JANUARY 201328

FABTECH 2012

With a supersized welding productmarketplace, full­on professionalprogram, and countless networkingopportunities, Las Vegas attendeescould bet the house they’d findsomething to enhance their careers atthis year’s show

BY ANDREW CULLISON, KRISTIN CAMPBELL, CARLOS GUZMAN, AND MARY RUTH JOHNSEN

ANDREW CULLISON (cullison@aws.org) is publisher, KRISTIN CAMPBELL (kcampbell@aws.org) is associate editor, and MARY RUTH JOHNSEN (mjohnsen@aws.org) is editor of the Welding Journal. CARLOS GUZMAN (cguzman@aws.org) is editor, Welding Journal en Español.

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Monday, November 12Annual Business Meeting Convenes. William Arent,

director of economic and urban development, Las Vegas Rede-velopment Agency, welcomed the American Welding Societyto the city of Las Vegas, noting the city has a population of600,000, with another two million in the surrounding area. Chal-lenges still exist in the manufacturing and construction sectors,but he sees opportunities developing in both of those areas. “Itis time to dwell on the positive,” he said. “Manufacturing in theUnited States is still the strongest in the world.”

The 93rd business meeting of the American Welding Soci-ety was called to order by AWS President William Rice. Digni-taries from 15 sister organizations in the United States and fromaround the world were recognized. President Rice then notedthis has been a very good year for the American Welding Soci-ety. He went on to list some of the Society’s achievements dur-ing 2012. In that list were the continuing development of Amer-ican Welding Online (AWO), a series of online courses for ed-ucation and certification programs; AWS hosting the Interna-tional Institute of Welding’s 65th Annual Assembly, which at-tracted 800 attendees from 49 countries; scouts all over thecountry earning the Boy Scout welding merit badge, the devel-opment of which was spearheaded by AWS; the success of thetraveling Careers in Welding trailer, which has exposed thou-sands of young people to welding; and the Society’s move intoa new World Headquarters, which had its grand opening thispast November.

President-elect Nancy Cole spoke of the shortage of weldersthat still plagues many industries. “To meet this shortage, wehave to improve the image of welding, invite new faces into theprofession, and get the word out of the good pay and opportu-

nities that exist,” she said. “Women have been underutilized incombating this shortage,” she continued. “I will celebratewomen in welding and encourage more to enter the professionduring my presidency.” Cole noted the many past and presentachievements of women who have advanced their careersthrough welding.

Adams Lecture. Professor Sindo Kou (Fig. 1) of the Uni-versity of Wisconsin, Madison, has spent much of his careerstudying fluid flow and solidification of the weld pool. Funda-mental research at the university has demonstrated the follow-

FABTECH 2012 defied the Las Vegas odds andcame up a winner. Attendance for the three­dayevent was a robust 25,903, and the combined netsquare footage for the exhibition was 465,330.Crowds and optimism marked FABTECH, which washeld Nov. 12–14, in Las Vegas, Nev. On the weldingside, 522 exhibitors occupied 174,129 sq ft.Although uncertainties still exist in the economy,many manufacturers see an improving growth ratein 2013.

In addition to the exhibitions, there was a fullarena of educational opportunities throughout thethree days. More than 100 conferences, seminars,technical presentations, and keynote speakerswere offered to the attendees. One discussion thatgarnered a standing­room only crowd featured apanel of experts who offered an analysis on thepresidential election result and how it may affectmanufacturing in 2013. A roundup of that analysisis reported later in this article. Following is a day­by­day review of the show’s highlights.

Fig. 1 — During this year’s Adams Lecture, Prof. SindoKou related how fluid flow and solidification duringwelding dominate the fusion zone of the resultant weld.

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ing: Computer models capable of calculating the weld-poolshape; visualization of Marangoni flow, including its reversaland oscillation; a theory on the effect of surface-active agentbeyond Heiple’s; quenching of the weld pool to reveal the mi-crostructure development during welding; suppression of solid-ification cracking with a wavy crack path; weakening of the par-tially melted zone by severe grain-boundary segregation; pre-diction and elimination of liquation-cracking susceptibility; fun-damental concepts regarding dissimilar filler metals; andmacrosegregation mechanisms beyond Savage’s.

