Eric Stewart, Lincoln Electric’s global pipe welding technologist, demonstrates an STT machine to Local 40 apprentices.
Lincoln Electric demonstrates new technology during five-day seminar
THIRD AND FOURTH-year Local 40 apprentices attended an advanced welding techniques class at their training center in Elizabethtown, Ky., July 20-24.
A team of technical welding representatives from the Lincoln Electric Company, a leading manufacturer of welding and cutting products, demonstrated their company’s Waveform Control Technology®. According to Lincoln Electric, this technology allows the welder to quickly and easily adapt a single welding machine to support a wide range of welding processes, positions, and procedure to meet strength requirements.
During the class, Lincoln reps used the Power Wave 455/STT (Surface Tension Transfer) and Invertec V-350 Pro with Lincoln’s advanced process panel. They concentrated on stainless and mild steel to perform hands-on welding demonstrations using SMAW (Excalibur), GMAW (STT/Pulse), and FCAW (Ultra Core) processes. A Power MIG 350 MP was also used on aluminum and thinner wall materials.
Thirty-two apprentices attended the class, as well as Local 40 instructors Rick Hope, Jim Burton, Kenny Ritchie, and Calvin Minton. Conducting the class were Lincoln reps Bobby Delcoco, Robert Smith, Paul Tucker, and Eric Stewart. Rodney Ahrens, a certified welding inspector with Sterling Boiler Inc., assisted.
“Welding processes are changing, and with all the advanced technology and improvements made to the machines, we feel a higher level of training is extremely valuable to our apprenticeship program,” Hope explained. ”This technology now occupies a large concentration of Lincoln Electric’s business in the United States, so we must stay on top of it or we will lose out on future work. Local 40 wants to thank Lincoln Electric for making this class a possibility.”
