Welding News - Welders Analysis

Geeking out about welding

2008-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, you have to like a science fiction movie that mostly features welders.

A roundup of online welding tutorials

2007-12-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

I have checked these out, and recommend the following spots for learning more about welding. Sometimes, you'll have to use multiple sites to get a good grasp on all the aspects of mig welding.

Of course, Amazon welding books are an excellent way to get started. I have several of these. They have an enormous selection of welding books (tried lately to find anything good at the local bookstore?). Check them out.

I like the Expert Village's mig welding video series. Mike Rogers does a good job and there are 15 different videos. I've never been one for overly long online videos, but these are well done and not long enough that you'll get the urge to browse away.

The Fabricator has a good one, "Mig welding -- the basics and then some". Check at the end; they link to even more how-to mig weld articles.

The Instructables is a newer site (at least to me) with a good illustrated guide to mig welding. They qualify it with "This instructable is not intended to be THE definitive guide on MIG welding, for that you might want to seek out a a more comprehensive guide from a professional. Think of this instructable as a guide to get you started MIG welding. Welding is a skill that needs to be developed over time, with a piece of metal in front of you and with a welding gun/torch in your hands."

(And that's good advice for any online learning. The web is a good place to start, but in no way should it be the end-point of your welding training journey).

What kind of jobs are welders getting, and where?

2007-11-10T15:53:00.001-08:00

Projected to 2006 (so just a bit out of date, but still pretty solid), the American Welding Society is saying that there will be 393,701 welding jobs in the United States, most of them in a few states, and many of them concentrated in just a few industries.

Fabricators are the single largest employer of welders, at 10%+ of the total. That bears out what many people see--the lines of fab shops in any industrial district in any town in the country bear witness. These are pretty good jobs, but are often smaller companies which have both advantages and drawbacks.

7% of welders are self-employed. It's nice working for yourself, but it can be stressful not knowing who's writing you a check in two months, once a gig is up. After that, we are looking at automotive ( both body shops and repairs and manufacturing), about 6% and then construction for 3%.

Better in Texas?

Near-bouts, two out of five welders were employed in six states: Texas, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois. Pretty much tracks to the largest states with manufacturing bases, but in this economy a good hand with a welding rod can find work anyplace.

Welding videos

2007-11-03T13:44:00.001-07:00

Over at Expert Village, they have a nice series of mig welding videos from Mike Rogers that you should check out. There are 75 related videos linked from there, so it's worth a look.

Miller giving away $17,000 worth of welding swag

2007-10-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

Check out http://www.millerwelds.com/ultimate.

The grand prize winner also getsa special training session with a Miller expert conducted at the closest Miller Regional Training Center, with the travel costs included. To get in on this, you gotta go to your local welding distributor and get a promo code. Then you register that at the link above. The package includes, among other things:

Trailblazer 302 welder/generator
Suitcase X-TREME 12VS wire feeder
Millermatic 252 all-in-one MIG welder
Spectrum 375 X-TREME portable plasma cutter
Dynasty 200 DX AC/DC TIG welder

Gives you an excuse to go to shopping, even if you' don't win the contest.

Spectra-Curtain transparent welding curtain allows outside light into a welding booth to help the welder’s vision

2007-10-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Looks like a nice, portable solution for quite a few welding applications.

The Spectra Orange See-Thru Curtain filters welding arc images and all far U.V. radiation and blue light, while transmitting outside light into the welding booth.

The company said the Spectra Curtain is designed for low to high amperages in electric arc welding, and can be used for MIG, TIG, arc, plasma and other high amperage welding arcs. It is designed for heavy duty workplaces.

Robotic welding helps compete in the global market

2007-10-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

If you're a welder, the high-level view that stuff that reduces the number of welders drawing paychecks is needed to help the U.S. compete isn't exactly something you want to hear. After all, right now, with companies chasing mig welders with bonuses and incentives, it sure doesn't seem like it's time to spend money on automation.