The full text of Kou’s lecture was published in the Novem-ber 2012 Welding Journal beginning on page 287-s.

The AWS/SkillsUSA U.S. Invitational Weld Trials.Eleven competitors from five countries competed throughoutthe exposition in the AWS/SkillsUSA U.S. Invitational WeldTrials. Attendees witnessed firsthand the competition spreadover four days of welding using multiple welding processes. Thejudging criteria comprised safety, print reading, penetrationand fusion, distortion control, selection of filler metal, manipu-lative skills, destructive and nondestructive testing, welding ma-chine parameter setting, and general appearance of the proj-ect. Some of the welding required X-ray reviews and hydrostaticpressure tests to 1000 lb/in.2 to verify the integrity and qualityof the welds.

Six national SkillsUSA welder finalists (Fig. 2) competedalongside five international welders representing Australia,Canada, United Kingdom (2), and Russia.

The top three U.S.A. competitors were 1st place winner AlexPazkowski from Washtenaw Community College; 2nd place An-drew Cardin from Valley Technical High School; and 3rd placeTanner Tipsword from Wyoming College. The overall top threefinishers were Alex Pazkowski (Gold), Andrew Cardin (Silver),and Canadian Nick Kitt (Bronze).

The top three U.S.A. competitors will advance to a “tuneup” at the AIDT Training Center in Mobile, Ala., a division ofthe Alabama Department of Commerce that encourages eco-nomic development through job-specific training. Past Tea-mUSA welding medalists will train the three finalists to giveTeamUSA the best chances of earning a medal in Germany.These top three welders will compete for the final TeamUSA

position during the 2013 Daytona 500 Speedweek. That winnerwill not only represent the United States at the 42nd World-Skills Competition in Leipzig, Germany, July 2–7, but will alsoreceive a $40,000 scholarship from the Miller Electric Mfg. Co.,administered through the AWS Foundation.

Tuesday, November 13Plummer Memorial Education Lecture. Professor

Yoni Adonyi, LeTourneau University, Longview, Tex., deliveredthe Plummer Lecture for 2012 — Fig. 3. His talk was titled Weld-ing Engineering Education and Training — National and Inter-national Perspectives — Confessions of a PhD Who Can Weld.

From his formal educational beginning in Romania to hisPhD in welding engineering from The Ohio State University,Adonyi has led a life of varied experiences. His welding experi-ences began in the summers between college semesters andwere enhanced while in the Israeli military, where he becameproficient with the GTAW process welding aluminum.

Knowing how to weld has made him a better teacher. “Thepractical experience I learned from gas tungsten arc weldingmade me better aware of the fundamentals of the process andwhere improvements could be made,” he said.

His teaching career began when he became aware of an open-ing at LeTourneau University. Even though he was on a suc-cessful career path working in the research department of U.S.Steel at the time, he was willing to take a 40% pay cut to teach.“It was a calling I felt I had to fulfill,” he said. “It was an op-portunity to give back to society.” Adonyi was also concernedabout the lack of qualified welding engineers in the workforce.He cited statistics from a survey that indicated only 30% ofthose in industry who hold the title of welding engineer havethe educational background for that position. This group lack-ing in formal education for a welding engineer included me-chanical engineers and materials engineers, as well as welderswho have come up through the ranks.

His mission is to improve those statistics, but he feels for-mal education is under attack in the information age. “There isso much information available on the Internet that some mis-take this as enough for a formal education,” he said. “They thinkall knowledge can be accessed electronically,” he continued. In

Fig. 2 — The U.S.A. instructors are (back row, from left to right) Stan Nichols, Glenn Kay, Scott Holcomb, Dan Rivera,Matt Hayden, and Christian Beaty. The U.S.A. participants are (front row, left to right) Tanner Tipsword (3rd place inthe U.S.A. competition), Alex Pazkowski (1st place in the U.S.A. competition and Gold Medal overall), Jordan Decker,Andrew Cardin (2nd place in the U.S.A. competition and Silver Medal overall), Drew Swafford, and Michael Miller.

