Tony M Aug 7, 2019:

@ Asker I'm afraid you're wrong there: however general the warning, at this particualr point, we are talking about 'the welding current' (e.g. due to the particualr operation being performed) — this is quite different from avoiding 'a welding current in general'; in any case, if one were to eschew the use of 'the', then it would definitely have to be with no article; 'a' would simply be wrong here!
If you said "a welding current can reach several tens of ampères", then of course it would be correct; equally, "welding currents can reach several tens of ampères".
In this instance, the FR usage is correct, and exactly parallels the usage in EN.
Trust mean, I know all about the damage that can be caused by welding currents! Especially the mis-routed welding current caused by a wrongly-positioned 'earth' clamp.

Thomas Miles (asker) Aug 7, 2019:

Tony I have to respectfully disagree with your suggestion to use the definite article, in view of the general nature of the warning. This is after having re-read the section as a whole, and in line with other usage in the wider section (e.g. "After extended machine downtime or a reduction in pressure...")

Thomas Miles (asker) Aug 5, 2019:

Chris I have adjusted the order of the list.

chris collister Jul 30, 2019:

A little observation on the word order: the text seems to refer to "ball-races and other electronic components..." so some rearrangement may be required to make it clear that a ball race is not an electronic component (though it can, of course, be damaged by high currents).

Tony M Jul 30, 2019:

@ Asker It's all to do with WHERE you position the work-piece clamp — clearly you wouldn't DELIBERATELY want to make the current flow through other components, so it's not really a quesion of a direct vs indirect connection — it's really about the thumping great welding current INCIDENTALLY passing through (or close to) these sensitive devices because the clamp has been badly positioned; usually, for convenience of access, with no thought to the possible consequences!

Thomas Miles (asker) Jul 30, 2019:

Thanks Tony.

Tony M Jul 30, 2019:

@ Asker I think you'll find the 'raccord de pièce à travailler' refers to the (e.g.) welding clamp used to make the "other" connection — the first connection of course being the welder's welding rod!

Do also please note a small but important error in your draught translation: it should be 'the welding current' (cf. FR 'le'), not 'a' as you have it.In the same vein, 'faire passer' is not 'run' (the operator doesn't "run" anything!) but in this case, "do not allow it to pass / flow through..." etc.

Thomas Miles (asker) Jul 30, 2019:

OK, so there is certainly some form of connection and the important point is that this connection is direct rather than indirect (via other components).

Thomas Miles (asker) Jul 30, 2019:

Additional context A little later:
"Monter le raccord de pièce à travailler aussi directement que possible sur le composant à souder et le plus près possible du point de soudure."