MK Products Sidewinder - Manual (Page 7)

Sidewinder ® MiniSpool™ Gun Owner's Manual - Page iii
retinal burn that may leave a permanent dark
area in the field of vision.
3. Protection of Nearby Personnel
Enclose the welding area. For production
welding, a separate room or enclosed bay is
best. In open areas, surround the operation
with low-reflective, noncombustible screens or
panels. Allow for free air circulation, particularly
at floor level.
Viewing the weld. Provide face shields for all
persons who will be looking directly at the weld.
Others working in area. See that all persons are
wearing flash goggles.
Before starting to weld, make sure that screen
flaps or bay doors are closed.
B. Toxic Fume Prevention
Comply with precautions in 1-2B.
Generator engine exhaust must be vented to the
outside air. Carbon monoxide can kill.
C. Fire and Explosion Prevention
Comply with precautions in 1-2C.
Equipment’s rated capacity. Do not overload arc
welding equipment. It may overheat cables and
cause a fire.
Loose cable connections may overheat or flash
and cause afire.
Never strike an arc on a cylinder or other
pressure vessel. It creates a brittle area that can
cause a violent rupture or lead to such a rupture
later under rough handling.
D. Compressed Gas Equipment
Comply with precautions in 1-2D.
E. Shock Prevention
Exposed electrically hot conductors or other bare
metal in the welding circuit, or in ungrounded,
electrically-HOT equipment can fatally shock a
person whose body becomes a conductor. DO
NOT STAND, SIT, LIE, LEAN ON, OR TOUCH
a wet surface when welding without suitable
protection.
To protect against shock:
Keep body and clothing dry. Never work in
damp area without adequate insulation against
electrical shock. Stay on a dry duckboard, or
rubber mat when dampness or sweat cannot be
avoided. Sweat, sea water, or moisture between
body and an electrically HOT part - or grounded
metal - reduces the body surface electrical
resistance, enabling dangerous and possibly
lethal currents to flow through the body.
1. Grounding the Equipment
When installing, connect the frames of each unit
such as welding power source, control, work
table, and water circulator to the building ground.
Conductors must be adequate to carry ground
currents safely. Equipment made electrically
HOT by stray currents may shock, possibly
fatally. Do NOT GROUND to electrical conduit,
or to a pipe carrying ANY gas or a flammable
liquid such as oil or fuel.
Three-phase connection. Check phase
requirement of equipment before installing. If
only three-phase power is available, connect
single-phase equipment to only two wires of
the three-phase line. Do NOT connect the
equipment ground lead to the third (live) wire,
or the equipment will become electrically HOT - a
dangerous condition that can shock, possibly fatally.
Before welding, check ground for continuity. Be sure
conductors are touching bare metal of equipment
frames at connections.
If a line cord with a ground lead is provided with
the equipment for connection to a switch box,
connect the ground lead to the grounded switch
box. If a three-prong plug is added for connection
to a grounded mating receptacle, the ground lead
must be connected to the ground prong only. If the
line cord comes with a three-prong plug, connect
to a grounded mating receptacle. Never remove
the ground prong from a plug, or use a plug with a
broken ground prong.
2. Connectors
Fully insulated lock-type connectors should be used
to join welding cable lengths.
3. Cables
Frequently inspect cables for wear, cracks, and
damage. IMMEDIATELY REPLACE those with
excessively worn or damaged insulation to avoid
possibly lethal shock from bared cable. Cables with
damaged areas may be taped to give resistance
equivalent to original cable.
Keep cable dry, free of oil and grease, and protected
from hot metal and sparks.
4. Terminals and Other Exposed Parts
Terminals and other exposed parts of electrical
units should have insulating covers secured before
operation.
5. Electrode Wire
Electrode wire becomes electrically HOT when the
power switch of gas metal-arc welding equipment is
ON and welding gun trigger is pressed. Keep hands
and body clear of wire and other HOT parts.
6. Safety Devices
Safety devices such as interlocks and circuit
breakers should not be disconnected or shunted
out.
Before installation, inspection, or service of
equipment, shut OFF all power, and remove line
fuses (or lock or red-tag switches) to prevent
accidental turning ON of power. Disconnect all
cables from welding power source, and pull all 115
volts line-cord plugs.
Do not open power circuit or change polarity
while welding. If, in an emergency, it must be
disconnected, guard against shock burns or flash
from switch arcing.
Leaving equipment unattended. Always shut OFF,
and disconnect all power to equipment.
Power disconnect switch must be available near the
welding power source.