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reality, education requires discipline anddirect instruction. He uses electroniccommunication to enhance learning, butplaces an emphasis on appealing to a stu-dent’s sense of reasoning. It is not justfinding the information, but he encour-ages processing the information.

Adonyi also spoke of some myths ofresearch vs. teaching that need debunk-ing. There is sometimes in academia thethinking that research is fun and teach-ing is boring, or research is just a money-making proposition, or teachers don’tknow how to do research. “I say teach-ing feeds on new research and researchcan’t exist without good teaching. Bybeing a teacher and a researcher, I havehelped to improve the curriculum and be-come much more aware of all the aspectsof the discipline,” he said.

As a teacher, he hopes to leave alegacy of adding value to the welding in-dustry and being a part of the solution.

Washington Insiders Evaluatethe Impact of Election Results onU.S. Manufacturing. A packed audi-ence formed at the North FABTECHTheater for “Post-Election Analysis:How the Results Impact U.S. Manufac-turing” held exactly one week after elec-tion day.

Paul Nathanson, a founding partnerat the Policy Resolution Group, moder-ated the event at which Omar S.Nashashibi, a partner at The FranklinPartnership, LLP, and David Goch, apartner at Webster, Chamberlain &Bean, served as panelists — Fig. 4.

The session kicked off withNashashibi detailing how PresidentBarack Obama won a second term andthe votes earned from various demo-graphics. As for what will happen next,considering the lame duck session ofCongress, one of the many issues is theframework regarding $109 billion in au-tomatic spending cuts.

In addition, Nathanson mentionednot wanting to fall off the fiscal cliff. Itis expected the 113th Congress will tacklenumerous important issues next year.

“We are hoping for a comprehensivetax reform,” Nashashibi said. Goch alsobelieves Obama’s second term will be acollective legacy with Congress and thepresident working together.

At the end, Nathanson spoke aboutworkforce development. Nashashibi feelsconnecting community colleges withworkplaces and bringing parents into fa-cilities are essential. Goch adds educa-tion should be a national strategic initia-tive, not a social issue. “The long-termvalue is enormous,” Goch said.

Women Celebrate Their Contri­butions to the Gases and WeldingIndustries. The Women in Gases andWelding Network (WGW) got its startwith the GAWDA organization and isnow a collaboration between AWS andGAWDA. At this reception duringFABTECH, AWS President-Elect NancyCole stated that industry needs to get theword out to women about the many op-portunities available in the gases andwelding industries. She shared stories

about women currently working in a va-riety of welding-related fields who are ex-cellent role models.

Emily DeRocco, former president,The Manufacturing Institute, NationalAssociation of Manufacturers, noted thatthe number of women in manufacturingis still low — Fig. 5. “Women hold lessthan 25% of STEM (science, technology,engineering, and mathematics) jobs, in-cluding in manufacturing and energy,”she said. According to the U.S. Dept. ofCommerce in 2011, “The number ofwomen in executive positions was 11%in the durable goods category, and 13%in nondurable goods. However, the num-ber of women-owned businesses in man-ufacturing has doubled in the last

Fig. 3 — Professor Yoni Adonyi, Le­Tourneau University, presentedthe Plummer Lecture.

Fig. 4 — Moderator Paul Nathanson along with panelists Omar S. Nashashibiand David Goch (on stage, from left) led “Post­Election Analysis: How theResults Impact U.S. Manufacturing.”

Fig. 5 — Emily DeRocco, formerpresident of The ManufacturingInstitute, said she hoped to seegrowth in the number of womeninvolved in manufacturing be­cause it offers them opportunitiesfor well­paid, skilled jobs.

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Wednesday, November 14Thomas Lecture. David Bolser of The Boeing Co., St.

Louis, Mo., gave this year’s Thomas Lecture, “Standards forFriction Stir Welding Aluminium” — Fig. 6.

He identified friction stir welding (FSW), patented by TWILtd., England, in 1991, as a solid-state welding process that pro-duces high-quality welds in difficult-to-weld materials.

When increased FSW use created the need for a U.S. stan-dard, AWS published D17.3/D17.3M:2010, Specification for Fric-tion Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys for Aerospace Applications.Also, when increased FSW use created the need for an ISOstandard, Bolser was asked to lead a working group to write thisspecification. In detail, he described the five parts of ISO 25239,Friction stir welding — Aluminium, including vocabulary; designof weld joints; qualification of welding operators; specificationand qualification of welding procedures; and quality and in-spection requirements.

In summary, Bolser stated the adoption of FSW standardsrepresents a significant leap in the technology readiness levelof the process and its ability to move into production. Duringthe Q&A portion, he offered good advice; the team leader workshard with committee members to put together a standard, sothree-day meetings are best, and have someone who knows thesystem tutor you.

10th Annual Image of Welding Award WinnersHonored. The American Welding Society (AWS) and theWelding Equipment Manufacturers Committee (WEMCO) rec-ognized the recipients of the 2012 10th Annual Image of Weld-ing Awards during a ceremony at FABTECH — Fig. 7. The win-ners are as follows.

• Individual Category, Ernest D. Levert, Dallas, Tex. Levert,the senior staff manufacturing engineer for Lockheed MartinMissiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Tex., is a past AWS presidentand an AWS Counselor. He has averaged more than 1100 h ofvolunteer service to the Boy Scouts of America and local schoolseach year.

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decade.” She said manufacturing is stillwhere high-skilled, high-level, high-paid,middle-class jobs can be found, butwomen have made up only 2.5% of theskilled trades over the past 30 years.

“Two things need to be done,” shesaid. “Manufacturers need highly skilledworkers and workers — male and female— need training for skilled jobs.”

Two new scholarships for women wereannounced during the reception. AirProducts and the AWS Foundation arejointly establishing a $50,000 scholarshipto help enable women to develop theskills required to pursue technical ca-reers. The first annual $2500 scholarshipwill be awarded this year to a woman pur-suing higher education in a welding orengineering discipline, who has provento be an exceptional student and is eagerto start her career in the industry.

“We are excited about coming to-gether with the AWS to provide thisscholarship opportunity to women for thebenefit of our industry,” said Sue Reiter,

regional distributor sales manager at AirProducts and a member of the WGWstrategic committee. “This scholarshipprogram supports not only Air Products’future employment needs, but also thecreation of a workforce with the skillsnecessary to help companies compete intoday’s global economy.”

The William F. Fray National Womenin Welding Scholarship will also beawarded through the AWS Foundation.Fray was a life member of AWS andowner of a stainless steel tank fabrica-tion company in Bridgeport, Conn. Hisdaughter, Elizabeth (Liz) Fray, who ranthe organizational side of the tank com-pany for 20 years, wanted to honor herfather. The $50,000 endowment will po-vide an annual award of $2500. The firstaward will be made after November ofthis year. Liz Fray decided to create ascholarship specifically for women be-cause there was not one in place previ-ously, and her focus is to encourage andsupport women toward a welding career.

Fig. 6 — David Bolser explained thefive parts of ISO 25239, Friction stirwelding — Aluminium, during hisThomas Lecture.

Fig. 7 — Pictured at the 2012Image of Welding Awards (fromleft) are winners Ernest D. Levert(Individual); David Parker (Educa­tor); Allie Reynolds (Distributor,WELSCO); David Corbin (LargeBusiness, Vermeer Corp.); andGlenn Kay (Educational Facility,Washtenaw Community College).

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For the machine shop that needs anall-inclusive fluid filtration and recyclingsystem, the SumpDoc from Eriez® is oncall. Just introduced this year at IMTS,this machine can be moved from sump tosump with an attached motorized pallet— Fig. 8. A fully automated system firstremoves sludge and chips from the sump,then filters out particulates down to 3 mi-crons in size and separates oils. While thecoolant recycles, the oils are collected in

a disposable tank. The clean coolant isanalyzed and mixed with water in threedifferent levels of concentration, de-pending on the needs of the operation.Since this is all happening in a continu-ous loop, there is no need to shut downthe operation. This equipment is eco-nomically feasible for an operation with ten sumps or more. Eriez®,www.eriez.com

The BW5000 (Fig. 9) from Climax isdesigned for circumferential weldcladding, and it can operate at 100% dutycycle with a compatible CV power sup-ply. Pipes, pressure vessels, and even con-ical shapes are within its capabilities.

Weld deposits of 0.125 to 0.35 in. thickcan be made at up to a 12 lb/h rate. Theunit can also weld flange faces and coni-cal seats. It takes welders out of difficultand hard-to-reach situations, as well asremoves them from fume concentrationsin confined areas. Climax Portable Ma-chining & Welding Systems, www.climaxportable.com

A first-time exhibitor at FABTECH,Hex-Hut is out to introduce its portableshelter system to the U.S. market. Thenine-year-old company has been activemostly in Canada in the oil and gas in-

33WELDING JOURNAL

• Educator Category, David Parker, Renton, Wash. Parker, aninstructor at Renton Community College for more than 30 years,received several awards including the statewide, 2001 Excel-lence in Teaching Award by the Washington Association of Oc-cupational Educators. He has also helped companies set up cur-riculums for training welders.

• Educational Facility, Washtenaw Community College (WCC),Ann Arbor, Mich. WCC’s welding/fabrication facility has 60newly redesigned welding booths. With a staff of industry-ex-perienced and AWS-certified instructors, it offers certificateand associate degree welding programs. WCC student weldersrepresented the U.S.A. at the last two WorldSkills competitionsand brought home medals both times.

• Small Business, AMET, Inc., Rexburg, Idaho. AMET, startedin 1989, offers turnkey automated welding systems. It has beenan integrator of computerized welding systems to meet de-manding applications in nuclear, aerospace, oil and gas, windtower, heavy industry, and general manufacturing industries.

• Large Business, Vermeer Corp., Pella, Iowa. Since its startin 1948, Vermeer has grown from a one-person Iowa operation

to an international organization that manufactures agricultural,construction, environmental, and industrial equipment. It hasstarted facilitating plans for a career academy, enlisting the as-sistance of area educational institutions.

• Distributor, WELSCO, Little Rock, Ark. WELSCO, the largestwoman-owned gas and welding supply distributor in the UnitedStates, is also a family business that has served the market formore than 70 years. It sponsors the Arkansas Welding Expo andoffers process training sessions for instructors during the sum-mer breaks.

• AWS Section, Houston Section, Houston, Tex. The AWSHouston Section sponsors various events throughout the year,including an instructor’s institute, student certification day,spring and fall educational sessions, and student nights. Thisyear, it awarded eight welding scholarships totaling $8500.

• Media, Meghan Boyer, “Help Wanted, Skills Required.” Pub-lished in the February 2012 FF Journal, Boyer’s article “HelpWanted, Skills Required,” focuses on manufacturers’ need forworkers, Americans who need jobs, and the skills gap keepingthem apart.

Fig. 8 — An attached motorizedpallet facilitates moving the Eriez®SumpDoc to different locations.

Fig. 9 — The BW5000 is designedfor weld cladding circular surfacesboth inside and outside diameters.

Fig. 10 — A lightweight support at­taches directly to the pipe to holdthe Hex­Hut shelter.

Of course, the products and vendors are FABTECH’s biggestdraw. Following are just a few of those that drew the attentionof Welding Journal editors.

Welding ProductShowcase

FABTECH 2012

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dustry. The frame that supports theflame-retardant material of the shelterattaches directly to the pipe (Fig. 10) andcan be configured to meet differentslopes or elevations. Setup is done withpins and lanyards, eliminating the needfor special tools or hardware. Three dif-ferent sizes are available weighing 139,167, and 213 lb to accommodate pipesizes from 3 to 56 in. Hex-Hut, www.hex-hut.com

The Warrior power source fromESAB was literally unveiled atFABTECH — Fig. 11. This new intro-duction took a fast track for developmentrequiring only ten months. By workingdirectly with welders, the company gotquick feedback with prototypes that weretested in the field. What welders said theywanted was a machine easy to use, withsimple controls, robust enough for toughworking conditions, and performance.ESAB claims to have incorporated thiswish list into the Warrior. All controls,as well as the power switch, are accessi-ble on the front of the machine, and theknob design takes into account the wear-ing of gloves. It is a multiprocess machinethat performs FCAW, GMAW, GTAW,SMAW, and arc gouging. The unit can de-liver up to 500 A at 60% duty cycle, andit can be used in general fabricationunder roof, or outdoors in remote loca-tions. ESAB, www.esabna.com

A new promotion for Motoman is itsMC2000 robot intended for high accu-racy laser cutting — Fig. 12. The gear de-sign has taken out the “backlash,” allow-ing repeatability within 0.07 mm accu-racy in cutting rectangles, ellipses, pen-tagons, hexagons, and circles. This six-axis robot can handle up to a 50-kg pay-load. In addition to cutting, it can also beused for welding. Yaskawa America, Inc.,Motoman Robotics Div., www.mo-toman.com

The FIT RITE system consists of fix-tures designed to optimize the speed andaccuracy of pipe fits. The system’s inven-tor, Kayworth Mann, said the idea for theprecision pipe fitting system came to himin a dream. He had been working as aconsultant on a job and felt that becauseof the time spent fitting pipe some prof-its had been lost. That bothered him, sohe began thinking of another way. Thesystem’s primary fixture is the fitting cra-dle that holdes pipe or flanges and thefitting rests to properly position align-ment — Fig. 13. Included are two fittingcradles; one fitting rest each for pipe nip-ple, short pipe, T, short radius elbow, and45-deg elbow; and a patented tri-spacerfor alignment of spacing. The tri-spacercan also be used to adjust roundness ofthe pipe or tube. The system comes in

sizes ranging from 1⁄2 through 12 in. nom-inal. Universal fixtures are available insizes ranging from 14 in. through 24-in.nominal. Fixtures for pipe from 26 to 72in. can be produced by special order. FitRite, www.fitritefast.com

Lincoln Electric introduced its latestvirtual reality arc welding training prod-uct during this year’s show. TheVRTEX® Mobile (Fig. 14) deliversbasic, entry-level training. It comes witha preinstalled basic GMAW package pro-viding training for flat plate, 2F and 3Fjoints, and 1G, 2G, and 3G grooves. ASMAW package is optional. The virtualSMAW device is at a fixed 90-deg angle.It comes with a monoscopic, face-mounted display with touchscreen userinterface, and a tabletop coupon stand.Deanna Postlethwaite, marketing man-ager, Automation Div., said, “What wefound with the first (VRTEX™ 360 sys-tem,) was that people were moving it allthe time, and it wasn’t really designed forthat.” The new smaller, less expensive,more basic version offers the mobilitycustomers were looking for. The LincolnElectric Co., www.lincolnelectric.com

A lot of people took a look at Baxter™during the show, and it seemed that it waslooking back at them — Fig. 15. Thebrainchild of Rodney Brooks, former di-rector of the artificial intelligence labo-ratory at MIT and one of the founders ofiRobot, Baxter is a robot with a some-what human appearance that can per-form a variety of production tasks whilesafely and intelligently working next topeople. A key feature is that anyone canprogram it. The robot “learns” its tasksthrough demonstrations of what it needsto do. It was designed with a safety sys-tem that allows it to work in close prox-

JANUARY 201334

Fig. 11 — The Warrior, a multi­process power source designed formany different applications, wasintroduced by ESAB.

Fig. 13 — The FIT RITE pipe fittingsystem, shown here with its inven­tor Kayworth Mann, providesflange alignment and bolt hole ori­entation in seconds and can beused in the shop or field.

Fig. 12 — The Motoman MC2000robot’s gear design allows re­peatability within 0.07­mm accu­racy.

Fig. 14 — The VRTEX® Mobile of­fers basic GMAW and SMAW vir­tual reality welder training, andcan be moved to wherever it’sneeded.

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imity to people in a production environ-ment with no barriers. No integration isrequired; it comes out of the box withhardware, software, controls, user inter-face, safety, and sensors. It can performa wide range of tasks incuding materialhandling, light assembly, loading/unload-ing, and testing and sorting. The robotfeatures two arms, each with seven axesof motion, built-in electric grippers, andfive cameras. It is priced at $22,000. Re-think Robotics, Inc., www.rethinkrobot-ics.com

The UDR-V2011 ultradynamic-rangeweld video camera system filters the lightfrom the arc to produce images in therange best seen by the human eye. Withthe system, it is possible to view the arc,electrode, weld pool, joint and surround-ing base metal before, during, and afterthe welding process live or record the im-ages for later use. Designed for use in au-tomated welding for weld quality assur-ance, and for development and setup ofweld processes. The system includes thecamera, laptop or desktop computer,software, and cables — Fig. 16. There isno need for physical filters, the softwareperforms the filtering function. It recordsthe full ultradynamic range of up to 10,000,000:1. InterTest, www.in-tertest.com

The LD-600R, a compact tilt/turn po-sitioner, handles pieces in excess of 1100lb six in. off the table — Fig. 17. Opera-tion is simple with standard foot switchand pendant controls, as well as an easy-to-read protractor dial indicator. It alsooffers a compact size (705 lb unit weight)and square footprint design. The posi-tioner can be used with GTA and GMAwelding machines. A new noise tolerancedesign reduces the impact generated dur-ing GTAW to ensure stable rotation. Thecompany’s exclusive antidust and spatterdesign allows stable operation. It is use-ful for users in pipefitting and petro-chemical industries along with boiler-makers. Options include a torch stand,automatic welding controller, and workchuck. Koike Aronson, Inc./Ransome,www.koike.com

The Powermax105® offers a 105-A airplasma system for hand and automatedcutting as well as gouging — Fig. 18. Itcuts 11⁄4-in.-thick metal and severs metalup to 2 in. thick. Based on the same tech-nology platform as the Powermax65 andPowermax85, the product represents fouryears of research, engineering, and test-ing. Also, it delivers faster cut speed, im-proved cut quality, and long consumablelife; seven torch options for cutting andgouging versatility, whether by hand, ma-chine, or robot; and patented Smart-Sense™ technology that automaticallyadjusts gas pressure and detects whenconsumables have reached end of life.Hypertherm, www.hypertherm.com

The HS-80, HS-165, and HS-200, com-bined with Panasonic’s G3 welding robot,position the material for welding to pro-vide a synchronized robotic system — Fig.19. They are available in 80-, 165-, and200-kg versions. The common pendantand language eliminates the need to learnextra robotic languages. The robots workin tandem to complete tasks. In addition,programming the weld position becomesas easy as working with a fixed workpiece,ensuring out-of-position welding isavoided. The material handling robotsoffer network capabilities with fully digi-tal communication protocol. They arealso useful for heavy equipment, automo-tive, and material handling industries.Miller Electric Mfg. Co., www.miller-welds.com

Jackson Safety’s autodarkening weld-ing helmets featuring Balder technologygive welders a clear view from various an-gles, reducing eye fatigue as well as the

35WELDING JOURNAL

Fig. 15 — Rethink Robotics de­signed its robot so anyone couldprogram it and so people couldwork near it without the need for asafety cage.

Fig. 17 — A new design in LD­600R,a portable multipurpose posi­tioner, reduces the impact of noisegenerated during GTAW ensuresstable rotation.

Fig. 18 — For cutting and gougingflexibility, the Powermax105® fea­tures seven torch options.

Fig. 19 — The G3 material handlingrobots, combined with Panasonic’sG3 welding robot, position the ma­terial for optimum welding.

Fig. 16 — The software of the UDR­V2011 digital weld video camerasystem filters out the light fromthe welding arc so users see a clearimage of the weld.

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need to move, adjust, and refocus. TheWH70 BH3 helmet with this technologyoffers enhanced visibility and colorrecognition, plus a variable shade (9–13),adjustable sensitivity, and opening timedelays — Fig. 20. It is especially usefulfor GMAW and GTAW. Improvementsover the HSL-100 include a curved frontcover plate for reduced heat buildup, re-flections, and fogging. The helmet has afive-year warranty. Kimberly-Clark Pro-fessional, www.kcprofessional.com

UltraBraze™ from Luvata is a newfurnace brazing alloy that promises to im-prove on alloys commonly used for thisapplication, such as pure copper (CDA102 or 110 alloy) or a paste mixture con-sisting of pure copper powder and abinder — Fig. 21. UltraBraze, which isapproximately 95% copper, is formu-lated to offer better wetting with reducedpuddling and run-off, automaticallyadapting to joint clearance variances toproduce more uniform welds. In tests,

shear strength associated with this newalloy increased more than 50%. Costs arereduced because there is no need to useflux or binders, and because the resultsare more consistent, there are less de-fects and rework. Luvata Ohio, Inc.,www.luvata.com/ohio

Walter Surface Technologies pre-sented the AF-WELD antispatter and AirForce Starter Kit that includes the use ofthe Air Force Station, four 2.6-gal con-tainers of AF-WELD liquid, and two re-fillable bottles — Fig. 22. The station re-fills the bottles with the antispatter liq-uid, and air is used as a propellant, mak-ing this a green system that eliminatesthe use of polluting propellants and dis-posable aerosol cans. The manufacturerasserts that AF-WELD prevents weldporosity, cracking, is corrosion resistant,and allows for immediate painting. Alarger kit is also available, including a 55-gal drum, six refillable bottles, and theAir Force Station. The station is includedin the kit free of charge but remains prop-erty of the manufacturer. Walter SurfaceTechnologies, www.walter.com

Engineers, purchasing professionals,and facilities managers can convenientlyfind suppliers, source products, and ac-cess CAD models and product news byvisiting the new ThomasNet.com Website. The new Product Search platform(ps.thomasnet.com) enables users to findspecific components and products.Thomas has aggregated detailed infor-mation and line item detail for more than

100 million parts from more than 30,000suppliers. Product Search allows users tospecify the product they are looking forusing taxonomy-powered search and nav-igation features. Specifiers can find theproduct that meets their requirements bydefining precise product attributes suchas applications, materials, dimensions,and tolerances. The new site also makesit easier for buyers to find local suppli-ers, quality certified suppliers, and com-panies that meet their supplier diversityrequirements. ThomasNet, www.thomas-net.com

StoodCor™ 136 by Stoody is a newcarbide deposit that produces chromiumand fine primary carbides in an austeniticmatrix — Fig. 23. It’s designed to be usedas an erosion- and corrosion-resistantalloy deposit for hardfacing and claddingapplications, and its ability to resist highabrasion in a corrosive environmentmakes it especially suitable for hardfac-ing and cladding slurry pipe, plate, andvessels found in mixing, mining and quar-rying industries. Stoody, Victor Tech-nologies International, Inc., www.victortechnologies.com/stoody

See You in ChicagoThe 2013 FABTECH will be held at

McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill., Novem-ber 18–21. It will be North America’slargest welding, metalforming, and fab-ricating event in 2013. For more infor-mation, visit www.aws.org/expo.♦

JANUARY 201336

Fig. 20 — The WH70 BH3 helmetwith Balder technology improveswelders’ vision.

Fig. 21 — Luvata presented its newfurnace brazing alloy, UltraBraze,designed to overcome the chal­lenges of large joint clearancesteel­to­steel brazing.

Fig. 23 — StoodCor™ 136 is anopen­arc wire suited for IDcladding of pipe. It provides botherosion and corrosion resistance tomeet the needs of slurry trans­portation applications.

Fig. 22 — The Air Force AF­WELDStarter Kit includes four 2.6­galcontainers, two refillable bottles,and the Air Force Station.

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