Welding Instructors Receive Specialized Training

Instructors in the welding program at Piedmont Technical College recently traveled to Cleveland to receive specialized training on the program’s Lincoln Robotic Welding Education Cell trainer.

The three-day training class, Basic Robot Programming, gave in-depth instruction on using the robotic welder from the start to finish. The course covered the initial set-up of the robot to actually running a weld program.

“Learning to program the robot was made less difficult for Jim and me because of our welding background,” said Jim Fleming, program coordinator. “Since we understood the mechanics of the weld, we could focus on learning the programming aspect.”

The robotic trainer was purchased as part of a grant from AdvanceSC. AdvanceSC, funded with profits from Duke Energy’s Bulk Power Marketing program (BPM) and managed by an independent board of directors, provided a $250,000 grant to the welding program to upgrade the equipment in the lab.

The robot trainer is used to teach MIG welding as it may be used in production facilities such as BMW. Fleming said he hopes to begin using the trainer with his second semester students as another option to the welding that may be used in construction and maintenance.

“If students don’t want to actually get out and physically weld, this would be a good option for them,” said Jim Ladd, welding instructor. “For production, this will give them the advantage of knowing not only how to weld, but how to program the robot.”

For more information on the welding program, contact Fleming at (864) 941-8470 or fleming.j@ptc.edu.

Photo Caption: Welding instructors Jim Ladd, left, and Jim Fleming, right, demonstrate the Lincoln Robotic Welding Education Cell trainer robot in the welding lab.