An international design award for Kemppi’s new welding product family

The iF product design award competition is one of the oldest and best known design competitions in the world. The competition is hosted every year by iF Industrie Forum Design e.V. in Germany, bringing together a jury of international design experts to test and evaluate the products entered and for almost 60 years has been recognised as a hallmark of design excellence all over the world.

The Kempact RA product range is a complete new standard for compact MIG/MAG machines meeting the needs of to-day’s welding workshops with a uniquely elegant and practical design. The main features emphasise high quality and customer benefits, making welding more efficient, accurate and productive.

A user survey was used as part of the product design project with users being observed and interviewed in a number of countries and working environments, helping Kemppi to produce a welding machine that easily adapts to different needs.

From a design viewpoint, Kempact RA introduces several new innovations ranging from its design form to the new and inventive way the operator has access to the equipment, all with the user’s comfort in mind. Previous welding machines have been low and opened from the side; this new design is high and opened from the front with the control panel situated at the correct ergonomic height, all making the usage direction uniform, i.e. the control panel is used is the same frontal direction as the cover to replace the wire spool.

Traditional welding machines require a separate trolley to carry the shielding gas cylinder – with the Kempact RA, the gas cylinder carrier is integrated within the body. Robust handles and two large wheels make the equipment very easy to maneuver, with the handles also acting as a storage place for the welding gun and cables, whilst small inbuilt cubicles next to the display panel allow contact tips and other consumables to be kept.

Other design and practicality features include a large and easy to read LCD display with no complicated menus to slow down use of the machine plus control knobs that the operator can use with his/her welding gloves on.

The inside of the machine is illuminated, helping spool changing and wire feeding in low light conditions, whilst the display cover and hinges are reinforced to withstand the most demanding working environments.

In the past, Kemppi equipment has been recognised for its excellent design and usability: in 2006, the MinarcMig™ Adaptive 180 received the red dot design award and in 2009 both the FitWeld™ welding machine and SuperSnake™ GT02S sub feeder received red dot honourable mentions.