US 12,076,825 B2
Welding process wire feeder adapter insulator
Nicholas James Dessart, Appleton, WI (US); Brian Randall Bellile, Greenville, WI (US); and Alan Edward Stein, Little Chute, WI (US)
Assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed by ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed on Nov. 30, 2015, as Appl. No. 14/954,295.
Prior Publication US 2017/0151622 A1, Jun. 1, 2017
Int. Cl. B23K 9/12 (2006.01); B23K 9/133 (2006.01); B23K 9/32 (2006.01)
CPC B23K 9/124 (2013.01) [B23K 9/1336 (2013.01); B23K 9/323 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system, comprising:
an adapter configured to physically and electrically couple at least one of a gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) torch, a shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) torch, or a plasma cutting torch to an output of a wire feeder that is configured to receive power from a welding power supply and provide wire, gas flow, and electrical current flow for a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process, the adapter comprising:
a receiving portion on a first side of the adapter and configured to couple to a machine connector of a cable of a welding torch configured to perform at least one of a GTAW process, an SMAW process, or a plasma process;
a coupling portion on a second side of the adapter and opposite the receiving portion and configured to:
couple to the wire feeder; and
conduct the electrical current from the wire feeder to the welding torch via the receiving portion, wherein the coupling portion is a different connector than the machine connector of the cable of the welding torch; and
an insulating shell configured to electrically insulate a portion of the adapter that is exposed when the adapter is coupled to the wire feeder, wherein the insulating shell comprises upper and lower halves.