If you’re pursuing training in welding, know that there are a range of opportunities that await you in the industry today. Boilermaking, jewel and stonework, plumbing, and transportation assembly are just a few of the common options in this trade. The job market for skilled welders is expanding and now spans a wide range of manufacturing sectors. If you’re looking for a diverse, creative and manually-intensive career, welding offers rewarding prospects. 

A great welding program will include both theoretical and hands-on training. Trainee welders can expect to learn about the modern methods and uses of welding, and be ready to apply them to an industry-grade job upon graduating. 

To understand more about your options, let’s take a look at 4 surprising facts about this skill.

1. There Are Many Different Types of Welding

As a trainee welder, you’ll practice using a number of different methods. For those without any prior knowledge of the trade, welding school offers comprehensive training to 

get you to grips with the mechanics of welding. Welding courses will familiarize you with modern equipment used across different processes to prepare you for practical industry work. At the North American Trade School (NATS), students gain both theoretical and hands-on understanding of major welding methods. These include Gas Metal Arc Welding, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, Flux Cored Arc Welding, and Shielded Metal Arc Welding. Upon graduating, students often have the chance to apply this knowledge to an apprenticeship as an ironworker, pipefitter, and more. 

2. Welding Teaches You Many Different Lessons

As a welder, you’ll master more than just manual and technical skills. It is a trade that teaches resilience, creativity, and organization when working in different settings. Welders are often exposed to smoke, heat, and other harsh substances in their work, while using technical equipment such as drills and grinders. Precision, stamina, and awareness of your surroundings are invaluable skills in this trade. In the NATS welder program, courses cover more than the basics of equipment and the processes of welding joints together. Students also learn the fundamentals of creating a safe working environment, and how to identify and control hazards in welding.  

3. Most Man-Made Substances Involve Welding

Over 50% of man-made products today are constructed using welding. From large-scale industrial equipment to automobiles, to personal computers, welding techniques are used in most manufacturing processes. At our NATS welding program, practical lab training teaches students the techniques essential to real-life productions. Over a 55-week program, students at NATS have plenty of access to on-campus labs. Here, they’ll gain first-hand experience of modern equipment, and be ready to apply that knowledge to work in their field. Courses at NATS also teach students how to decipher welding symbols on blueprints and apply basic math to perceive volume, area, and effective part layout. 

4. Welding Opens The Doors To Many Career Paths

Welding is a skill you can utilize across many different industries. Technological devices, transport links, and other industrial equipment all require welding to function. Welders can apply their skills to finish making popular consumer items such as toys, computers, and electronic devices. As such, modern production companies have an ever-growing demand for skilled welders. After completing an apprenticeship, trained welders can go on to work in the design and manufacturing of common appliances. A good welding college will offer you the training to support each and every career ambition. Graduates will come away with an experience of technical equipment, modern fabrication methods, and a trained eye for structure and design. 

Do you want to learn more about the benefits of a welding career? 

Contact North American Trade Schools today!

In a welding project, arc-on time has a direct effect on the number of parts completed during manufacturing operations. However, what many manufacturers don’t realize is that the average arc-on time is typically 10% to 12% of the welding process. Increasing arc-on time can result in improved productivity and cost savings, and thus, welding professionals should make boosting this metric a priority. There are many factors that contribute to improved arc-on time, and in order to see results, the entire welding process must be considered. 

If you’re training for a career as a welder, here are three ways to increase arc-on time during a welding project.

1. If You’re in a Welding Career, Increase Arc-On Time By Choosing the Right Welding Process

If you’re having trouble increasing your arc-on time, start by analyzing the welding process you’re using. Making a change to the process can result in improved efficiency and increased arc-on time, but many manufacturers are hesitant to make this change due to the reapproval and further training necessary to switch processes. Options for welding processes include standard GMAW (gas metal arc welding), modified short-circuit GMAW, or a pulsed GMAW process. Switching from a standard to a pulsed process can result in benefits such as increased travel speeds, lower heat input, and reduced amounts of spatter, contributing to increased arc-on time. 

Professionals in a welding career can also make changes to their process by utilizing metal-cored or flux-cored wires instead of a solid wire, which is conventionally used in GMAW applications. Depending on the materials being welded, a metal-cored wire can result in faster travel speeds to boost arc-on time. Welders may also utilize different shielding gases to improve the productivity of their process. Most manufacturing operations utilize 100% carbon dioxide shielding gas, but substituting a mixed gas, such as one composed of 90% argon and 10% carbon dioxide, can produce fewer spatters and faster travel speeds. This allows welders to spend less time on post-weld grinding—increasing arc-on time.

