YASKAWA NAMES NEW PERSONNEL

Yaskawa Motoman hired Scott Jenkins (right) as vice president of North American sales and marketing. Jenkins was formerly senior vice president of sales and marketing for ITW Welding Group. Doug Burnside (left) was promoted to vice president of customer satisfaction. Burnside has been with the company for 10 years. Doug Schenher (middle) assumed the role of corporate vice president of Yaskawa America Inc. Schenher will help lead the Motoman Robotics and the Drives & Motion divisions. Schenher has been with Yaskawa Motoman for 11 years.

ENGINEERS DEVELOP NEW WELDING TECHNIQUE

Engineers at the Ohio State University developed a new welding technique that consumes 80 percent less energy than a common welding technique, yet creates bonds that are 50 percent stronger. According to Glenn Daehn, professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State who helped develop the new technique, alternative metals still pose a challenge to manufacturers in practice. Many are considered unweldable by traditional means, in part because high heat and resolidification weaken them.

“With our method, materials are shaped and bonded together at the same time, and they actually get stronger,” he says. The new technique could have an impact on the auto industry, which is poised to offer new cars with lighter, alternative metals to reduce vehicle weight. Photo shows a microscopic view of copper (top) welded to titanium (bottom) using the new OSU technique.

ABB ROBOTICS AWARDED IACET ACCREDITATION

ABB Robotics was awarded accreditation status for its robotics training courses by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET ). IACET-accredited providers offer IACET continuing education units (CEUs), which are nationally recognized by a range of organizations, including professional associations, regulatory boards, corporations and universities. CEUs can also be transferable college credits. ABB Robotics’ training curriculum includes arc welding, spot welding and laser cutting. 

LINCOLN ELECTRIC ANNOUNCES NEW WELDING TECHNOLOGY CENTER CLARCOR INDUSTRIAL AIR LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

The Lincoln Electric Co. is investing approximately $30 million in a new welding technology center on its Euclid, Ohio, campus. The center will focus on the training of welding educators and industry leaders to address the rising demand for welding education and careers in welding and advanced manufacturing. Construction is expected to begin in early 2016 with an opening anticipated in 2017. In other news, Lincoln Electric announced its Square Wave TIG200 welder won a 2015 Global Media Award from the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA). Automotive journalists from 15 countries throughout Asia, Europe, South Africa and South America served on the SEMA Global Media Awards panel. With the Square Wave, users can perform AC TIG welding on aluminum and DC TIG welding on steel, stainless and chrome-moly.

HOBERT INSTITUTE TO BREAK GROUND ON NEW FACILITY

The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology plans to break ground on a 14,000-plus- sq.-ft. welder learning facility at its Troy, Ohio, campus in early 2016. An addition to the institute’s existing 13-acre campus, the new facility will enhance the welder learning experience for skill and technical training. The facility will offer capabilities including welder education, welding procedures, welder qualification testing, certification services and specialized training.

Clarcor Industrial Air’s new website integrates its industrial business segments together onto a common platform. The new interactive website is designed with a fresh look and user-friendly navigation providing a more consistent customer experience across all brands and served markets. Visitors can access a broader combined portfolio of products and solutions, industry knowledge and application insight, along with more resources for their specific filtration needs.

SKILLS USA SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCED

Andrew Cardin, 22, of Sutton, Mass., was recently awarded a $40,000 scholarship, sponsored by Miller Electric Mfg. Co., for earning the welding spot on the 2015 SkillsUSA World Team. The Miller Electric International WorldSkills Competition Scholarship was awarded through the American Welding Society Foundation. Cardin plans to use his $40,000 scholarship to earn an associate degree and then a bachelor’s degree, likely in education, welding engineering or metallurgy, with the hope of someday becoming a welding instructor.

FANUC DEMONSTRATES AT AUTOMATION FAIR

Fanuc America Corp. highlighted the seamless integration of its CNC, robotics and RoboMachine products at the Automation Fair hosted by Rockwell Automation in November in Chicago. Some of the product demonstrations included Zero Down Time (ZDT ), a cloud-based application that eliminates unexpected production downtime. Data collected from the robots is sent live over the internet to a cloud-based ZDT data center where it is stored and analyze