Robotic welding helps compete in the global market

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 and fabrication techniques to be developed for space program

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

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...

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.