2. Welders Can Check Their Parameters and Consumables to Increase Arc-On Time

Arc-on time can be negatively impacted by inaccurate parameters and faulty consumables–factors which not only increase inefficiency, but are preventable. When welding professionals check that their parameters are correctly inputted before beginning the welding procedure, they can reduce the chances of having to solve issues through rework or spending excess time on post-weld cleanup. Professionals can check parameters such as heat input, travel speed, and wire stick-out. With the right travel speed heat will be controlled, reducing spatter and optimizing penetration. Additionally, if too much wire is sticking out, there will be excessive spatter, requiring more rework and extra post-weld cleanup.

Before beginning the welding process, those in welding technician training can also ensure that their consumable connections are properly adjusted and correctly installed. Welding professionals can check for loose connections or worn weld cables to prevent a poor quality welding job or increased spatter. If the quality of these connections is confirmed beforehand, troubleshooting time can be reduced. 

3. Take Advantage of Technology to Increase Arc-On Time

Advances in technology offer many advantages to welders looking to improve their arc-on time and increase efficiency. Technology is being increasingly used to improve welding power sources–making welding machines more accurate and easier to use. Some welding power sources today feature synergetic control, which allows them to automatically make changes in accordance with the operator’s adjustments. This also allows the operator to increase their arc-on time without worrying about parameters. Today, welding systems also offer a simplified machine setup–reducing the time welders spend setting up by adjusting other parameters according to the material thickness. These technologies improve accuracy, reducing spatter and post-weld cleaning to optimize arc-on time.

While these three factors contribute to increased arc-on time, those interested in entering a career in welding can also increase their arc-on time by receiving the proper training. Students at the North American Trade Schools’ (NATS) welding program benefit from hands-on training to prepare for a welding career. For welding graduate Emily Harrison, her “favourite thing about [NATS] was the knowledge of the teachers and how much practical work you were able to do.” With training from NATS, you’ll be equipped to identify ways in which arc-on time can be increased throughout your welding career. 

Are you interested in taking welding courses?

The North American Trade Schools’ welding program can launch your career—learn more today!

Looking for a rewarding career that can teach you many new skills and allow you to work with your hands to build and fix things every day? Welding might just be the right choice for you. Should you decide to pursue a career in this field, going to welding school can help set you up for a future in this profession. A great welding training program can teach you about the trade through both a theoretical and practical lens.

Those who pursue welding as a career path can open themselves up to a hugely gratifying profession. Here are some reasons why you should consider welding school to fulfill your career ambitions.

Welding Is a Fantastic Career, Especially if You Have the Personality For It

Are you a patient, creative, hard-working individual who relishes the challenge of working in an intense environment? Welding is a career that caters to exactly these kinds of people. Welders are typically subjected to a large amount of smoke and heat, all while wearing heavy protective gear like coveralls and a mask. This type of work requires a great amount of endurance, as well as the knowledge and instincts to be able to join metal pieces together with the utmost care and accuracy. As a trained welder, you might have opportunities to work in several different industries after completing an apprenticeship, such as: manufacturing, oil, construction, architecture, and more. If any of these job prospects interest you, welding could be a great fit for your professional career.

Taking a Welding Diploma Program Can Teach You Many Lessons About the Trade

If you’re looking for a way to gain the foundational knowledge necessary for success in the welding industry, starting your welding training is your ticket. At NATS, our welding program offers students the opportunity to learn about the trade over 55 weeks. During the program, you can learn about concepts such as welding processes, equipment, safety standards, blueprint reading, and positional welding. Furthermore, students at NATS can use our on-campus labs for hands-on learning. Here, processes like MIG (Gas Metal Arc Welding) and TIG (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) welding are learned through the use of modern equipment. This helps give students practical, real-world experience before even setting out to work in the field.

You Won’t Need Prior Experience to Get Started in Welding Training

At NATS, some students come to the welding program having already gained a bit of welding practice beforehand. “I chose to study welding, because I did it in high school,” says Emily Harrison, a graduate of NATS’ welding program. “I’m a bit of an artist, and I wanted a little bit more knowledge and a little bit more practicality for the future.”

However, those hoping to attend welding school should also note that they don’t need any prior experience to get into the program. Even without any base knowledge of the trade, taking a welding program can provide you with the training to open you up to various career opportunities, often starting out as an apprentice welder to further sharpen your skills in such roles as ironworker, boilermaker, pipefitter, and more. Not only do you not need experience or a university degree to enter the field, but you also have a wide range of career choices available to you—making welding a great choice for fulfilling your professional aspirations!

Do you want to begin your welder technician training?