But the reality might be that the more manufacturing we can automate, the more jobs there will be.

"In order to be competitive with Mexico and China and some of the other countries, some companies have started bringing in automation. It helps them both increase their production, as well as higher quality to help them compete," is what Tennesse Rand Vice President Don Peters says. And there is some truth. Most of what we see from Asia isn't because it's better. It's because labor is cheap. Automation cuts that advantage away. And while that might cut the number of welders in some areas, there are jobs that will always require a human hand--no matter how much they automate.

New welding standard listed for aerospace manufacturing

2007-01-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

News...

A new American National Standard from the American Welding Society (AWS) covers resistance welding methods for metals used in the manufacture of aviation and aerospace equipment. AWS D17.2/ D17.2M:2007, Specification for Resistance Welding for Aerospace Applications, also details criteria for machine and procedure qualification and the inspection of aerospace hardware.

Lincoln's "How I did it" - some good stuff, but more detail needed

2007-01-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

If you grab a subscription to Lincoln's excellent iWeld newsletter, you got a link to the "how I did it" page of their website.

The page features welding projects from dozens of welders. The projects range from race car frames to hay bale handlers to bed frames to cactus shaped mailboxes. What would be really nice would be more project specifications to go along with the photographs. They have a nice start, but without the descriptions and project info, it's lacking.

New welding and fabrication techniques to be developed for space program

2007-01-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

Interesting stuff on welding and the space program.

Lots worth reading, but the cashew for welders is here:

"New welding and fabrication techniques will play a crucial role in development of the aeroshell, a protective shell encasing spacecraft that provides an aerodynamic surface and protection from intense temperatures during atmospheric travel; propellant tanks; and the Orion capsule.

A bonding technique known as friction stir welding, first used on the shuttle external tank in 2005, produces high-strength, defect-free joint welds and can uniformly weld materials together -- a vital requirement of next-generation launch vehicles and hardware that must endure long-term space travel. Composite fabrication, another innovative technology pursued by researchers, involves advanced fiber placement to strengthen construction of large, complex structures."

Free tungsten welding PDF for download

2007-01-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Check it out.

The book is self-described as: "intended to assist welders in selecting and preparing one of the most important and frequently overlooked welding process variables: the electrode. Welders can spend thousands of dollars on welding equipment, but if they do not select and prepare their electrodes with this less expensive process component properly, then their welding results can be poor, inconsistent, or problematic. This guide will help eliminate this variable as a concern in your welding and make it an asset."

Indiana Company gets a cool million to develop NASA welding process...

2007-01-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

According to Fort Wayne.com, Delphi Corporation will receive a grant of $1 million to develop, as the paper reports, "an advanced welding process for use in spacecraft and terrestrial vehicles."

The process, called deformation resistance welding, allows different materials and shapes to be welded together at a lower cost than traditional welding methods. It can be used to manufacture heavy load-bearing structures, mobile medical products and automobiles because of its ability to handle tube-to-tube and tube-to-sheet welding.

Interesting stuff indeed.

Lincoln announces material safety data sheet program

2006-12-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

This is a particularly good idea. You can sign up at the Lincoln Electric website for updates on all changes to Lincoln Electric's Material Safety Data Sheets. Lincoln will e-mail you weekly with a list of MSDS sheets that have been changed.

Product classes include Aluminum, Cast Iron & Non-Ferrous; Cut Length; Hardfacing; Mild and Low Alloy Steel; Flux-Cored; Mild and Low Alloy Steel Stick; Mild Steel and Low Alloy MIG; Miscellaneous; Stainless Steel; Submerged Arc. You can also elect to get website updates for Lincoln's products as well as its great welding safety page.

It's free -- and you can sign up right here...

Engineering Departments from Over 200 Companies to Benefit From Cost-Saving Online Weld Testing Simulations

2006-12-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

11/28/2006 - Columbus, Ohio -- Joining high performance computing (HPC) applications with small- and medium-sized companies is one step closer to reality as the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and the Edison Welding Institute (EWI) announced a partnership agreement today. As part of its innovative Blue Collar Computing initiative, OSC will provide remote portal access of HPC systems and software to EWI welding applications—a tremendous cost-saving resource that will reach engineers at over 200 companies.

