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Key Business Issue

Operator Efficiency

Next Steps

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Product Solutions

• XMT 350 CC/CV
• 70 Series Wire Feeder
• Dynasty 200
• Dynasty 350

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• Arc Smart
• Power Efficiency Calculator
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Customer Testimonial

“As a technical institute, we can never let ourselves get behind industry. We have to be technology leaders. If you're teaching, you want to be on that leading edge and must have the right equipment.”
— Bob Clark, associate chair, welding program, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

Application

Educating the next generation of welders to meet the needs of companies in all industries, and especially the construction- and fabrication-related welding that fuels Alberta's booming petrochemical industry.

Key Business Issue

• A chronic shortage of skilled welding professionals that could hinder Alberta's economic growth.

Challenge

• Training facilities with outdated welding technology
• Lack of adequate training space
• Fulfilling a government mandate to train several thousand more students than in previous years

Previous System & Process

• A hodgepodge of older, single process welding systems and outdated or unreliable technology

New Solution

• Multiprocess welding booths with XMT 350 CC/CV inverters paired with 70 series dual wire feeders for training on the MIG and flux cored processes, as well as Stick and DC TIG.
• TIG weld training booths feature the Dynasty 200 or Dynasty 350 for AC/DC TIG and Stick training.
• All power sources feature Auto-Line power management technology.

Results

• Space savings in the welding lab. "Physical space is always a big problem. Now, because of space-saving inverters like the Dynasty 200, what we used to teach in three shops [with our large older equipment] we now teach in one shop. By making all five of our weld shops multi-process, we can accommodate more students and have flexibility when scheduling class locations."
  — George Rhodes, academic coordinator for welding/NDT and manufacturing and automation, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
• Lower operating cost, better use of capital. "Standardizing on just a few pieces of equipment makes our stocking easier and cheaper to manage, as does using equipment that's energy efficient. In fact, new inverters use less than half the power of our old rectifiers." Inverters with Auto-Line also lowered installation costs by $C160,000.
  — Dan MacKinnon, chair, welding program, NAIT
• Meeting industry needs. NAIT increased its enrollment by 60 percent after opening its new C$750 million facility in 2006, and it has increased staff by 63 percent in the last 18 months. By 2008, SAIT will have doubled its staff from 10 years ago to 40 instructors, increased enrollment by nearly 1,000 students and totally refurbished five welding labs.
• Reaching out to educate school counselors. "High school and junior high school counselors don't realize the careers available in the skilled trades. I think school systems first have to realize that any trade is valuable. Then, counselors have to advise kids that, if they have a good work ethic, they'll make a better living as a tradesperson than people with a university degree."
  — Mike Hildebrand, welding instructor and team leader, SAIT