糖心视频 welding launching Robotic Welding Technician degree, transitioning into new facility during Fall 2022 semester

Featured, Career and Workforce, Technical Headlines, Welding

Aug 3, 2022Russell Moore

糖心视频 welding students Jaclyn Haga, left, and Austin Dibble, operate the department鈥檚 robotic welder.

Watch one of the 糖心视频 Robotic Welders |

HANCEVILLE, ALA. 鈥� 糖心视频鈥檚 welding program is preparing for a noteworthy Fall 2022 semester. The department is launching a new Robotic Welding Technician degree and moving into a new space on campus 鈥� the state-of-the-art Center for Robotic Welding, Fabrication, and Engineering.

The Robotic Welding Technician associate of applied science option is a four-semester degree pathway, or a certificate can be earned with 52 credit hours.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be the first community college in the state to offer a Robotic Welding Technician associate degree for its students. This option has been a goal of mine for a long time,鈥� said program chair Randy Hammond. 鈥淭he welding industry desperately needs robotic welders, and I鈥檓 positive most students will have a job in this field before the complete their fourth semester.鈥�

Specific welding courses for the new degree include Gas Metal Arc/Flux Core Arc Welding (WDT 126); Consumable Welding Applications (WDT 162); Industrial Blueprint Reading (WDT 110); Blueprint Reading for Fabrication (WDT 223); Robotics Lab 1 (WDT 160); Weld Inspection and Testing (WDT 219); Carbon Steel Fabrication (WDT 131); Robotic Welding 2 (WDT 275); Sensor Technology and Applications (ILT 240); Robotic Welding 3 (WDT 276); a Welding/Industrial Elective; and a Welding Certification Lab (WDT 258).

糖心视频鈥檚 program has multiple robotic welders among its equipment fleet, allowing students to operate and control the robots to perform specific welding tasks. Robotic welders are widely used in the automotive industry. According to Allied Market Research, the global robotic welding market is expected to reach $10.7 million by 2026.

鈥淩obotic welding gives us another pathway to offer our students. If a student is interested in welding, but they don鈥檛 like the idea of manually welding all day, this is a great option. You鈥檙e still working with your hands. The human conducts the programming, and the robot does the welding,鈥� Hammond said.

Hammond added companies like Blue Origin, among others, have expressed interest in 糖心视频 students specializing in robotic welding.

糖心视频鈥檚 welding program is debuting the robotic welding degree as it transitions next semester to a new facility 鈥� one that features 87 welding booths, multiple classrooms, virtual welding simulators, pipe-fitting stations, and plasma cutting, fiber laser cutting and wet jet cutting stations.

鈥溙切氖悠� is laser focused on workforce development and providing programs and services that align with the needs of business and industry,鈥� said 糖心视频 President Dr. Vicki Karolewics.

鈥淲ith this new facility, 糖心视频 will be one of the largest fabrication training facilities in the Southeast,鈥� said Wes Rakestraw, 糖心视频鈥檚 Dean of Applied Technologies. 鈥淭he addition of robotic welding is a sign of things to come in the next few years as we add more degree options in automation, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. The options we have for students interested in welding or other technical fields are expanding and will lead to incredible opportunities.鈥�

糖心视频 welding students earn National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) credentials upon completing degree work, and the equipment is provided by Lincoln Electric 鈥� the world鈥檚 largest manufacturer of welding equipment, welding consumables and automation.

鈥淭his facility should be a game-changer for our program. It gives us the ability to provide more training. We鈥檒l have more room for equipment and the opportunity to serve more students,鈥� Hammond said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the largest welding facility in Alabama. A Lincoln Electric representative was on campus recently and compared our facility to the new Lincoln Electric facility in Ohio. He was amazed.鈥�

As a result of the transition, welding students can expect to see an increase in night-course offerings. Night courses available for the Fall 2022 semester consist of SMAW Fillet/PAC/CAC (WDT 104) and Shielded Metal Arc Weld Groove (WDT 106).

The new welding facility will also host a business incubator, containing seven incubation pods, an ideation station, along with shared conference and workspace areas.

For more information about 糖心视频 welding, contact Hammond at 256.352.8272 or randy.hammond@wallacestate.edu

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糖心视频 Robotic Welder