Kid's Science Fair Project

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My daughter decided to do a science fair project on how an arc welder works (5th grade). I took her in the shop and showed her how it works and helped her do a weld or two but we need some on-line sites with explanations and diagrams that might be suitable for her age.any ideas?thanks in advance.Paul
Reply:That has to be one of the best science fair projects i have ever heard of. all of the show on tv that are so popular these days have welding in them in some form. one of the first places that comes to me as a reference is http://millerwelds.com/education/dictionary.html . it's pretty comprehensive as far as explanations go, http://science.howstuffworks.com/plasma-cutter1.htm covers plasma machines, i haven't found an easy to understand page on arc welding itself yet. i'll keep looking for something thoughStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey
Reply:thanks Vipermanz,I'm still searching and found a couple thingsthis has a whole bunch of .gifs (others might find useful)http://www.fortunecity.com/village/l...book/ILLUS.htmand this site was OK (need to register though)http://www.mitre10.com.au/mitreplans/view.aspx?id=5But I'm still looking for something showing how the welding machine actually works.Paul
Reply:I don't have a link on how the machines work, but having judged science fairs for about five years now I might offer up some advice.  The format for most projects is an experiment that follows the scientific method. (http://school.discovery.com/sciencef...ficmethod.html)If I were judging a 5th grade entry I would expect some knowledge of electricity and some knowledge of how the metal is joined, but not that much about how a transformer works or the  properties of plasma.  While understanding how an arc welder works is an important part of researching a project; the judging will likely be more focused on the design of the experiment, than an explanation of the apparatus.  After the research portion is finished it might be worthwhile to think about how to use an arc welder to conduct an experiment.  With all of the experiments that obviously come out of books of science fair projects, it always nice to see an original idea like this.  - James B
Reply:Somebody judges these things? Who knew!  thanks James that's pretty much what I had come to as well. I'm just happy she's got an interest in welding or will even venture into my shop for that matterPaul
Reply:After I posted I remembered this site.  This link includes a high level description of how an arc welder works:http://www.the-land-rover.com/WeldShop/Welder.htm
Reply:I've always looked up howstuffworks.com when I don't know how to explain things.
Reply:i'm trying to put a diagram together nowStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey