One of our best customers, a highly successful midwest manufacturer recently called. They needed an expedited shipment of our ArcTime™ Brand Hybrid Formula, “Multi-Use” Non-radioactive Tungsten Electrodes. (They have tested all available materials from a variety of suppliers/manufacturers and found ArcTime™ works best for their welding application but that’s another post)
we were sold out — It was late in the day and we did not have the raw tungsten material packaged and ready for sale (in our trademarked plastic tubes with product info hang tag and moisture-absorbing wood stick). Our sales manager Tim Drover said, no problem. The customer puts the tungsten in a vending machine.
I was sure that Tim was mistaken. That he had gotten a crank call…. why would you put tungsten electrodes in a vending machine?
Turns out our customer uses a CribMaster Vending Machine. This innovative solution to inventory control allows the manufacturing engineer to track which TIG welders use which tungsten and how much they use. It is becoming a highly effective management, quality control and cost saving tool.
Someone still has to place the orders, however, which may bode well for the tool crib manager. Otherwise, I can just imagine him (or her) down at the local bar telling his buddies how his job was outsourced by a vending machine….
I’ve been working at Arc-Zone.com for almost a month now and every day I have the opportunity to learn something new regarding the welding industry. Prior to joining the Arc-Zone.com team I had no idea how broad and expansive the welding and fabrication industry truly is…people use welding applications for almost everything! Read about this group of Michigan teens who are leading America’s innovative youth movement.
DPS “innovators” second in car-creation competition Jason Carmel Davis, Press & Guide Newspapers, 11/30/2008
DEARBORN- A group of 10 Dearborn Public School District (DPS) students-seven current and three recent graduates-worked seven days a week for 15 months to create something most teens dream about producing.
The team of students built a car.
The finished product can seat two people. It has a seat from a 2001 Ford Escape and neon green flames that start on the hood and make their way around both sides. The drive system on the car combined an 18:1 limited ship differential and axles from an electric golf cart, with a custom 36V, high-speed golf cart motor. The combination of the two provides excellent torque, traction and limited off-road capability, according to the team’s Web site, ivd.dearbornschools.org.CONTINUE READING ONLINE –>
I came across an article today that was published back in my home state of North Carolina, and it immediately sparked my interest. Growing up in North Carolina teaches you the importance of manners, having a sense of community, and helping out your neighbors whenever possible. The following article recognizes a group of welding students in Eastern North Carolina and how they used their classroom experience to help transform their community and give new meaning to “Southern Hospitality”!
Welding students gain course credit for town project Nikie Mayo, Sun Journal, 12/3/2008
RIVER BEND- Sparks flew Wednesday as James Lovick took one of his final exams for Craven Community College.
The sparks were caused by more than Lovick’s concentrating, though he did plenty of that as he welded steps in place on a caboose in River Bend. CONTINUE READING –>
We asked Arc-Zone’s Tim Drover to guest post here about the revamped Trailing Shield section on the Arc-Zone.com website. He’s taken the lead in making sure we offer all the high tech trail shields and gas purging cups for TIG and Plasma Arc Welding applications.
Trailing in the Fourth Quarter
When a sports team is trailing in the fourth quarter, they put they best players in to bring it home. Welding is no different. When welders need the absolute best weld and gas coverage, they go to their best equipment. And for the best purge gas coverage, welders utilize high-tech trailing shields and purging cups.
Many TIG and Plasma Arc Welding applications require specific gas coverage and Arc-Zone.com understands the importance of the strength of the weld and how poor gas coverage can lead to poor weld quality. To correct the helm, Arc-Zone.com redesigned an entire section dedicated to gas Purging Cups, Standard and Extra-Long Straight Trailing Shields and Multi-Diameter Curved Shields.
In addition to maximizing shield gas coverage, these high-tech trailing shields lower gas usage and ensure weld strength. Designed for the most popular TIG (GTAW) and Plasma (PAW) torches, the cups and trail shields come ready to install on your torch.
Arc-Zone also offers a full line of welding accessories to adapt the trailing shields and cups to multiple tungsten sizes to help keep your equipment efficient. So now when you need 4+ inches of trailing shield gas for your 17 series TIG torch or cylindrical coverage for your 3 inch pipe with your 22 series mounted TIG torch… and you need to triumph over the competition by having the best weld, you know who’s got you covered.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you need more info on any of these trailing shields, give Tim a call. He’s up to speed on these highly engineered accessories and will make sure you get the right equipment for your team.
We’ve heard rumors. There have been rumblings. Whispers in the hallway. I’ll be honest, we made jokes about the old Weldcraft website. But all that has changed…
Weldcraft has launched a new website, and we here at JoeWelder.com are the first to break the news (pictured right)…. And we’re sharing it with you.
We’re actually very excited to see the direction they are going. For years we’ve been hesitant to direct any of our customers to the Weldcraft website, even though at Arc-Zone.com we proudly sell the Weldcraft line of TIG Torches. The graphics on their new site are nice and clean, the product looks great, and I see a link to a Help Me Choose A TIG Torch page that we’re hoping is a great interactive tool for TIG welders. Perhaps akin to the Miller Electric SmartSelector™.
Do you think Weldcraft is heading in the right direction? What information would you like to see about TIG Torches that you haven’t been able to find elsewhere?
We’ll be publishing a series of posts about different metals to provide readers with information regarding the properties of each metal and offer some general tips on how to weld with each metal successfully. First up in the series…TITANIUM!
Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the fourth most commonly used structural metal. The lightweight metal has a high strength-to-density ratio and it’s as strong as steel but less than half its weight. Titanium is a very corrosion resistant metal that is able to withstand extreme temperatures. In fact, Titanium’s melting point is 3,135 degrees F°; approximately 400 F° above the melting point of steel and 2000 F° above that of aluminum.
These qualities make titanium a popular choice for applications in the aerospace and defense industries (think Navy ships, for example), however, titanium’s extraordinary corrosion resistance makes it a reliable, cost-effective material for use in many other applications as well. It looks nice, but, can have a reputation for being difficult to weld because of its high sensitivity to oxygen, moisture, grease, and other metals, leading to brittle welds. With the proper equipment from Arc-Zone.com and the following guidelines, you’ll have what you need to weld titanium successfully!
PREPARING YOUR WELDING ENVIRONMENT
Titanium is a highly sensitive metal and its fabrication demands attention to cleanliness not only of the base metal, but of the shop as well. We suggest setting aside a separate area of your shop to be used strictly for titanium. Make sure the area is free of drafts, moisture, dust, grease and other contaminants. Ideally, a low dew point should be maintained as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently my co-worker sent me an article about a graduate student who could not afford the high-cost associated with the custom archtop bass guitar that he wanted. Instead of giving up on his dream, he took matters into his own hands– Read on to discover how CEO of Normandy Guitars, Jim Normandy, took his dream and welded it into reality!
Manufacturing is a High Note for Aluminum Guitar Maker Penton Media Inc., Original Publish Date: 11/18/2008
Bass electric-guitar player Jim Normandy once shopped around for an archtop guitar–an acoustic guitar with a full body and distinctive arched top.
But the $3,000 price stopped him short. “Manufacturers were making custom guitars from solid billeted aluminum. I was still in graduate school and couldn’t afford such instruments. So I decided to make a competitively priced guitar. Instead of wood or plastic, I opted to use 0.080-in. aircraft-grade aluminum sheet metal because of its quality and durability,” says the then-future CEO of Normandy Guitars, Salem, Oreg. CONTINUE READING ONLINE –>
Are you or anyone you know currently working on an interesting welding application or project? If so, feel free to let us know and…SHOW ME THE METAL™!
During my daily scouring of the web for welding related news and information, I came across an article that highlights what can happen when welding work is low-grade and inspectors utilize poor evaluation procedures.
Welding is a suspect in a tank collapse in Chesapeake Mike Saewitz, The Virgina-Pilot, 11/23/2008
In trying to unravel the mystery of the collapse of Allied Terminals Tank 201 in Chesapeake, experts say those investigating the failure will be trying to determine whether the liquid fertilizer corroded welds that held the massive tank together.
They also are likely to review major welding work that was done on the structure in late 2006.
Tank collapses are an extremely rare occurrence, experts say. But when any above ground liquid fertilizer tank has failed in recent years, investigators have determined that defective welding was the main cause, according to Environmental Protection Agency documents. CONTINUE READING ONLINE–>
The difficulties and complexities surrounding the art of gas tungsten arc welding can frustrate even the most expert welders and fabricators. While scouring the web for the latest industry news, I came across a how-to article on TIG torch assembly…hope you enjoy!
Tips for TIG torches: Simplifying torch assembly Jack Fulcer, Practical Welding Today, 11/11/2008
Proper installation of GTAW torches–whether air- or water cooled–is just one bullet on a long list of reasons that GTAW is so complex. The best way to simplify torch installation is to become familiar with the components and how to assemble them properly.
As if gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) weren’t already difficult to master, GTAW torches have numerous interchangeable parts and designs to further complicate matters. CONTINUE READING ABOUT TIG TORCH ASSEMBLY ONLINE –>
Or check out Jim Watson’s video tutorial on How to Build a Water Cooled TIG Torch:
Want to pursue welding as a hobby? Want to make some money on the side or start your own fabrication business, but are turned off by the high price tag and complexity of welding machines?
Well the crew over at Miller has just released a great machine that is both inexpensive and easy to use. Our own JoeWelderTM, a.k.a. Jim Watson, says “The Diversion 165 is a great tool for the novice welder.” Jim goes on to say, “I recommend that machine as a starting point; to complete your TIG welding station I would add our New TIG welding safety bundle, a TIG Weld Prep Kit, SharpieTM Series Tungsten Grinder and a AK-2-ProTM Accessory Kit, — with that combination you can achieve high-quality welds on a variety of materials from steel to aluminum, stainless steel and titanium– right out of the box! I would also suggest a copy of Ron Covell’s TIG Welding Basics DVD.” All of these products are available in our industry leading welding accessory webstore. Read the rest of this entry »
we were sold out — It was late in the day and we did not have the raw tungsten material packaged and ready for sale (in our trademarked plastic tubes with product info hang tag and moisture-absorbing wood stick). Our sales manager Tim Drover said, no problem. The customer puts the tungsten in a vending machine.
Many TIG and Plasma Arc Welding applications require specific gas coverage and Arc-Zone.com understands the importance of the strength of the weld and how poor gas coverage can lead to poor weld quality. To correct the helm, Arc-Zone.com redesigned an entire section dedicated to gas Purging Cups, Standard and Extra-Long Straight Trailing Shields and Multi-Diameter Curved Shields. 
