Prima Power Laserdyne (Brooklyn Park, MN) recently presented a Zeiss high-resolution microscope to the welding program leaders of Anoka Technical College (Anoka, MN) as the college expands its robotic and laser welding program. Initiated in the fall 2020 semester, the program is designed for students with a basic welding background who want to advance their career.
A developer of laser cutting, drilling, and welding technology, Prima Power Laserdyne is committed to support the training of the manufacturing leaders of tomorrow. High-quality welding can be very challenging, taking into account the wide range of materials frequently welded as well as tight metallurgical specifications required in many industries. High carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and dissimilar materials, among others, all have different welding requirements.
Using the Zeiss microscope with a wide zoom range and high resolution will enable Anoka Technical College’s instructors to enhance the welding skills and understanding of the process at the metallurgical level. The ability to analyze welds is key to understanding and correcting porosity, cracking, and other adverse effects that can occur in the weld and the heat-affected zone compromising the quality of the weld. The microscope enables students to closely examine internal cross-sections of welds for potential problems and thereby correct the welding process. Training and knowledge at this metallurgical level allows students to produce high-quality welds consistently and contribute to a future employer’s manufacturing capabilities.
Jay Gerdin, Anoka Technical College welding instructor, explained that industry is finding it difficult to get experienced welders with both welding skill and an understanding of the metallurgical process that occurs during welding. It is one of the drivers behind Anoka Technical College’s expanded robotic and laser welding program. Today’s welding needs aren’t just welding skill, but also knowledge of multiple welding processes and have an understanding of the metallurgy interactions that go on inside of welds to help ensure the weld integrity. Learning the correct use of the metallurgical microscope will allow students to better understand the metallurgy of different metals using different welding processes, Gerdin stated.
Gerdin said that the program has also added robotic welding on three different types of industry-standard robots—ABB, FAN, and OTC, with plans to add more equipment, machines, and welding processes in the future. “After learning the programming language for each machine, students will then gain hands-on learning experience. And now that we have Prima Power Laserdyne on board with the donation of the metallurgical microscope, we are able to analyze the weld characteristic, heat-affected zone, and check for porosity in the weld. The microscope also allows students to evaluate pulse characteristics of laser weld programs for size and aspect ratio. This allows students to see how their work conforms to American Welding Society (AWS) standards,” Gerdin stated.
Source: Prima Power Laserdyne press release