Page 5 - HIWT Spring 2012 World of Welding
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hiwt@welding.org                                       HOBART INSTITUTE OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY




            EARLY HISTORY OF ARC WELDING                       On February 26, 1915, Lincoln Electric  Company  applied
            MACHINES                                           for a patent naming Albert H. Homrighaus of Detroit MI, a
                                                               salesman, as the inventor. The patent office rejected all claims
                                                               based on the strength that various United States patents had
            (Continued from page 3)                            been issued showing that these claimed items were all old. In
                                                               a final rejection, the examiner stated that the German Patent
            Although, there may have been others, these two companies   No. 207,774 of March 4, 1909 disclosed most features of the
            had probably the most impact and formed the root of   Homrighaus patent application. However upon insistence of
            commercial arc welding in America. The machines were of the   the patent attorneys, Patent no. 1,238,406, dated August 28,
            constant voltage type using resistors in the welding circuit and   1917, was granted to Homrighaus as assignor to Lincoln
            protective devices for limiting the possibility of overloading   Electric Company for some of the original claims.
            the machines. With the rapid market growth of electric  arc
            welding, other companies became interested.        This brief history suggests that arc welding on a commercial
                                                               basis was probably practiced  earlier  in the German Empire
            Lincoln Electric  (Fig. 5) and General Electric  (Fig. 6) and   than in the United States. It also points out that arc welding was
            Westinghouse (Fig. 7) all entered the field from 1906 through   possibly one of the first “international technology transfers”,
            1912 by designing and manufacturing welding machines.   as it would be referred to today.

            One day, Mr. Elliott received an inquiry from the Pelton Water   References:
            Wheel  Company (Lester Allen  Pelton,  1829-1908, inventor  Siemund Wenzel Electric Welding Process Bulletin No. 101
            of the Pelton turbine) for a welder without resistance in the
            circuit.  Mr. Elliott  met Mr. Lincoln  and asked if Lincoln  Notes by Mr. Edward A. Hobart (1888-1985), undated
            Electric could design and build such a machine. Mr. Elliott
            furnished ideas and drawings and a young engineer  named   Welding: A Journey to Explore Its Past, by Andre A. Odermatt.
            Robert Kinkead, a 1912 graduate of The Ohio State University,   Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, Troy, Ohio.
            had the idea to add a reactance in the welding circuit to provide
            a more tenacious arc. This was the start of the variable voltage
            machine design in the United States.

                 Welding: a journey to

                       explore its past
                         by andré a. odermatt
               Foreword by Jeff Weber, Sr. Associate Executive Director, AWS
            Easy to Read                    Thoroughly Researched
                       Richly illustrated in full color
                     What is this simple but complex
                process called welding? When did it begin?
                  Worldwide journey to explore welding
                  from early discoveries to modern times.
                 Basic knowledge of the history of welding.
                   Inventors and trailblazing companies
                           that made it happen
                Problems encountered during development
                        Most important processes
                    Contributions of welding to society
              “If you enjoy welding and history, this book will give
                you many hours of pleasant reading... It is loaded
              with interesting tidbits of welding lore.” - A.F. Manz

               To order, call 1-800-332-9448, ext. 5433 or order online at
                http://www.welding.org/c-22-general-welding-books.aspx


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