They need to develop a virtual electrode that will burn away to simulate a real E7018, as the newbie will no doubt long arc, as we all did, on the first successful strike of the arc that lasts long enough to deposit some of the filler across the arc to the base material.

Filthy Lucure !!!!

That's what virtual welding is all about.

I have waxed loquatios many times on this forum on the subject.

Socrates said:  "“The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.”

True in the real world,  equally true in the virtual world... 

Possibly true behind the veil,  where the barrier between those two worlds is thin and mystery holds her golden scepter of authority, and surety disappears and blackens the sky like a flock of frightened birds.

Virtual welding units can shorten the learning curve for entry level training.   This has been proven by testing and evaluation by many respected experts and institutions.  So let's keep that at the front of our attention as we proceed.

However;  If you have 18 students in a cohort, how many $50,000 virtual units do you need for every student to benefit from this type of enhancement?    At leas 3 is the correct answer.  or  $150,000 capital investment before an arc is ever struck

The notion that there is some related savings in base metal, electrode, or shield gas is a sales gimick, from the snake-oil slathered sales folks who poffer these amazing virtual tools in lustful anticipation of the filty lucure that will fill their pockets at bonus time.

One Virtual Welding unit costs the same or more than the annual  base salary for many American high school shop teachers and probably 3x the annual salary for Tech College adjunct faculty.

An X-box has a much higher actual level of technology at like less than 1/50th the cost.

So who has actually been benefitting from Virtual welding...  Well recruiters who let kids play with them and maybe enrollment is enhanced,  maybe...   Who else?   insititutions that have unlimited tax dollars to buy $50K virtual units...  Prisons and DOD

for $50K you can buy 5 CC power supplies,,,  5 CV power supplies,,,  and have another $20K left over, available for practice steel and shield gas.....   All that for the cost of one virtual welder.

If Grant money is available for Virtual Technology and that grant money can't be spent on Faculty, Steel, or Real welding machines?   Well heck yes... Spend the Capital and get the Fancy Virtual units...

But keep your eyes wide open when you are considering program budget capital and what it actually will do to enhance student learning and the local businesses in your region that will hire students.

Thus endeth the lesson.