ESAB’s Robust Feed wire feeder has received the highly coveted Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021, the company reports.
The Robust Feed was designed for portability, durability and productivity, featuring a fiber-reinforced case and select areas of double-wall steel to provide additional impact resistance, an optional heater that drives off moisture to preserve wire integrity, and all controls, power and gas connections are inside the case with a dedicated service cover, providing easy access to the electronics. It is the only portable feeder with an IP44 protection class rating, which means it is protected against water splashes from all directions, as well as solid objects larger than 1 mm.
This is the second Red Dot award ESAB has won for product design. The brand won in 2018 for the Renegade TIG power source.
“We are proud that our Robust Feed earned the prestigious Red Dot award, a tremendous honor in our longstanding history of leading product innovation in welding and cutting equipment and consumables for over a century,” said Olivier Biebuyck, president, EMEAR, Equipment and Digital Solutions. “A special thanks to Red Dot’s expert jury for recognizing our continuous pursuit to meet the needs of the customers we serve all over the world.”
For more than 50 years, the “Red Dot” award has established itself internationally as one of the most sought-after seals of quality for good design. For this year’s competition, designers and manufacturers submitted more than 18,000 objects to the competition and a jury comprising roughly 50 members assessed the products. The strict judging criteria, which include level of innovation, functionality, formal quality, ergonomics and durability, provide a frame of reference which the jurors then complement with their own expertise.
“I believe Robust Feed won this esteemed award because customer insights and real-life scenarios shaped its form and functions,” said Jarkko Havia, ESAB’s Global Industrial Design Manager. “We never intended to compete with existing feeders — we wanted to redefine the category, and Robust Feed achieves that goal.”
Key Elements
The Robust Feed Pro accepts wire spools up to 12 in., and weighs less than 38 lbs. For greater mobility, the wire feeder has an optional wheel kit that mounts on either the bottom or side of the feeder. It also features ESAB’s new PreciDrive wire drive system that combines high precision, power and reliability to feed solid wires up to 5/64 in. and cored wires up 3/32 in.
Robust Feed automatically connects to ESAB’s Warrior and Aristo inverter-based power sources, and a connection kit enables using the unit with other brand inverters. Users include those in all demanding industries: ship, boat, trailer, construction, steel fabrication, pressure vessel, tank, pipe, wind tower, off-highway machinery, maintenance and repair industries. Equipped with an optional push-pull torch, it also provides superior feeding performance with aluminum wires.