More than 40 fabricators, crew chiefs and drivers from racing teams around the United States recently attended the Advanced Motorsports Welding Seminar at The Lincoln Electric Co.'s headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. Many of these fabricators have learned welding from their predecessors, but many don't understand metallurgy or the reason why something is done a certain way. Creating safe, quality welds is our main goal with this class. Although this course is by invitation only, the company offers another motor sports class several times a year that is open to anyone in the racing industry. It is aimed at heat-treating business owners and managers, metallurgists, materials engineers, shop floor managers, researchers and others with an interest in this thermal process.
Subscriptions are free to qualified individuals.
The school, which was founded in 1901 and is the nation's oldest public junior college, shut down its welding programs nearly 15 years ago due to a general recession in the local manufacturing industry. In recent years, welding has made a comeback at the school due to the resurgence of welding as a viable occupational opportunity for a number of manufacturers. The junior college trains welders for a variety of local chemical and heavy pipe manufacturers. In addition to the traditional welding program, welding classes are now offered at Joliet as part of the manufacturing, industrial maintenance, electrical and agricultural mechanics programs. Plans are also under way for an automotive repair welding concentration.