Welding involves the complex interactions of a high number of physical processes. Integrated numerical simulation tools are needed to improve the performance of welded structures. Through OSC’s HPC application interface, engineers will easily be able to input product dimensions, welding process parameters and other specifications to conduct complete online simulations of welding procedures to determine the strength and viability of its prototypes.

The entire story is available at Edison Welding Institute...

Fatigue Crack Repair

2006-12-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

This thread in the Google Welding group is a pretty lively discussion on how to repair a structural crack in a chassis. (In this case for a backhoe).

I have a question of curiousity here. I have a backhoe with a fatigue
crack in the chassis. The chassis is made from rectangular mild steel
box section. The crack is where a piece of 6" x 2" x 1/4" box section
is welded to a piece of 4" x 2" x 1/4" box section at 90 degrees. The
crack is in the butt welded section and is about 1" long.

Someone else has tried to fix the crack once before. They appear to
have welded up the crack, then created a broad "patch" of weld metal
about 1" wide and 1/8" thick across the affected area. Their weld isn't
messy, but there's a lot of weld metal present. I don't know if this
was a sensible way to fix the crack, but it is just starting to
reappear again. I wonder if they didn't get complete penetration and
left a tiny depth of crack which has helped the crack to grow again.

The responses are all good, but the best one seems to capture the issue: drilling out the ends to relieve stress points.

One thing you're not mentioning that I consider a critical part of any
crack repair is to drill out the ends of the crack. You can plug weld
those holes as part of the repair process, but it is essential to get
rid of the stress concentration points at the end of the crack so it
does not continue/come back.

"TIg, Mig, or Fluxcore - now we have the welder's attention"

2006-11-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

That was a radio ad I heard several times today from Tulsa manufacturer John Zink Company. They promised quite a lot, but then promised a bit more to the right welder. Are you the right welder? They want people who are good at math. Who can read bluprints or CAD prints without having their hands held. This is the kind of skillset welders who really want stability and advancement.

The company advertises a boatload of welding opportunities on its website. Are you the right kind of welder? The kind willing to work as hard with your head as you are your hands? It's time to hone up more skills than just running a good bead. These are the kinds of jobs that are good for welders.

It's a good market for welders pretty much anyplace -- today. Companies like Zink who provide good benefits and don't put you to work in dirty, hot shops are the ones hiring the guys willing to make that extra effort.

2006-10-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Welder

Nifty video of a robotic welder, courtesy of Youtube...

University of New Orleans working on research to utilize robots to weld ship components

2006-10-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

One of the enduring issues in the U.S. shipbuilding industry has been a lack of qualified welders. There are never enough people to do the work.

“The shipbuilding industry can never find enough welders, and welding is a core competence of shipbuilding,” says Frank Bordelon, executive director of the UNO Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center (per Assembly Magazine).

In one angle of a solution, the the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has granted UNO $3.6 million to pursue tools to help develop robotic alternatives. Pretty interesting that we lay off craftsmen in shipyards, but can't seem to find enough welders...

Welding job market continues to be red-hot

2006-09-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

If you're a welder today, you're in demand. Welding schools can't churn out enough new welders to meet demand. Want ads feature pages of welding want ads. I've heard commercials on local radio that promise signing bonuses to welders. Articles around the country point to it -- demand is high and supply is low, especially for the kind of salty, experienced hand that can do the job right.

What does this mean to you? Depends on where you are in the cycle. If you're new, it's a great time because jobs will hunt you instead of you hunting them.

Although job growth in the welding profession is slower than average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are plenty of employment opportunities. New recruits are needed to fill positions vacated as the workforce retires, according to the Great Falls Tribune. Welders are paid an average of almost $15 an hour, so the market is good.

