Page 30 - MetalForming-Jun-2018-issue

Fabrication: News & Technology
Lincoln Electric Unveils
New Welding Technology and Training Center
Economical Backgauge for Press Brakes
Lincoln Electric’s new Welding Technology & Training Center boasts 166 welding and cutting booths for training on various welding processes.
The company manufactures CNC gaug- ing systems, with its positioning systems consisting of a programmable control where an operator enters a dimension and a motorized gauging mechanism auto- matically moves through a sequence of programmed dimensions. These systems can be retrofitted to press brakes, shears, cutoff saws and punches.
Automec, Inc.: www.automec.com
The 130,000-sq.-ft. $30-million center focuses on training welding educators, engineers and industrial professionals from throughout the world. In fact, the center already has hosted students from as far away as South Africa and Indonesia, stated Jason Scales, business manager of education for Lincoln Electric at a grand-opening press conference. Besides basic courses and advanced technical welding training for professionals, the company and
its new center provide a portfolio of turnkey edu- cational solutions for use in launching welding train- ing at customers’ own facilities. Lincoln’s edu- cation offerings include an extensive educational curriculum, virtual-reality and technology-assisted training tools, welding and cutting equipment and products, and robotic cells.
Case History: High- Performance Bandsaw Halves Cutting Times
Classrooms in the new center include virtual-reality weld- ing-training systems.
A difficult-to-machine, highly tempered steel for a medical application presented a major challenge to Werner Weitner, a German special-tool and workshop- equipment manufacturer. With cutting times as long as 15 min., the sawing process was protracted and unproduc- tive. By adding the new KastoWin Pro AC 5.6 high-performance bandsaw from Kasto (with U.S.-based Kasto, Inc. located in Export, PA), the company was able to halve its processing times, thus mak- ing its production considerably more efficient.
“Our educational offering and leadership in automation solutions provide meaningful solutions to address the skills gap and capacity constraints facing customers in our industry,” said Christopher L. Mapes, chairman, president and CEO of Lincoln Electric during grand-opening remarks to several hundred employees, students, educators and invited guests.
“We are committed to providing students and customers with the relevant skills and knowledge needed to support career and technical schools, advanced manufacturing, and infrastructure growth,” added Scales during his remarks. “Our education model will shape the next generation of welders, managers and industry leaders.”
Werner Weitner has an extensive range of modern machinery, with materials processed consisting mainly of steels, but also aluminum and plastics. These materials are destined for prototypes as well as short-run to high-volume parts. The company, a longtime user of Kasto sawing equipment, contacted Kasto with this latest challenge, and undertook cutting
The state-of-the art educational facility features 166 welding and cutting booths (more than doubling the capacity of Lincoln’s former onsite offerings), a virtual-reality training lab with 10 Vrtex virtual-reality welding simulators, extensive seminar and welding-school classroom space, and a 100-seat auditorium. Later in 2018, the center is expected to become an American Welding Society-accredited testing facility.
For more information, visit education.lincolnelectric.com.
28 MetalForming/June 2018
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Lincoln Electric offi- cially has opened its Welding Technology and Training Center at its headquarters in Cleve- land, OH. A March 21 ribbon-cutting highlight- ed the company’s expanded educational offering and commem- orated the centennial anniversary of its weld- ing school, reportedly the longest continuously running welding school in the world.
Automec, Inc. has introduced the Econo- Gauge for budget-conscious users that cannot justify the cost of a full CNC back- gauge. It consists of a small, rugged back- gauge and a red LED digital display. A press-brake operator simply slides the backgauge bar to the desired position indicated on the display and manually locks it in place at that dimension. The unit reportedly is ideal for bending one dimension at a time.