The invention relates to providing a hot wedge welding machine which may eliminate the thermal dampening that occurs to a welding element when the material to be welded is first introduced into the welding machine. The invention relates to cooling the welding element to stimulate a heating system to heat the welding element to the desired temperature. The artificial cooling stress provided by a cooling system is removed generally at the same time genuine cooling stress of the material is applied to the welding element. This results in the welding element maintaining a consistent temperature when the material is introduced into the welding machine.