How to Improve Jobsite Productivity and Safety

The new 4-Pack Rack from The Lincoln Electric Company (Cleveland, OH) is made especially for Flextec® 350X multi-process welders and designed to reduce the number of needed high-voltage cables and provide strain relief for those that are used. It reduces jobsite cable clutter and promotes greater jobsite safety with neat-input cable routing that keeps all rack cabling inside to avoid pinching or cutting during operation. Easy to setup, the heavy duty rack accommodates up to four Flextec 350X welders. The durable 4-Pack Rack’s welder mounting plate makes mounting or removing each welder a quick, simple process. A junction box door is designed to open down, leaving a convenient place to set tools during rack set up. The rack, which meets the National Electric Code (NEC), uses commonly available, low-cost fuses to reduce ongoing operation costs. It features a common disconnect switch – 200 amp, 600 volt, 3-phase – and powers all welders with one primary power drop.

Two racks can be bolted together to form an 8-pack rack that can be moved or lifted together as a unit. When combined, the resulting 8-pack rack uses just one primary input cable. The racks have forklift slots on all sides, covering both width and depth. Heavy, square tubing construction, including roof supports, resists bending and twisting during lifts. The 4-Pack Rack also can be purchased as a complete system with factory-installed welders pre-wired to the main power distribution panel.

Lincoln Electric also offers their REALWELD® Advanced Trainer that gives students and prospective employees a live-arc, multi-sensory learning experience that merges actual welding with advanced motion tracking technology. The system helps students master MIG, stick and flux-cored processes with immediate in-booth feedback and analysis. REALWELD improves training results by enhancing student comprehension, reducing training time and increasing certification rates in both school and industry settings. It is ideal for use as a bridge to traditional welding training or as a screening tool to determine welding proficiency. Users can practice multi-pass capability in a number of positions, including 1F, 2F, 3F, 4F, 1G, 2G, and 3G and lap, tee, groove and flat-plate joints. Standard 6 in and optional 18 in fixtures allow users to perform a number of multi-pass industry-standard welds. A motorized carriage makes it easy to move the table and arm for welding in flat, vertical or overhead positions.

The system features an “Arc OFF” mode that allows students to first practice, troubleshoot and master welding techniques without burning an arc. This approach not only boosts learning and muscle memory but also helps reduce program material costs, including welding plate, flux, electrode or wire and shielding gas. As a user welds, with or without an arc, the system analyzes and scores every attempted weld trial on five technique parameters, providing embedded, immediate and objective information on a 17 in touchscreen display that students can access in the booth. The system also enables students to review how-to-videos, technical documents and even instructor handouts, such as safety data sheets, all on-screen in the booth. The display responds to gloved hands, so users do not have to stop and remove gloves to get instant information.

REALWELD mirrors the welding and teaching experience closer than any other training system. Its audio coaching feature provides users with guidance on weld speed, angles, aim, contact tip-to-work distance, arc length and weld position. These cues, which act like a welding instructor in every booth, can be turned off at any time to allow students or prospective employees to demonstrate learned behaviors without a guide. Once a user welds, instructors then can review scoring and analysis to track student progress and immediately determine if students are developing bad habits. They also are able to adjust tolerances to lenient, moderate or stringent settings. Additionally, instructors can set the system’s “sweet spot” parameters associated with proper welding techniques using welding procedure specifications (WPS) for each weld. Instructors can access the system anywhere, on the unit itself or via their own computers using REALWELD’s Desktop Instructor feature.

When used with advanced welding equipment, such as the Power Wave® C300, REALWELD gives users exposure to the latest technologies used in today’s manufacturing industry. The unit’s slim, vertical design maintains a small footprint, making the system ideal for set-up in any weld booth. Storage racks accommodate all six available fixtures.

The Lincoln Electric Company, 22801 Saint Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44117-1199, 888-355-3213, www.lincolnelectric.com.