African Fusion March 2017

Cover story: Lincoln Electric training solutions

Following the proven success of the VRTEX® virtual training solution, Lincoln Electric is launching its REALWELD® train- ing systemintoSouthAfrica, amonitoringand live coaching system designed to monitor skills during real welding. African Fusion talks to Benoit Lamotte of Lincoln Electric and training school specialist, Louis Uys of Airtrax. Advanced training solutions:

Uys believes that welder training should start in a classroom. “We be- lieve it is best to start off on a welding simulator. Our studies prove that if a trainee starts learning about welding in our simulated environment, the

chances of becoming a certi- fied welder are much higher and faster.” Citing a trial conducted at the Iowa State University in the US, Lamotte says that a group of 22 trainee weld- ers was split into two. One group began their training the traditional way, with a welding torch in

T he Lincoln Electric Welding School in Cleveland, Ohio is the longest operating and most comprehensive welding training facility in the world. The school was initially set up in 1917 and has trained more than 150 000 people in various welding tech- nologies, techniques and associated safety practices. “At Lincoln Electric we understand the importance of training. We have established and equipped hundreds of training schools around the world and we are a global industry partner of competitions such as WorldSkills Inter- national,” says Lamotte. Lincoln Electric has been the ex- clusive provider of equipment, con- sumables and fume extraction for the WorldSkills competitions for the past five years. “World Skills South Africawas held in February this year in Durban to identify SouthAfrica’s best youngwelder to compete in the 2017WorldSkills Inter- national competition in Abu Dhabi later this year. Lincoln Electricwas the official sponsor for the welding skill catagory, as it will be in Abu Dhabi,” Lamotte tells African Fusion . “No company in the world has more experience in setting up supporting welding schools than Lincoln Electric,” continues Uys. His company, Airtrax, designs training schools; installing the safety infrastructure such as fume ex- traction and deciding which processes and machines will give young welders the best chance of success.

hand and an in- structor teach- ing them how to manipulate a real arc.

The other group started to learn using Lincoln’s VRTEX virtual welding solution. Only once torchmanipulation skills had beenmastered, were trainees allowed into the workshop to start real welding. These 11 trainees spent 50% of the training time on the simulator with the other 50% being used in the welding shop. “The pass rate with respect to the weldqualification testswas significantly better in group that spent 50% of their time on the VRTEX simulator,” Lamotte reveals, adding: “although these people did less real welding, they were better welders at the end of the day.” The VRTEX group proved 41.6% more suc- cessful in achieving certification, in spite of a 23% decrease in the overall training time. Lincoln’s VRTEX virtual reality weld- ing system is a computer-based training systemdesigned to supplement and en- hance traditional welder training. These systems allow students to practise their welding technique in a simulated and immersive environment, promoting the efficient transfer of quality welding

skills and body positioning to the weld- ing boothwhile reducingmaterial waste associated with traditional training. The combination of a realistic weld pool and welding sound, and real-time feedback with respect to the position, speed and manipulation of the welding torch provide a realistic, exciting and hands-on training experience. “There are now three different ver- sions of the VRTEX system,” says Uys. At the starting point of introducing a student to welding is the VRTEX En- gage™, which is a suitcase version of the system. VRTEX Engage includes a touch screen monitor, welding gun, tracking device and awork surface, all contained in a lightweight and portable carrying case that can be taken to classrooms, careers fairs or recruitment offices anywhere. This is a cost-effective tool designed to expose or introduce students to welding, without the need for a work- shop, weldingmachines, metal and con-

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March 2017

AFRICAN FUSION