Wisconsin college employs virtual-reality welding simulator

Pretty nifty...this setup allows welders to practice and develop techniques without burning gas or materials.

Eau Claire, Wis. — A digital welding simulator that could also help expand the use of virtual reality in several educational programs was demonstrated on Wednesday at Chippewa Valley Technical College.

The Virtual Reality Welding Trainer, which was co-developed by the visual technology firm VRSim and computing firm Silicon Graphics lets students gain hours of welding experience without using up expensive metal supplies, while allowing detailed critiques.

"In a nutshell, it is a mechanism by which we take virtual reality – things from the gaming industry – and apply them to manufacturing and welding," said Judson O’Hair, professional services representative for SGI’s manufacturing area.

"They grab the welding torch and get themselves positioned, pull the trigger, see the flame and move along that path," O’Hair said. "When they get to where they want to stop they release the trigger and see where the weld is in the 'metal' as it goes from red to grey."

Read the rest of this piece over Wisconsin Technology Network.

Flightglobal.com: NASA funds rapid hybrid welding/forging

Interesting stuff from FlightGlobal.com.

A hybrid welding and forging process that joins dissimilar metals in a second has been developed with funding from NASA, which is interested in using the technique for Moon base fabrication.

The Michigan Research Institute, NASA and Michigan-based engineering company Delphi have developed the deformation resistance welding (DRW) process and claim it can produce welds that are stronger than the parent metals.

In DRW, welding electrodes are placed around the area to be welded. The electrodes pulse electricity into the weld area. This brings the metal to be joined almost to melting temperature. Then force is applied rhythmically to deform and merge the mating surfaces.

DRW can join tubes to solids and sheet metal. Unlike conventional welding technologies it does not need a gas environment or consumable. “We have welded cast iron and stainless steel together,” says Delphi’s new venture creation specialist Jayson Pankin. “We’ll have further combination testing and for leak-tight welds. We are working to scale up the process for production.” The process, he claims, will also limit or stop potential causes of galvanic corrosion that could weaken the weld.

California inmates may get underwater welding courses

Interesting...

According to the Ontario Daily Bulletin, Inmates will have the opportunity to learn the underwater welding trade if a job-training program canceled years ago at the state prison in Chino returns later this year. The program was shut down years ago due to cost concerns.

This is extensively valuable training. Costs to learn it from a private school run into thousands of dollars.

According to the paper, "The training was led by former U.S. Navy divers, who taught inmates in an outdoor swimming pool. They learned the different welding techniques for underwater use and proper care for the specialized equipment needed to perform the work."

Troubleshooting the GMAW Process: This month's AWS Journal

Although many people tout gas metal arc welding (GMAW) as an "all-in-one" solution, that doesn't mean it's a magic remedy for eliminating your welding problems. this article examines common pitfalls encountered during the normal course of GMA welding, along with trusted ways to correct them. More here...

Porosity
Porosity is a small pocket of gas caught in the weld metal that can appear at any specific point on the weld or along its full length. This discontinuity — whether internal or on the surface of the weld bead — significantly weakens the structural integrity of any weld. Inadequate shielding gas coverage is a common cause of porosity and is easily corrected by taking some or all of the following measures.

Welding gas-filled balloon explodes in Super Bowl celebration mishap

A Colorado sheriff says "it's amazing" no one was killed Sunday in a Super Bowl celebration that didn't go quite as planned.

A couple planning their own pyrotechnics accidentally blew up their car on their way to a party to watch the game.

They'd filled a balloon with acetylene, a flammable gas used in welding. The balloon rolled across the backseat and authorities theorize static electricity set it off.

Not the best plan! Read more here...

"Dying career" welding makes a comeback...

According to this article, welding has been a "dying career" that's now making a comeback. The idea that welding was dying as a career probably comes from the depletion of manufacturing welding jobs coupled with increased automation. But I'm not sure it was fair to call that decline in the face of construction welding, fabrication, and maintenance welders doing pretty well -- and wages still being good. Welding schools are still pumping out welders who are mostly doing well in the job market.

Dying? No. Comeback? To a degree.

Welders are in demand now, and have been for a while, so we'll see where this heads.