Automatic welding, for which the equipment requires little or no observation or manual adjustment, has enabled industry to dramatically accelerate output and increase quality. This conference covers new technologies in automatic controls, training and management innovations, and automation breakthroughs for the latest welding processes, including fiber and disk lasers, friction and thermal stir welding, hot-wire tungsten arc welding, laser/GMAW hybrid welding, as well as automation technologies for traditional processes, such as submerged arc welding.

AUTOMATIC WELDING CONFERENCE PROGRAM

TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2008

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. 8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.

WELCOME. 8:50 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Robert R. Irving, Conference Chairman
Michael Blakely, Conference Co-Chairman

The Welder Shortage. 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
John C. Bruskotter, Bruskotter Consulting Services, Belle Chasse, LA
It is no surprise to anyone that the welder shortage has created a serious problem throughout our industry. The training of new welders cannot keep up with the demand for the skilled labor that many industries require. This presentation will provide you with some of the statistics that show the shortages in the U.S., as well as in other parts of the world. You will also be provided with some suggestions as to the best way to handle this crisis.

Who Will We Train? What Will We Teach? Where Will They Work?. 9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Daniel G. Sechler, Carolina Energy Solutions, Rock Hill, SC
Mr. Sechler will discuss where the labor inputs will come from in the future and how we can get the word out to that potential workforce. The session will also cover ASME Section IX for Pipe and AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code–Steel, what we need to learn about them, and the need to test in
order to prove what we have learned meets the needs of the industry. Additionally, the need for skilled craftsperons in the energy industry and how it far exceeds the supply will be discussed. Learn more about this great opportunity and how you can obtain the American dream without a four-year degree.

MORNING BREAK. 10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Welding Automation – Solutions to Common Design & Application Challenges. 10:50 a.m. – 11:35 a.m.
Geoff Lipnevicius, The Lincoln Electric Company, Automation Division, Cleveland, OH
Automatic welding can improve your productivity and be economical. On the flip side, it can be inefficient and cost-prohibitive if certain design considerations are overlooked. In this talk, several case studies will be presented that objectively analyze the advantages of new welding processes,
quality-enhancing techniques, and new features of robotic automation, to counter the challenges of rising labor, materials and energy costs.

Real-Time Quality Monitoring Using Data Fusion Techniques. 11:35 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Ta-Chieh Huang, Edison Welding Institute, Design, Controls & Automation Group, Columbus, OH
EWI has recently completed work which studied the feasibility and benefit of fusing arc data monitoring with other sensing methods, such as electrooptical sensory, thermographic imaging, light spectrometry, laser vision, and high-speed video technology, and taking advantage of the core competencies of each technique while negating their deficiencies.

LUNCH (PROVIDED). 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Innovations in Robotic Welding. 1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Doug Rhoda, Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO
New demands from industry have introduced robotics to such technologies as submerged arc welding and hybrid welding.

Laser Hybrid Welding – What, Why, Where and How. 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Craig Bratt, Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Laser Applications, Plymouth, MI
The results of over 10 years of Fraunhofer applications development in the field of laser hybrid welding will be presented, including Nd YAG, fiber and CO2 laser/MIG (GMAW) hybrid welding and laser/plasma hybrid welding processes. Process fundamentals and an overview of the pros and cons of laser hybrid processing will be presented. A variety of developmental and industrial applications will also be discussed, including some examples of industrial applications in Europe.

AFTERNOON BREAK. 2:45 p.m. – 3:05 p.m.

Magnetic Pulse Welding – Automating the Next Generation of Welding. 3:05 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Michael Blakely, Hirotec America Inc., C3 Magnetic Pulse Division, Auburn Hills, MI
One of the key drivers in automating today’s conventional welding processes is to remove the operator from the environment of heat, fumes, sparks and spatter. One of the key aspects of magnetic pulse welding (MPW) is that these detrimental aspects of welding are not present. In addition to this advantage, MPW gives the capability to join similar and dissimilar metals quickly and with repeatable first-time quality. Used successfully in a number of both manual and automatic systems, an overview of each, with examples, will be included. Since MPW is still regarded by some as an emerging technology, the presentation will include an introduction to the process as a pre-cursor to the discussion of applications.

