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Welding Journal | January 2014

Women in Welding “Girls don’t take off their tiaras for a welding helmet, but they do want a rewarding career,” said AWS President Nancy Cole during the Women in Welding reception held Nov. 19 at the FABTECH Theatre. She discussed how she had been traveling across the United States throughout her presidential year talking about welding and brazing, and had seen the excitement women she spoke to had regarding manufacturing and the opportunities available in the welding field. “We need to encourage those women to be the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow,” she said. Speaking first was Brenda Ryan, owner and president of Ryan Industries, Wixom, Mich., and a partner of SME, who noted that the number of women in manufacturing has declined in recent years. “We need to offer recommendations for change to bring more women into manufacturing,” she said. “It is important that we speak with one voice. Women represent 48% of the working population, but only 24% of manufacturing jobs.” It is expected that there will be an additional 5 million manufacturing jobs available by 2020, Ryan said. “Women offer the biggest opportunity to fill these jobs.” “The statistics (Ryan) talked about should be a loud call to industry,” Cole said. Gretchen Zierick of Zierick Manufacturing and a past president of the Precision Metalforming Association said the only areas at her company where the number of women have not declined is customer service and general office. She lamented the elimination of classes such as high school shop that gave students an introduction to manufacturing and the trades. She noted that hers is a third-generation family business. “My company could go out of business just because the workers won’t exist.” ful for any type of metal-to-earth engagement tool, the 155FC wire was designed for multipass operations where cross checking is undesirable and to offer greater resistance to spalling. It exhibits a matrix hardness range of 35–45 HRC. Applications include process screw flight edges, drill bit and stabilizer buildup, and hardbanding. The 160FC was designed for use as an overlay, and its matrix hardness range is 40–50 HRC. It is well suited for upstream oil and gas production applications such as drill bit holders, kicker pads, stabilizers, and mud motors. Victor Technologies™, www.victortechnologies. com The Lincoln Electric Weld Sequencer software shows a picture of a workpiece and then explains to the welder step by step where to place each weld — Fig. 13. It is especially useful for applications where there is a large number of parts, but not necessarily high volume. It eliminates the need for the welding operator to rely on his/her memory of where each weld is needed and the parameters for each weld. The system on display at the show was set up for 140 different welds. The software automatically sets welding power source parameters such as voltage and wire feed speed. It also can be set to automatically make changes to weld parameters and to track the operator’s actions to confirm each weld was performed. The software can also be tied into other equipment such as positioners. The Lincoln Electric Co., www.lincolnelectric. com With this seventh generation of ABB’s largest robot, the IRB 6700 (Fig. 14), total cost of ownership has been reduced by 20%, much of that through reduced power consumption. The robot family is available in payloads from 150 to 300 kg and reaches from 2.6 to 3.2 m. The robots were designed with lighter components throughout and a smaller base. Since the robots move less weight, they use less power. The smaller base and longer reach allow the robots to work in tighter spaces. They were designed for spot welding, material handling, and machine tending. Maintenance has been optimized, doubling the time between service intervals. They are available with LeanID, an integrated dressing package designed for easier programming and more efficient movement. ABB Robotics — North America, www.abb.com/ robotics The Exact pipe-cutting system, which features patented technology from Finland, only recently has entered the North American market. The machines produce straight, clean cut ends on steel, plastic, copper, cast iron, stainless steel, and multilayer pipes. Demonstrated during the show were models Pipecut 220E and Pipecut 280E — Fig. 15. The 220E can handle pipe diameters from ½ to 8 in., while the 280E cuts pipe from 1½ to 11 in. in diameter. The machines can cut 6-in. Schedule 40 pipe in 40 s. The cold cutting process produces no sparks, debris, or fumes. The systems include a 48 JANUARY 2014 Fig. 13 — The company’s Weld Sequencer software informs the operator where to place each weld. Fig. 14 — The IRB 6700 robot family was designed to use less power, have a longer reach, and reduced maintenance requirements.


Welding Journal | January 2014
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