EWI would like to welcome ThyssenKrupp Bilstein of America into membership.

ThyssenKrupp Bilstein offers high-tech solutions in chassis engineering. They have production facilities in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.  They supply a complete range of damping and suspension products and are a preferred partner in motor sports and vehicle tuning.

Welcome to EWI!

I appreciate that writing a blog technically doesn’t qualify as “being published”, but it does come close enough for me to tweak the engineers here. I push the button to post my blog and I proudly stand up and shout “I just published on an article on the debt crisis.”

But in six years here, I’ve never¹ “presented a paper”.

Co-Published and Credit for “Presenting a Paper”

EWI – The Real Cost of Laser Welding – YouTube

Well my opportunity came when Stan Ream, our technology leader in lasers, approached me about co-authoring a presentation he was going to give at ALAW.

He started going on about what it was about and why he needed my help, but he had me at “co-authoring a paper to present.”  The concept was how much does implementing a laser process really cost on a per part basis.  That was all well and good, but he wanted to present it in a way both an engineer and accountant could understand. I had been wanting to develop a robust model to compare relative costs of all the welding processes under various operating environments so this just gave me a willing partner to work with and, more importantly, a deadline.  Plus I would be a co-author of a paper (in reality it was a powerpoint) being presented by a PhD engineer.

By all accounts, the presentation went over well (I heard 2nd hand as I wasn’t invited… really… it’s ok… I didn’t want to go), the model did a nice job articulating the cost impact of all possible variables, and the video showed that even accountants have a sense of humor.

I’m currently working with our Arc Welding engineering manager Steve Massey to expand the utility, flexibility, and comparability of the model so that it can be used to add some further data for our members when they are evaluating different welding processes.  Aside from being a value to our members, if Steve presents the tool at an Arc Welding conference, I can now claim “multiple papers published and presented”.

If you have any thoughts on variables that need to be considered in developing such a multi-technology model, please feel free to email me at jtighe@ewi.org or post a comment below.

¹Editor’s note – I have presented / spoken 7 times at Miami University’s business school, but for the sake of this blog, I will pretend I didn’t already count that as presenting a paper when interacting with our engineers.

Congratulations to 2013 Crystal Award winner, Banner Metals Group! The prize recognizes companies that have made a positive economic impact locally and statewide  through collaborative work with an Ohio Edison Center.   Banner worked with EWI to test a new metal material for use in creating new products. The results led the company to a “banner year” in which business sales doubled, production processes were improved by 40%,  and the company workforce increased by 200%.

The Crystal Awards were presented at the Ohio Edison Centers Annual Legislative Briefing, held at the Ohio Statehouse on March 12, 2013. To see an exerpt of the awards ceremony, click here.

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Steve Massey

In the April issue of The Fabricator, Steve Massey, EWI’s Engineering Manager in the Arc Welding group, talks about technology advancements that can boost the performance in submerged arc welding (SAW).    Specifically, he identifies techniques such as increased stick-out, twin-wire, and tandem welding.

In the article, “3 Ways to Boost Submerged Arc Welding Performance,” Massey says that these three widely used techniques are proven in production environments to help meet increased productivity goals.  To read more about the techniques, click on the following link to The Fabricator’s April 2013 online issue: 

http://www.thefabricator.com/article/arcwelding/3-ways-to-boost-submerged-arc-welding-performance

Posted by Darlene Kerr, EWI Manager of Library and Information Services; 614-688-5224; dkerr@ewi.org

In April’s issue of The Fabricator, the RealWeld Trainer ™ is profiled, which uses patent-pending technology developed by EWI engineers.

It’s not virtual reality!  It’s not a welding video game!

To find out how schools and companies now have a way to give students instant feedback under real welding conditions, read the full article on page 56 at http://www.thefabricator-digital.com/thefabricator/april_2013#pg1

Posted by Darlene Kerr, EWI Manager of Library and Information Services; 614-688-5224; dkerr@ewi.org

Jose Ramirez

Jose Ramirez, EWI Principal Engineer in the Engineering, Materials & Structural Integrity Group, was recently published in the April 2013 issue of Welding Journal.  

In the article, “Evaluation of Susceptibility of Alloy IN740 to HAZ stress-Relaxation Cracking,” Ramirez evaluated the alloy using high-temperature tensile testing and Gleeble stress-relaxation testing in the temperature range from 600 – 900 degrees C, and compared IN740 to Alloys In 718 and Waspaloy.To read Jose’s article, click on the following link to the Welding Journal’s April 2013 supplement:

 http://www.aws.org/wj/supplement/WJ_2013_04_s89.pdf 

or

http://www.aws.org/wj/supplement/S-2013.html

Posted by Darlene Kerr, EWI Manager of Library and Information Services; 614-688-5224; dkerr@ewi.org

EWI’s engagement with Abakan Inc.‘s subsidiary MesoCoat on the development of the award-winning CermaClad™  technology was featured in the April 17 edition of the Wall Street Journal. The CermaClad high speed metal coating process has received numerous tech innovation awards in the past year. To learn more about EWI and CermaClad, read the full article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130417-908337.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

After receiving initial safety instructions, the scouts were divided into four groups. Half of the scouts, assisted by Tim Moore, Steve Massey, Randy Dull, Doug Clark, and Aaron Shira, were given hands-on instruction on gas metal arc welding (GMAW).  Doug Clark also instructed the scouts on using the RealWeld trainer.  The other groups of scouts were instructed in welding processes (Warren Peterson), first aid and accident prevention (Rich Minshall), cutting processes (Seth Shira), and careers in welding (Dave Phillips of OSU WE dept.). These activities represent all of the skill areas required to qualify for the merit badge.   Following lunch, the groups switched so that everyone could have the opportunity to meet the requirements for the welding merit badge.

Everyone attending had a good time and came away with a better appreciation of welding – toward the end of the day, one scout even asked how expensive weld power supplies were and where he could go to buy his own welder!

Besides letting the scouts try their hand at GMAW (making welds in both butt, lap, and  t-joint configurations), they also got a chance to try out the RealWeld trainer, see demonstrations of Drop Tower Testing, Oxyfuel Cutting, Plasma Cutting, Robotic Welding, Resistance Welding, Data Acquisition, and Metallurgical Examination.

Thanks for all who helped with this successful event!!! We look forward to hosting it again!

We would like to thank the following volunteers for graciously taking the time to support this event:

• Rich Minshall
• Tim Moore
• Paul Zelenak
• Steve Massey
• Angi Cox
• Seth Shira
• Aaron Shira
• Steve Levesque
• Randy Dull
• Warren Peterson
• Doug Clark (RealWeld)
• Leah Kohr
• Lynn Price
• Rebecca Gurk
• Dave Phillips (OSU-WE)
• Mark Matson

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Welcome to EWI!