Design for Manufacturing with Robotic Welding. 3:50 p.m. – 4:35 p.m.
Terry O’Connell, Genesis Systems, Davenport, IA
There are a number of reasons companies have when choosing to proceed toward welding automation: cost reduction by direct labor savings, improved part quality because of automatic process repeatability, and scarcity of skilled welders to note a few. In order to do this successfully,
certain attributes of the process need to be identified to ensure success. Examination of part design is needed as changes might be needed for joint design; and current manufacturing processes may need evaluation for method, robustness, and repeatability. The focal point of this discussion will
look at some of the key design considerations for the automated process: welding position, parts repeatability, joint repeatability and design, torch access, sensory technology, tooling requirements, and operator/robot work balance, to name a few. Other aspects of the design for manufacturing
process include usage of tools such as VSA (variation simulation analysis), which when used in the design phase of the product can truly improve the overall manufacturability of the product by looking at single part variation with respect to the finished product, and associated tolerance and datum
schemes.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Understanding the Nature of Hazardous Welding Fumes in the Workplace and Steps that Can Be Taken to Reduce Exposures. 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Susan Fiore, Edison Welding Institute, Columbus, OH
A new federal standard has significantly reduced the permissible exposure limit for hexavalent chromium. This, coupled with the exposure to fumes containing manganese, has raised the level of concern for many manufacturers. This presentation will cover some of the details of the new standard
along with steps that can be taken, including automation, which may help to reduce personnel exposures.

Innovations in Submerged Arc Welding. 9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
John DeLoach, Naval Surface Warfare Center, West Bethesda, MD
Over the past decade, significant advancements have been made in submerged arc welding. This all comes at an appropriate time now that industry at large is concerned about the fumes from various arc welding methods. Among the innovations are high-speed narrow gap welding, tandem SAW, improved tubular wires, low-hydrogen fluxes, and fluxes with ideal MnO content. This presentation will highlight some of these advancements and will discuss potential future innovations.

MORNING BREAK. 10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Basic Control of Hot-Wire Gas Tungsten Arc Welding for Procedure Development and Production Applications. 10:50 a.m. – 11:35 a.m.
Jonathan T. Salkin, Arc Applications, Inc., York, PA
The hot-wire gas tungsten arc welding process continues to gain acceptance over a wide range of industries. Based on growing knowledge of the process, control capabilities are being adapted to generate high-quality welds with competitive deposition rates in more specialized applications
and deposit requirements. Process variables to consider will be discussed based on welding requirements, materials, weld geometry, and inspection. Examples of development programs and production applications will be presented covering a range of control capabilities and limitations.

Friction Stir Welding of Littoral Combat Ship Deckhouse Structure. 11:35 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Bruce Halverson, QA Manager, Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, WI, and
John F. Hinrichs, Founder & VP Technology, Friction Stir Link, Inc.,Waukesha, WI
The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship’s aluminum superstructure and deckhouse reduces weight and lowers the center of gravity of the ship. Arc welding aluminum is subject to distortion, requiring non-value straightening activities to be utilized. Friction stir welding (FSW) results in more affordable
fabrication and inspection of the butt joint weld root. Details of the FSW process development, certification, and fabrication of the superstructure and deckhouse are described.

LUNCH (PROVIDED). 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

The Impact of Fiber Lasers on the Material Processing Market. 1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Bill Shiner, IPG Photonics Corp., Oxford, MA
The presentation will be a quick review of the status of fiber technology, power levels, beam properties, and installed base. This will be followed by a review of successful applications in the automotive, aerospace and microelectronic industries, and concluded with a glance at how fiber technology will impact the future.

Thermal Stir Welding. 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Jeff Ding, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
Thermal stir welding is a new welding process under development at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Thermal stir welding is similar to friction stir welding in that it joins similar or dissimilar materials without melting the parent material. However, unlike friction stir
welding, the heating, stirring and forging elements of the process can be decoupled, allowing independent, dynamic control of each process element. The separation of the heating, stirring, and forging elements of the welding process allows more degrees of freedom for greater process control.

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About AWS

The American Welding Society (AWS) was founded in 1919 as a multifaceted, nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering, and thermal spraying. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, and led by a volunteer organization of officers and directors, AWS serves more than 50,000 members worldwide and is composed of 22 districts with 250 sections and student chapters. For more information, visit the Society’s website at http://www.aws.org