Contact North American Trade Schools today to learn more!

If you’re someone who enjoys the satisfaction of building something with your own two hands, then a career as a welder might be for you. With their skill set, welders are equipped to build and repair a variety of things, from metal furniture to huge vessels such as ships. With so many things depending on the work of welders, it’s no wonder that welding is a respected and highly skilled profession. 

So what does it take to join it? The first step is completing a pre-apprenticeship program before starting your apprenticeship. Here’s a look at what you can search for when making your decision.

Your Welder School Should Offer Hands-On Welder Training

Perhaps the most important thing in choosing a welding school should be whether the program offers hands-on experience. At the North American Trade School (NATS), students benefit from both a hands-on and theoretical approach to welding to ensure that graduates are ready to step into the field with confidence. 

Students can gain experience in welding while using modern equipment, building skills in many different welding processes such as Flux Cored Arc Welding, Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Gas Metal Arc Welding, and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding. For welding graduates like Emily Harrison, NATS was a great choice because of “how much practical work [she] was able to do.” Because welding processes can often be complex, it’s important to complete your welding training in a hands-on setting such as the one NATS offers.

All Welders Need Expert Teaching 

Welding is a complicated job, requiring familiarity with a variety of safety measures, equipment, and procedures. In order to become a qualified welding professional, it’s important to choose a welding program that will not only equip you with the right certification, but will teach you the techniques and skills necessary to succeed. When choosing a welding program, look for one that prioritizes access to knowledgeable instructors every step of the way. At the North American Trade School, instructors are experts in their fields, and they’ll be able to equip you with the training you need to excel in a wide variety of welding techniques, while following the correct safety procedures. The welder school you choose should offer courses taught by expert instructors in order to prepare you for your career.  

During Your Welding Training, Your Instructors Should Be Available to Guide You

Another key component to your welding education should be access to plenty of support from your top-notch instructors. In addition to being experts in their field, your instructors should be there to guide you through welding best practices, processes, and safety protocols, and answer any questions you may have. 

Welding graduate Adam Maize says that what he enjoyed most about NATS was “probably the instructors… They were very open to conversation and explaining what to do here.” In a hands-on training environment, instructors who are there to make sure that you’re understanding every step of the process are essential to a solid education in welding. 

Are you ready to begin your welding career?

Check out the North American Trade School’s welding program to get started.

In the welding world, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)—also frequently referred to as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding—produces welds via a process using tungsten electrodes. A shielding gas protects the weld pool area from air pollution, and inert gases such as argon, helium, or a mixture of the two are used.

Due to the high level of precision in this form of the trade, GTAW is typically reserved for high-quality jobs requiring more attention to detail. It’s also the form most appreciated by experienced welding practitioners, due to its ability to turn out stronger welds with cleaner, more artful results and higher integrity.

To understand more about GTAW welding, let’s take a look at five interesting facts about this method.

1. It Takes Longer to Master Than Other Welding Types

The finicky welding method of GTAW requires a lot of practice to perfect. In fact, it’s usually only attempted once a welder has a solid grasp in some of the more basic forms of the trade, such as metal inert gas (MIG) welding.

The more complex GTAW procedure requires a non-consumable tungsten electrode to run a current through the metals the technician is looking to weld together. After the metals have been liquified by the heat of the electrode, the filler material is hand-fed into the weld pool. Those interested in a welding career should know that this method is slower to perform than more basic “point and shoot” one-handed weld methods, and is a lot more difficult for inexperienced users to accomplish.

2. It Requires a Lot of Focus

Any type of welding is reliant on lots of concentration to avoid mistakes and accidents. If you’re attending welding school, you’ll be interested to hear that GTAW welding requires an even sharper level of focus. Both hands are needed to work on a GTAW job, with the welding torch in one hand and the filler material in the other.

A lot of concentration and a steady hand are needed to feed the wire as the operator attempts to move smoothly through the weld. The clean results at the end of this painstaking process come from a lot of patience, along with razor-sharp focus to prevent mishaps and unsightly errors.

3. Its Ability to Apply Controlled Heat Allows for Cleaner Results

On GTAW welds, a foot pedal controls the electricity coming to the torch, allowing for a level of deep penetration and accuracy that prevents the arc weld splatter one might get with a more basic type of welding. This control of the heat allows for much cleaner results—perfect for more advanced, high-precision jobs. 

The welder doesn’t even necessarily need filler material here to get a successful join. This is important to remember, as welding requiring any filler material is usually a messier procedure. The precise metal-to-metal welds that GTAW welding enables allows for the operator’s desired smooth, clean surface. Producing an aesthetically-pleasing pattern and uniform bead, these welds often need no more than a light polish to finish.

