Welding is in the news lately because Apple’s revamped iMac is relying on a welding process for its ultra thin construction. And if that’s a surprise, this won’t be: many states are working overtime to train welders as they anticipate a shortage of skilled welders in the very near future. Here are the links in this week’s welding round up:
Special Welding News
Apple’s iMac Uses Friction Stir Welding Process: The new ultra thin iMac isn’t
designed to be taken apart. “Conventional welding wouldn’t work, so the company switched to a process known as ‘friction-stir welding,’ which it says ‘uses a combination of intense friction-generated heat and pressure to intermix the molecules of the two aluminum surfaces — creating a seamless, precise, and
superstrong join.’”
College Welding Students Enlisted to Fight Copper Theft in Auburn: “A rash of copper thefts is costing the city of Auburn thousands of dollars. Thieves are targeting street lamps and wire boxes, stealing the copper and selling it. But the city has a plan to stop the thefts. The city is enlisting the help of local college
students to weld the wire boxes shut.”
Welding Industry
Lincoln Electric Introduces Welding Apparel for Women: “Thanks to Lincoln
Electric, female welders can stop rolling up the sleeves of their baggy men’s welding jackets and put away the giant gloves that are made for larger hands. The Jessi Combs line of welding gear is Lincoln Electric’s latest fusion of style and safety, offering welding apparel tailored – and sized – specifically for women.”
Hobart Upgrades Handler 140 Welder: “Hobart Welding announced that it has added several new upgrades to its popular Hobart Handler 140 wire feed welder… The upgraded welder now features an industrial cast aluminum wire drive system that provides durable, consistent wire feeding performance, along with a new five-position voltage control selector that increases arc control and a thermal protection indicator light that alerts the user if the welder is becoming overheated. A heavy-duty 200-amp work clamp rounds out the upgrades.”
Welding Jobs
Jackson Area Manufacturers Association received more than $40,000 to expand Academy for Manufacturing Careers’ education programs: Citing an expected shortage of certified welders, “The Jackson Area Manufacturers Association recently received more than $40,000 in grants to expand its K-12 educational programs through the Academy for Manufacturing Careers. The organization received $20,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Michigan Department of Education to expand the academy’s welding certificate training to 11th- and 12th-grade welding students in the Jackson area.”
Milwaukee Skilled Trades Prepare for Looming Worker Shortage: “James Buhrow will be the type of apprentice the skilled trades want: He’s an Army veteran with several years of college under his belt, and he likes working with his hands. In a few weeks, he will complete welding classes aimed at placing him into a pipe-fitters apprenticeship. Buhrow, from Waupaca, could then spend the next four years learning that trade through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training.”
Welding Education
Students Prepare for Hanford West Skills Expo: One student shared, “Seeing a flat
piece of metal being turned into something useful is really satisfying.” Their teacher added, “Let’s be realistic here; not all the students will go to a college or university, but a lot of students will at least go to a vocational school, so it’s good that they have these basic skills under their belt.”
Lively Technical Center in Tallahassee Celebrates 75 Years: “The school doesn’t offer basic math or science courses. Instead the focus is on giving students the
tools they need to succeed in technical fields, providing vocational training in multiple fields, including nursing, automobile repair, heating and cooling maintenance, massage therapy and welding.”
Welding Students Give Back through Cell Phone Collection Drive: “Cindy Galbavy, a welding instructor at Helena High School,… and 20 of her students in the Helena High School American Welding Society are finding creative ways to protect the local environment from contamination while supporting local service projects and children’s shelters around the country.”
Welding Gone Wrong
Man Badly Burnt in Welding Accident: “The man, 65, was taken to Royal Adelaide
Hospital with burns to his lower torso and hands… His injuries are not life-threatening and he is in a stable condition.”
Maine Welder Burns Down Garage: “A Main Street resident was working on a jeep
inside a garage Wednesday when a stray spark started a fire that eventually consumed the garage and narrowly missed destroying his home.”
