Blomquist brings a background of over 25 years' experience in shipbuilding and heavy industry, and is the author of several novel concepts in this field. At present. he serves as Principal Technologist, Laser Applications, for Applied Thermal Sciences, Sanford, ME. Recently he served as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Precision Light Systems, a subsidiary of ATS, and also was Director of Manufacturing Technology at ATS.

An ongoing project funded by the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) is developing and testing new guidelines for determining weld sizes. New rules coming from this project may allow designers to reduce weld sizes, gaining all the benefits of lower heat inputs, reduced distortion, reduction in filler metal usage, and generally lower costs. In the past, equipment and methods were not capable of consistently making 1/8” and smaller fillet welds. A recently completed NSRP project (High Performance GMAW) has shown that many inverter pulsed GMAW sources may be already capable of making these small weld sizes with proper adjustments and equipment.

Dawson has spent most of his career in commercial and defense markets, both sheet metal and heavy plate fabrication, supporting customers such as General Dynamics, BAE, Force Protection, Plasan, and Oshkosh. He began his career in the United States Army in a Construction Engineering field, participating in technical and sensitive equipment programs. A combat veteran, he then took a position as Fabrication Manager with the WoodChuck Chipper Corporation, managing all welding, fabrication, research and development, and design of all chipper models. While in the Army, Dawson received numerous achievements and commendations throughout his career, an AAS in Mechanical Drafting, Army Achievement Medals, Army Commendation Medals, three Bronze Service Stars, Presidential Citations and awards, and certificates from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command. He teaches as an Adjunct Instructor at Cleveland Community College, and in the Continuing Education Division, teaching courses such as, welding both plate and pipe using all manual processes, Technical Drawing, CAD, 3D Modeling, GD&T, Symbols, and Print Reading. Currently, writing all Procedure Qualification Records, Welding Procedure Specifications, and Welder Performance Qualification Records. Other experience includes an AWS CWI Certification, ACCP Level II in VT, Level II UT, and Company Level III in MT and PT methods.

Ultra Machine and Fabrication Inc., started out as a small parts manufacturer with the ultimate goal of carving a niche by specializing in the forming, fabricating, and welding of armor plate for military all-terrain vehicles. Ultra has worked to make sure its equipment capabilities—be it a welder, a laser, or a 2,000-ton press brake—are state-of-the art and more than capable of handling all current and future contracts. This foresight, along with a keen eye for shop layout and quality, has allowed the company to keep ahead of fabrication trends. Adding adaptable welding machines with the latest technology ensures the company will be able to add desired welding programs, for all materials, to the machines.

Profile coming soon.

A new crew compartment provides enhanced soldier protection. Manufactured from titanium, sections to be welded are cut using water jet cutting. The GMAW-P welding process is then used. The filler metal is Ti-6Al-4V titanium. Wire feed speed is 600 inches per minute. A customized waveform allows "one droplet per pulse." A water-cooled Fronius torch with a helium trailing shield is used to provide spatter-free welds.

Doneth has been involved in the welding industry for 10 years. He joined Fronius USA three years go. Doneth is a graduate from Ferris State University with a degree in welding engineering. A member of AWS, Doneth is a member of the D10H subcommittee on Aluminum Piping. He is also the chairman of the AWS Detroit Section's Scholarship Committee.

In addition to laser hybrid welding and laser brazing, this presentation will include discussions on single and tandem wire processes along with applications for laser hot wire brazing.

Rankin is vice president and general manager of ITW Jetline Engineering in Irvine, CA. He began his career as a welding apprentice with Newport News Shipbuilding (now part of Huntington Ingalls) and worked as a nuclear pipe welder. He has worked in the position of engineer, product manager, training coordinator, and international sales manager for such companies as Brown & Root Construction, Powcon Inc., and Miller Electric. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and earned his B.S. degree from Christopher Newport University. He has a M.S. degree in welding engineering technology from Arizona State University.

The ease of use employed by Jetline’s controls for automation applications has just been improved with the introduction of the 9900 Controller. Using the latest computer technology, the 9900 simplifies the welding process and provides the operator with control of up to 15 parameters in closed loop format. The 9900 comprises an industrial touch screen computer running intuitive software and the associated channel modules. System parameters and variables are incorporated in the welding programs offering simplicity and efficiency for basic welding applications or full control of the most demanding ones.

Schwemmer is President and co-owner of AMET, inc., an international company providing innovative, automated welding system solutions. AMET has just completed its new headquarters in Rexburg, Idaho. AMET is a world-wide provider with operations in Beijing China to serve its Asian market and in Papworth England to serve the European market.