If you're a veteran, it's also a time to leverage your experience. You can negotiate at this point. You can get more out of it, and not just in base pay. You can get perks, bonuses, and benefits. If there was a company you always wanted to work for, you can angle into it now.

In all, even with job growth slowing, there are relatively fewer welding guys out there. Take advantage, though -- the pendulum is always swinging.

Researchers create welding setting algorithm

2006-09-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Researchers at Cardiff University’s Manufacturing Engineering Centre have developed an algorithm to work out the most efficient settings on welding systems and for the design of springs. Researchers claim the algorithm can be used to consider as many as to 3,000 variables, and is faster than existing methods of calculation. See more information over at www.weldingdesign.com.

A roundup of posts in Google's welding usergroup...

2006-08-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

I like to browse this for convversation, tips and info. This is the most recent & interesting welder's conversations over there....

Spray mode http://groups.google.com/group/sci.engr.joining.welding/browse_thread/thread/20a274da3401a2a
A little diamond wheel grinder that I put together http://groups.google.com/group/sci.engr.joining.welding/browse_thread/thread/cb2809f3534ee055
Air Compressor tank welding question
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.engr.joining.welding/browse_thread/thread/8db9c9f7c0745bf
Welding silicon bronze -- am I doing something wrong? http://groups.google.com/group/sci.engr.joining.welding/browse_thread/thread/d17009b663083576

Environmentally friendly MIG welding?

2006-08-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Welding is a fact in modern life. It touches just about everything everyone drives in, lives in, works with, or enjoys, but it isn't exactly "green" or optimized to save energy. It emits greenhouse gasses, and whether or not you believe that this is a big deal (I do), it's a good idea to conserve power and reduce pollutants from any activity done as broadly as welding is. The big heaping amounts of carbon dioxide MIG and GMAW use as shielding gasses and the power-hungry welders are a good market for someone who wants to market an idea, and maybe do some good.

The Ferret website is reporting on Australia's Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies efforts to inject some efficiency into welding by plunging $450,000 into a new company, MIGfast. They're trying to make welding contact tips that help make a weld take less time, which would naturally reduce energy use and gas emissions. The claim is that these tips would reduce the time by as much as half.

If they can do it, I know plenty of welders who'd use them whether they care about greenhouse gasses or not.

Orange County Chopper Visiting AirGas Branches

2006-08-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

If you're around, check out the schedule for this...

The Airgas "Future" Chopper was at the Lamar Airgas, located at 223 North Main Street, on July 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Chopper is visiting all the Airgas stores including Mexico and Canada," said Herrera.

Airgas is an official supplier of cutting and welding gases, welding consumables, and other industrial and MRO supplies to OCC, the nationally known designer of customized motorcycles.

Arc performance issues

2006-07-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

According to Lincoln Electric, these are the top concerns welders have withb arc performance are: (1) excellent starting performance, (2) the ability to weld at low amperages, (3) crater fill capabilities to end the weld with precise control and without the high frequency reestablishing, (4) a smooth, stable arc with minimal AC rectification across a wide welding range, and (5) expanded balance range to narrow the cleaning zone adjacent to the weld.

Tons of good info, and a bit of salesmanship can be found at Lincoln Electric.com. They use it to sell their new TIG model, but it's not all salesmanship. It's solid.

General Motors making a big push into laser welding

2006-07-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

From Laser World Focus, some news on GM's increased investment in laser welding and the efficiencies it can bring. Given the extremely difficult financial situation it's in, this makes sense. Europeans had been more inclined to automate and increase efficiency while American manufacturing giants have hesitated.

Laser welding is an excellent way to do this.

"By working together in the early stages of the vehicle design process, we can work with GM to maximize the benefits of laser-welded flat blanks and tubular structures," said Steven Prue, Noble president. "We believe this agreement provides us with the opportunity to drive the growth of the market for laser-welded structural components, thereby creating additional value for General Motors and their customers, as well as for Noble and its shareholders."

Let's hope this is one, tiny improvement that helps them on the path back.