4. It’s Ideal for Working on Stainless Steels

GTAW is well-suited to working on thin sections of light metals, including magnesium and aluminum. The method is particularly favourable for use on stainless steel welds. This is partly due to the aesthetics of these jobs, where the uncoated fabrication of the material means the weld remains exposed for the world to see. Additionally, stainless steels are a more expensive metal type, requiring significantly tidier finishes.

5. It’s More Expensive for Welding Career Pros to Complete

Due to the level of precision and attention to detail required, a GTAW weld is one of the most time-consuming jobs to complete. The process also has a low deposition rate to consider, with this rate measured in pounds per hour, deposited at a particular welding current. Additionally, a lot of GTAW welding equipment is at least twice as expensive as more basic tools of the trade. 

Factoring in the time required from the highly-skilled welder multiplied by the hourly rate, plus the cost of resources needed on higher-quality jobs, these welds are much more costly to complete than other forms of the trade.

Interested in pursuing a thriving career by earning your professional welding diploma?

Contact North American Trade Schools today for more information on its exciting welding diploma program!

Both MIG and TIG welding are procedures that use electrical arcs to create enough heat for melting down metals into liquids. Both methods use filler material to join metal pieces together, and inert gas is also used to prevent welding electrode corrosion for both procedures. Despite these similarities, these welding types remain quite different in their approach, and with different purposes for their use.

Generally speaking, MIG welding is a good low-cost bet for completing jobs on steel and aluminum quickly, whereas TIG welding is typically reserved for more expensive, high-quality, and precise jobs–requiring more training to master and taking a lot longer to complete.

For a better understanding of which welding type to use and when, let’s take a closer look at both of these processes!

What Is MIG Welding?

This type of welding is often called ‘point and shoot’ welding due to its similarities to aiming and pulling the trigger on a gun. Metal inert gas (MIG) welding works by feeding metal wire continuously from a spool connected to an electrode into the weld–with wire being used to join the two metal objects together as a filler material. 

An electric current flows through the filler wire to produce an arc. While it’s touching the metal being welded, the arc is generated. With this short-circuit welding process, you move the gun at a steady speed along the joint upon starting the arc until the job is done.

Pros with welding technician training may know that MIG welding is effective on many thicker types of sheet metal. It’s also a lot easier to pick up as a trade, and a faster process than the more precise art of TIG welding.

What Is TIG Welding?

If you’re interested in attending welding school, you’ll eventually hear about the more finicky art of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. Here, the metals you’re looking to weld together need to have a tungsten electrode running a current through them. Once the metals have been liquefied by the heat of the electrode, you join the pieces together by putting filler material into the weld puddle.

Unlike the one-handed use of a MIG welder, TIG welding requires both of your hands for the filler and the torch, since they are separate here. You control the electricity coming to your torch via a foot pedal, which allows for a level of deep penetration and accuracy that prevents the arc weld splatter that can result from a more basic MIG job. 

In order to feed the wire, you must have a steady hand and stay extremely focused while moving through the weld. The level of control made possible by this procedure allows for a much cleaner weld—perfect for high precision, more advanced jobs. With TIG welding, you don’t even necessarily need filler material to get a successful join.

How to Decide Which One to Use After Welding Technician Training

With any weld job, looking at some key components of the work at hand will help you decide whether to use the MIG or TIG approach. Cost is your first consideration, with TIG jobs typically being much more time consuming, and therefore more expensive to complete. To execute fast and low-cost jobs, MIG is best. 

The thickness of the metals you wish to weld is next on the list, with MIG welds generally being much more effective on thicker, bigger pieces of sheet metal than TIG. Finally, you should consider the aesthetics of the job. Welding requiring any filler material is usually a messier procedure. The precise metal-to-metal welds that TIG welding can enable is splatter-free, allowing for the smooth, neater surface you’re looking for.

When talking about MIG and TIG welding, it’s really not possible to say that one type of welding is definitively better than another. Both procedures are necessary in the world of liquefying and joining metals, and both take a good deal of training to master—with MIG being the more basic starter skill that can later lead to performing the more precise art of TIG welding.

Are you interested in pursuing a thriving career by taking professional welding classes? 

Contact North American Trade Schools today for more information on its exciting welding diploma program!

When you first look at welding symbols, you may be overwhelmed by the seemingly arbitrary shapes and numbers. However, despite what you initially think, these symbols do have deeper meaning—and knowing this meaning will work wonders for your future welding career.

These symbols are often found on welding project blueprints, and are used to communicate between the designer and the welder. Without understanding these symbols, you won’t know what specifications a weld requires.