Schwemmer is a member of the American Welding Society and has served on the Scholarship Committee. He is also a Rexburg Chamber of Commerce member, and a volunteer for the Colorado School of Mines. He received the Colorado School of Mines Distinguished Achievement Award in 2006. Schwemmer received his B.S. in Computer Science from Colorado State University in 1975 and his M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in 1977.

The presentation will review the advances in control system design and architecture for automated welding systems. Advantages of completely integrated welding systems for challenging applications such as Tandem Narrow Gap submerged arc, Multiple Head Hot Wire GTA, Multiple Wire Cladding, and others will be discussed. The advantages of digital communication and integration with the latest laser sensors and power supplies will also be reviewed. Issues related to successful automation implementation will be presented.

Wayne Penn has over 35 years of experience with lasers and laser applications. He graduated from the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1977. Wayne was founder of PRC, Ltd. established in 1976. During the 80's and 90's he did research and development for laser applications. Wayne was named President of Alabama Laser Systems (ALS) in 1997 with the mission of pioneering and developing a business in lasers.

Laser hot wire welding technology is used in commercial applications to improve deposition performance for laser cladding. Laser hot wire technology offers strong advantages over traditional welding applications including penetration and gap mitigation.

Purslow joined EWI in January of 2006 as a Technician in the Arc Welding Group while pursuing his undergraduate degree in welding engineering. During this time, he conducted research on the high-speed arc welding of sheet metal. Marc also worked in the Design, Controls, and Automation group. Upon completion of his B.S., He was promoted to Project Engineer. In January of 2010, He was promoted to Applications Engineer. As an Applications Engineer, he has worked extensively developing the T-GMAW process, conducting research ranging from high speed welding of sheet metal to narrow-groove T-GMAW of thick sections. Purslow also has significant experience with T-SAW, cladding repair with GMAW, and welding fixture design. He is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI).

Tandem GMAW is typically applied to applications that require either high deposition rate, or high speed welding. In the case where multiple arcs, or multiple passes, are typically used, or where higher productivity for single pass welds is demanded, tandem GMAW becomes an option. The process is applicable to all metals welded with conventional GMAW. Welding travel speeds and deposition rates with tandem GMAW can typically be increased by a factor of 2-3 times those achievable with single wire GMAW procedures; productivity can be increased by up to 200%.

Senger has over 24 years of manufacturing and product development experience in capital equipment, motorcycle engine manufacturing, and lawn and garden engine production specialized in custom engineered assembly automation. His previous employers include Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson and MAG-Giddings & Lewis. Holding a Bachelor degree in Industrial Technology with concentrations in Manufacturing Engineering and Product devilment from the University of Wisconsin – Stout and a MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.

Senger purchased Mavrix in May of 2009 and has applied his automation experience to the products offered by Mavrix. While supporting current products Mavrix is always in development mode with active new product development through internal idea generation and market assessment and always looks forward to development of custom equipment to meet customer needs.

This presentation will review the options of hardfacing methods and evaluate the related productivity, ergonomics and health & safety of the process. Attendees will see firsthand examples of portable, rugged easy to use equipment manufactured by Mavrix and used around the world. Applications include pulverizers, recycling, crushing, shredding, roll arcing, oil & gas, dredge pump shell build up, lathe applications and numerous custom application.

Newell has been involved in welding engineering applications and consulting in the nuclear and fossil electric power and heavy industrial arenas for over 30 years, both domestically and internationally. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Welding Engineering and was also awarded a diploma as an International Welding Engineer by the International Institute of Welding. He holds Professional Engineer licenses in Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, plus Alberta, Canada. Newell also has four patents on welding related technology.

Newell is a member on national and international code bodies, a Life Member in the American Welding Society, and a member of AWS A5N, Vice Chair of AWS D10 and Chairman of D10C and D10I; a Member on ISO/TC 44, International Committee on Welding and Allied Processes, plus a member of ASME Standards Committee IX – Welding and Brazing Qualifications, ASME Post Construction Issues – Subcommittee on Materials and Repair, Secretary of ASME SCII/IX Subgroup on Strength of Weldments, and ASME SCII Task Group Creep Strength-Enhanced Ferritic Steels.

Most wire drawing operations use various compounds for lubrication. Even under perfect conditions (new dies, etc.), voids or tears will be present in the surface of the wire. Drawing lubricants will be trapped in these voids or tears. Unless cleaned in some manner after progressive reduction steps, contamination will increase in an accumulative manner. For example, it would not be unusual for hot rolled rod (5.5mm) to have 0.002 P and the measured P level to increase to 0.006 or greater as the wire is reduced indiameter. The only way to avoid or minimize this accumulation is to roll form (reduce) and/or implement interim cleaning steps - or both. Welding process also influences the impact of these contaminants. Specifically, orbital GTAW cannot tolerate such contamination. Contamination, mediation, and the effects of surface finish will be discussed. Practical examples of these effects will be provided.

