Master M
A compact 350 A MIG/MAG welder with guided Weld Assist setup, built-in LED work lights and a safe-lift handle, designed with professional welders.
- Red Dot 2023Product Design AwardMaster M 350 family: 353, 355 and 358
- 350 ACompact MIG/MAG welder
- Weld AssistGuided setup on the display
A compact welder that looks after the welder
Master M is Kemppi's compact 350 A MIG/MAG welding family. It was designed with professional welders, and the 350 family won a Red Dot Product Design Award in 2023.
It was designed by Kemppi's in-house team, and I was part of it. The Red Dot credits list the team: Miikka Hurmalainen, Jari Kettunen, Omkar More, Mikko Aresalo, Hannu Kangaskoski and Airi Vilpanen, with external design by C-Advice (Timo Ahtiainen).
In the workshop
Photography by Kemppi. Press a photo to open it full size.
Decisions and what they cost
Three features from Kemppi's product page, and the trade-off in each.
Guided setup on the display
- What we chose
- Weld Assist guides the welder through setting up the machine on its display.
- What it cost
- The machine leads the setup, so the welder needs to see what it is doing and be able to change it.
- What followed
- The same guided approach as in MasterTig, now on a compact machine.
Light where the welder works
- What we chose
- Built-in, self-charging LED work lights.
- What it cost
- More parts and a power source to think about inside a rugged body.
- What followed
- Welders can see the work in dark places without a separate lamp.
A handle made for lifting
- What we chose
- A safe-lift handle on the compact body.
- What it cost
- The handle shapes the whole form, so it had to be part of the design from the start.
The panel
The display and its guided Weld Assist start screen. Press an image to open it full size.
Recognised by Red Dot
The Master M 350 family won a Red Dot Design Award in Product Design 2023, in the welding machine category. The jury praised its design ideas for safety, efficiency and convenience.
- Red Dot 2023Product Design awardWelding machine category
- 6In-house designers creditedMiikka Hurmalainen, Jari Kettunen, Omkar More, Mikko Aresalo, Hannu Kangaskoski, Airi Vilpanen
- C-AdviceExternal designTimo Ahtiainen, Lahti
The official entry
Red Dot lists the product, the manufacturer and the full design credits on its own page.
What I took from it
What this taught me about the product
A guided setup is a small act of delegation: the machine proposes, the welder decides.
- The proposal has to be visible and easy to change, or it stops being help.
- The same idea carried from MasterTig to Master M, which is how a design language grows.
In motion
Films from Kemppi. They load from YouTube when you press play.