African Fusion March 2017

AFRICAN FUSION

March 2017

Cover story: Lincoln Electric training solutions

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.

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:

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-

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

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