Profile coming soon.

The key to broader use of tandem arc welding is reducing the complexity of the process and the cost of the equipment needed. A new torch, designed by Praxair, provides flexibility and ease of use with a wide variety of readily available power supplies, without the need for sophisticated phasing between them. This low cost system is being widely used in India and in Mexico for the fabrication of domestic LPG tanks as well as for a growing number of applications in the automotive industry.

Chantry graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with an Electrical Specialty. He joined Lincoln Electric® in 1995 and first worked as a Technical Representative in the Moline, Illinois district office for 3 years and the Grand Rapids, Michigan district office for 3 years. These two assignments provided him the opportunity to work with world renowned heavy equipment manufacturers and prominent companies in the automobile industry. In 2002, Chantry relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa as the Regional Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. He was born in South Africa and grew up in Johannesburg until he was 12. As Regional Manager, his responsibilities included overseeing sales, distribution and logistics, human resources, and tax compliance. During his time in South Africa, he focused on introducing some of Lincoln's leading technologies to the marketplace to help customers improve productivity and quality.

With the recent advancements in both wired and wireless networking technologies, coupled with cloud computing solutions, weld data collection is even more flexible and powerful than ever before. These advancements allow for remote data collection, remote data monitoring, accumulation of data from multiple locations, and powerful customizable analytics to support production process improvements. In addition, new proposed industry standards such as MTConnect® are encouraging the networking and data capture of many different types of equipment for overall plant wide production analysis. Welding equipment is a key part of many fabrication environments and comprehensive, reliable data capture is a key element in supporting these larger production projects.

Bratt is the Director of the Laser Applications Division of the Fraunhofer USA - Center for Coatings and Laser Applications.

Bratt has over 20 years of welding applications experience working for major research (Fraunhofer) and industrial companies (British Steel / Linde Gas). He received a Masters degree in Welding from Brunel University in Great Britain (UK) in 1995 and also obtained a European Laser Engineer diploma from the University of Vienna in 1997. He is a member of The Welding Institute (UK) and has Chartered engineer, and International Welding Engineer qualifications. He has presented a number of technical papers and presentations at several international conferences on laser technology, and has successfully brought a number of novel laser applications from development through to industrial production.

In this overview of industrial laser welding applications, the presentation will include examples of automotive powertrain and body laser welding and brazing applications, and also examples of laser/GMAW hybrid welding applications.

Profile coming soon.

More information coming soon.

Profile coming soon.

This presentation will explain AC Pulse Mig welding, a new GMAW transfer used for welding thin sections and gap filling of aluminum and other alloys. Introducing Electrode Negative polarity to the GMAW Pulse arc to control heat input and improve travel speed will be explained. Automotive and other industry applications for this technology will be covered.

Massey received B.S. in Welding Engineering from The Ohio State University and is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector. Prior to joining EWI, Steve was a Senior Engineer at Panasonic Factory Automation. He has provided application assistance and technical support for robotic arc welding, cutting, dispensing, and material handling applications. His strengths are in advanced robotic options for arc welding applications. He has also performed training on robot and system operation and troubleshooting and repair of controls/equipment related issues. Massey's current work involves research and consulting in the area of arc welding and automation.

This climbing robot technology was originally developed for use in non-destructive evaluation of large reactor vessels for the chemical processing industry. Functionality and motion appropriate for arc welding were incorporated to the robot such that it would function similarly to a piece of commercially available welding mechanization. Additional features, such as laser seam tracking and remote viewing, were also incorporated. This technology has been deployed to perform multi-pass welds on large structures in the flat, horizontal and vertical positions. It is capable of using gas metal arc welding (GMAW) or flux cored arc welding (FCAW).

Prior to forming the Friction Stir Link, Inc., and The Welding Link, Hinrichs was affiliated with A.O. Smith Corporation for more than 40 years. While there, he served as an Engineering Fellow, on the A.O. Smith Corporate Technology Center staff providing direction, mentoring, and motivation in areas of welding, robotics, and advanced manufacturing processes. From 1991 to 1993 he was Director of Manufacturing Engineering at A.O. Smith's Automotive Products Company where he directed the activities of a technical staff of 80. Before that, he served as Manager of Manufacturing Technology Laboratory (MTL) where he was responsible for all activities relating to the development and transfer of technology of materials joining, robotics and advanced manufacturing systems. He was also Manager of Engineering for the Programmed Manufacturing Systems Division and served many years as a project engineer and welding engineer. His career at A. O. Smith Corporation began in 1953.

Friction stir welding and processing principles will be discussed as well as various equipment solutions and their capabilities. In addition to the traditional custom FSW machines (c-frame, gantry, etc), robotic FSW and friction stir processing (FSP) systems will also be discussed. Some FSW and FSP applications will be presented as well.