News about Welding

Construction Specialties, a New Jersey-based building products manufacturer with local operations in Muncy, has entered into a material-exchange agreement with Pennsylvania College of Technology’s welding program.

Construction Specialties has been a valued corporate partner of the college for many years. Recently, through the assistance of alumnus Anthony J. Peachey, senior marketing manager, the company agreed to provide scrap material, aluminum and stainless steel to the welding program for Penn College students and faculty to use in hands-on coursework. The college then returns the welded materials to Construction Specialties for scrap recycling purposes. The welding program saves on materials purchased for training, and the materials are recognized as a charitable donation from Construction Specialties.

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Twenty-seven Pennsylvania College of Technology students received Innovation Engineering Blue Belt certification following their successful completion of all modules within the Principles of Innovation course at the college.

The course teaches the fundamentals of innovation, emphasizing critical thinking, problem solving and stimuli for effective innovation.

“The class helps you to think more broadly and helps you get closer to the consumer,” said Nolan M. Hickok, an industrial design student from Troy.

“I think it helps you push the boundaries of your mind and what you can create,” added Harrison Wohlfarth, a concrete science technology and applied technology studies student from Midlothian, Virginia, citing rapid research and other techniques that “help you to think about what you can add to an idea and combine ideas that you might not otherwise think to combine.”

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ESAB, a leading manufacturer of welding and cutting equipment and consumables, has donated equipment to benefit instruction in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s welding program.

ESAB Welding and Cutting Products has been a partner of Penn College for nearly three decades. It recently donated a submerged arc welding system that includes an Aristo 1000 AC/DC welding power source and an A6S heavy duty wire feed system mounted on an A6B side beam carriage. The system also includes a flux recovery system. ESAB provided the technical support to get the system installed and running. The total value of the donation is nearly $64,000.

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Restored by Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty and students in a cocurricular alliance, then relocated and rededicated Thursday evening, a piece of public art that enshrines a significant West Branch Susquehanna River phenomenon now graces Pine Square Alley.

The stainless steel “Shad Run” sculpture was created by Seattle artist Joseph McDonnell and unveiled by Public ARTWORKS in 2005, intended as a welcoming landmark at Third and Market streets. When the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau and Little League International decided in 2014 to commission “Bases Loaded,” a baseball diamond in Market Square, complete with bronze “players” frozen in midgame – including a stray fielder along the Penn College entranceway – the artwork was put into storage at the River Valley Transit bus garage.

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Philly Shipyard Inc. recently donated welding consumables to Pennsylvania College of Technology for instructional use in the college’s welding program.

The donation includes nine pallets of Lincoln Electric brand welding consumables; Lincoln Electric paid for the freight costs associated with the donation.

Philly Shipyard, a leading U.S. shipbuilder presently pursuing a mix of commercial and government work, expects to hire nearly 200 welders in 2021 to accommodate work on a new project involving four government training vessels for use at the state maritime academies. The donated material had to be replaced with material specific to the company’s new contracts.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology will expose high schoolers to the marvels of manufacturing and the sector’s rewarding career possibilities, thanks to a grant-supported initiative.

From July 18-22, the college will host the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program for students entering grades 9-12. Participants will learn how everyday objects are designed and fabricated while receiving hands-on experience with 3D design software, machining, CNC automation and welding. Students will use their new skills to fabricate a toolbox, hammer and nail punch.

Penn College faculty will lead individual workshops in the school’s state-of-the-art labs. Sessions will be complemented by guest speakers and tours of regional manufacturing sites.

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Magnificent visuals of the Living Chapel, including images provided through Penn College’s partnership in the international project, accompany a story recently posted to the Facebook page of a prominent newscast in Italy. The segment appeared on TG5, broadcast from Rome and airing on Italian TV channel 5 – reported to have the highest ratings on commercial television in Italy.

A multidisciplinary project that began a year ago – fabricating a logo for the Wildcat Den esports room – has borne fruit on the second floor of Penn College’s Madigan Library.

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Newswatch 16 reporter Nikki Krize and videographer Tom Durant stopped by the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center on Tuesday morning for a story about the expansion of Penn College’s welding laboratories and the campuswide safety protocols (and positive reinforcement of compliance) to maintain hands-on instruction in the face of COVID-19. The improvements, made possible in part by a $2 million grant provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, increased the size of welding-related instructional space by about 35,000 square feet. Krize interviewed Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies, and welding instructor Michael R. Allen for the piece, which first ran during WNEP’s 5 p.m. newscast.

A special virtual event Thursday afternoon honored the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s support of expanded welding facilities at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

A $2 million public works grant from the EDA was the acknowledged catalyst for the additional instructional space in the Lycoming Metal Trades Center – “an incredible facility that will truly transform tomorrow,” as characterized by Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies – that was dedicated in February.

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Stunning imagery and stirring music combine in a two-minute video posted to the Facebook page for the Living Chapel, an ode to sustainability and spirituality that gleams with the artistry of Penn College welding faculty and students. Soar via drone amid the beauty of the ages, then glide into the Botanical Garden of Rome for a closer look at this monumental achievement.

The mikeroweWORKS Foundation recognized the potential of nine Pennsylvania College of Technology students to shrink the skills gap by awarding them Work Ethic Scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year.

The foundation, created by skilled-labor advocate Mike Rowe, distributes the scholarships annually to students who “embrace personal responsibility, delayed gratification, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic” in preparing for a career in the skilled trades. Over $1 million was distributed to 223 recipients nationwide. Nearly 1,000 students applied for the scholarships.

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Eight students from Pennsylvania College of Technology are among 37 nationwide honored with scholarships from a foundation that promotes skilled manufacturing careers.

The $1,500 scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs – the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International – are for the Fall 2020 semester. Full-time students enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study were eligible.

The eight Penn College recipients represent majors within the School of Engineering Technologies.

“We are very proud to see so many of our students honored with the scholarships,” said Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies. “Penn College had more students receive the scholarships than any other school. That fact reflects the high quality of not only our students but also our academic programs and dedicated faculty.”

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A 2019 welding technology alumna, who returned to Pennsylvania College of Technology to explore automotive restoration technology, was featured in a “Work Ethic Wednesday” post on the mikeroweWORKS Foundation’s Facebook page earlier this month.

Madison O. Russ recently became the first-ever restoration intern at Kindig-It Design, a custom car fabrication shop in Salt Lake City, and her tenacity in landing the position caught the eye of Rowe – a TV personality and longtime advocate for hands-on skills – and his staff.

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A pair of YouTube videos adds perspective to the Living Chapel, an international gift that seamlessly melds architecture, botany, theology, sustainability and music – with a vital assist from Penn College welding faculty and students. The first, produced by Gillean Denny, chief architectural designer of the “enormous jigsaw puzzle,” includes footage from the college’s welding labs and on-screen input from James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding. “The music can be continuously adapted and reimagined,” Denny says, commenting on just one of the project’s stunning features: water-fed instrumentation that accents its natural artistry. “Just like the Living Chapel design itself, it should never be finished,” she says. “The design is alive. And I think that is the most important thing.”

A second video, provided by the Botanical Garden of Rome and presented in Italian, offers an overview of the entire process. Among the principals interviewed is Fabio Attorre, the garden’s director, who talks of the focus required to complete the project contemporaneous to a pandemic. During “a moment so difficult for our country,” he says, “we managed to bring home this beautiful structure.”