

The latest trends, innovative technologies and great enthusiasm for welding technology – I experienced all of that at this year's SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN! It is the world's largest trade fair for joining, cutting and coating technology. After a six-year break, it returned to its former location in Essen and was one of the year's highlights for the welding industry. Of course, it was also a very special time for me, with many interesting discussions, because even the WELDPROF^® never stops learning.

Many people think of electron beam welding as a complex, expensive and even dangerous technology. There are several reasons for this: It requires a vacuum, the workpieces have to be precisely prepared and in addition there is the X-ray radiation. In times of laser welding, this may seem outdated. But is it actually true? Or does electron beam welding offer the possibility of a versatile and powerful technology?

The acceptance of extraction torches is still very low among welders. Many accept the harmful fumes just to avoid having to give up the familiar ease of use of their tools. The fact that a considerable progress has been made in the further development of fume extraction torches in the meantime is proven by a sports science study based on special strain tests, carried out by an independent institute. Client: ABICOR BINZEL.

As part of this year's General Assembly of the European Welding Association EWA, the election of the President was also on the agenda. The fact that I was re-elected after a two-year term confirms that my commitment to welding technology is going in the right direction and is considered forward-looking.

My younger fan community thrives on short infos in video format. For the older ones among you, this is often new territory. I don't take myself out of that. We are talking about so-called "shorts", short videos with a maximum length of 60 seconds. You can now also see me in these. I want to make knowledge also accessible to all those who want to get information quickly.

There is currently a proverbial hype about laser welding. Especially manual laser welding. Everywhere you see videos of how best to work manually with a laser welding torch and how amazing the results are. Where does this great interest currently come from? In which field did laser welding originate in the first place and what do you have to pay attention to especially when welding manually with a laser welding torch?

The term digitalisation of production is first and foremost associated with optimising processes in order to increase profitability. But digitalisation goes much further and opens up opportunities for more sustainability. This is a goal that every company must pursue nowadays.

Automated welding usually involves the production of large order volumes. The data generated from the welding process are also used as a basis for optimisation. But how does this work in manual welding? Can data also be recorded, collected and evaluated in manual production in order to optimise processes? The answer is: yes, even so-called big data.

In times of high costs for materials and energy, the search for savings is now part of daily business. Process flows offer very good approaches for this. Sometimes it is possible to optimise production with small changes, for example, and thus increase productivity. These factors need to be found. Digitalisation provides the necessary data for this.