If you’re interested in becoming fluent in the language of welding symbols, read on!

Welding Symbols 101 for Those in Welding Training

Welding figures generally consist of five main figures: arrow, leader line, reference line, tail, and weld symbol (not to be confused with the welding symbol, which represents the entire diagram). Confused yet? Let’s explain them figure by figure.

The arrow, for starters, points to the part of the diagram where the weld is needed. Attached to the arrow is the leader line, which intersects with the reference line. In the middle of the horizontal reference line is the weld symbol: this represents the type of weld required. Finally, at the opposite end of the reference line, you may find the tail—it is only required for special instructions—which forks off in opposite directions.

How to Interpret Welding Symbols

As you’ll learn in welding training, the location of the weld symbol vis-à-vis the reference line determines which area of the joint you should perform the weld.

If the weld symbol is under the reference line, you should make the weld on the same side as the arrow. However, if the weld symbol is located above the reference line, you should make the weld on the opposite side of the arrow. But if the symbol is on both sides of the reference line, then, as you can imagine, you must perform the weld on both sides.

Understanding Dimensions and Angles in Welding Symbols

In addition to shapes and lines, welding symbols can also include numbers that communicate the depth, diameter, and length of a weld–along with the beveling angle, if applicable.

In many cases, you will find the weld diameter (or width) on the left-hand side of the weld symbol. The length of the weld is found on the right. If the length is not indicated on the welding symbol, you should conduct the weld from the beginning of the joint to the end.

The reference line also plays a part in understanding the dimensions of a weld, just as it did for the weld type. Any dimensions indicated below the reference line pertain to the joint on the side of the arrow. Dimensions above the reference line pertain to the joint on the opposite side. If dimensions are indicated on both sides of the reference line, then you should weld both sides of the joint.

If these numbers, figures, and placements seem complicated, fret not—welder technician training is there to help you decipher these symbols with ease.

Do you want to get your welding diploma?

Contact North American Trade Schools to get started!

FCAW differs from other welding processes as it can be done outside with minimal equipment and produces impressive results. It is one of the fastest manual welding processes and can produce more than 25 lbs of welded metal per hour. By comparison, gas metal arc welding (MIG) generates substantially less.

Read on to learn more about FCAW before practicing it for real in the workshop!

Learn How Flux Cored Arc Welding Works at Welder School

Similar to MIG, FCAW involves joining two pieces of metal together using heat. An electrode is continuously fed through a welding gun onto the joint. The electricity short circuits to generate heat, or an ‘electrical arc’, that causes the electrode to melt. This forms a molten puddle that joins the metal together when it cools.

Flux cored differs from other welding processes as the electrode contains a flux compound and shielding gas, which is released when heated. Shielding gas is normally made up of carbon dioxide or argon carbon dioxide, which protects the weld pool from contamination by oxygen or water vapour. This is normally added externally, however, in FCAW it is released automatically in a process called ‘self shielding’. Taking welding classes will teach you even more about these different aspects.

The Difference Between Self Shielding and Dual Shielding

There are multiple versions of FCAW, including self shielding and dual shielding. In self shielding, no external protective gas needs to be applied, as the gas released from the electrode is enough. This means that welding can be performed outside without concerns about windy weather contaminating the heated pool.

By contrast, dual shield welding uses an external shielding gas as well as the inner shield for extra protection. At welding school, students will gain practical hands-on experience performing these processes in the workshop.

The Advantages of Flux Cored Arc Welding

FCAW is a highly productive arc welding method and can weld large volumes of metal in a short time period. The electrode is continuously fed through, meaning that the operator does not need to stop and start to introduce a new electrode. Because of this, it is a common technique for welders working in the construction and maritime industries and who usually work with large, heavy metals.

FCAW is one of the only welding processes that can be completed outside. It is less easily contaminated by dirt or rust because of the flux compound, and requires minimal equipment. You do not need a heavy gas bottle, meaning that welders can move around and work outside of a workshop if needed. As well as this, FCAW can be used on mid- and low-alloy steels, stainless steels, and some high nickel alloys.

…and the Disadvantages of Flux Cored Arc Welding

However, there are some disadvantages that come with flux cored arc welding. FCAW produces high levels of noxious smoke, which can make it difficult for the welder to see their work. There is also a risk of the finished metal being porous as gases escape through the metal as it cools.

In addition, the wire and filler in FCAW is more expensive than in other arc welding processes. Lastly, FCAW cannot be used on non-ferrous metal likes aluminium, meaning that it is less flexible than other welding processes out there.

Are you interested in welder school?
Contact North American Trade Schools to find out more!