have you got an auto darkening welding helmet for MIG welding and its still not bright enough to see what you're doing. For at least the last 10 years I've modified mine with LED's to illuminate what I'm doing. I've recently bought a new helmet so this is how I modified it. the components I used are 5mm white wide angle (straw hat)LED's, an AAA battery box, a slide switch and a bit of electronics wire. I didnt use the heat shrink tubing in the photo below. I also use pound shop clear epoxy resin glue and black natural cure silicone sealer.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301085511720
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290553778931
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200736728824
as I use niMH or NiCad rechargeable batteries , I can use the LED's wired in parallel with the batteries without resistors , (but you may need voltage dropping resistors for alkaline or zinc carbon batteries).
the first thing to do is to drill a 5mm hole in the corners of the lens hole for sticking the LED's in with the epoxy resin glue.
then remove the tiny switch from the battery box, then rough up the back of the battery box and inside of the helmet and stick the battery box to the inside of the helmet. I used epoxy resin glue again, I would have used double sided adhesive foam pads but didn't have any.
them fix the switch in place, again I glued it on the inside with epoxy resin, if I wanted it on the outside, I'd have drilled some holes and screwed it in place.
the LED's are then wired in parallel, with one connecting wire switched and the other going back to the battery box.
the backs of the LED's are then coated with black silicone sealer, this works as an insulation for the wires, as the wires were just soldered to the LED leads. The black silicon also stops any light from welding coming though the LED's too.
so the LED's illuminated from the front
and the view from the back, here the room was in pitch darkness, showing two hammers side by side, one though the auto darkening lens and one just lit by the LED's
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301085511720
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290553778931
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200736728824
as I use niMH or NiCad rechargeable batteries , I can use the LED's wired in parallel with the batteries without resistors , (but you may need voltage dropping resistors for alkaline or zinc carbon batteries).
the first thing to do is to drill a 5mm hole in the corners of the lens hole for sticking the LED's in with the epoxy resin glue.
then remove the tiny switch from the battery box, then rough up the back of the battery box and inside of the helmet and stick the battery box to the inside of the helmet. I used epoxy resin glue again, I would have used double sided adhesive foam pads but didn't have any.
them fix the switch in place, again I glued it on the inside with epoxy resin, if I wanted it on the outside, I'd have drilled some holes and screwed it in place.
the LED's are then wired in parallel, with one connecting wire switched and the other going back to the battery box.
the backs of the LED's are then coated with black silicone sealer, this works as an insulation for the wires, as the wires were just soldered to the LED leads. The black silicon also stops any light from welding coming though the LED's too.
so the LED's illuminated from the front
and the view from the back, here the room was in pitch darkness, showing two hammers side by side, one though the auto darkening lens and one just lit by the LED's
[*]
[*]
2i(BSHB56RtCg~~60_12.JPG)
when welding.