There is a quiet confidence among welders and fabricators: strong attendance at the Essen and Fabtech trade shows indicates that manufacturers are reevaluating their business prospects — and that's giving confidence to the developers, suppliers, and marketers of welding equipment and consumables for 2010. But, it isn't just a matter of timing: there are a series of specific factors shaping commercial demand in the welding and fabricating sector.

Safety Standards — Safety is constant a welding concern, and changing safety standards are a reason to reevaluate equipment and systems. For example, OSHA's latest revisions to its acetylene standard will lead many operators and distributors to update their gas-handling equipment.

Every welder is aware of changing ventilation standards, and the new range of equipment is addressing these. Miller Electric is rolling out a new fume-extraction system that delivers “submicron” ventilation control in a portable package. The Miller Filtair 130 is aimed at contractors, maintenance, and repair pros, and intermittent-welding operations, and designed specifically to capture welding-fume particles one-third as big as those captured by competing units. Its accessible, single filter can be cleaned manually, to reduce downtime and equipment costs. It's a compact unit (46 lb, 2 ft high) that transports easily.

For stationary work, Lincoln Electric introduced a new line of DownFlex tables, dual-purpose workbench/extraction units that remove fumes and dust from welding, light-duty plasma cutting, and metal grinding operation. The different model tables are ergonomically engineered with adjustable legs, hinged-side doors that accommodate larger parts, and front access to all controls and maintenance operations.

The DownFlex 400-MS/A model for medium to heavy-duty activities has automatic self-cleaning controls and disposable filters; DownFlex 200-M for light- to medium-duty applications comes with disposable filters. The DownFlex100-NF model is for workers who want a sturdy downdraft table, but prefer to build their own customized extraction system.

Higher Performance. Lower Cost — There's nothing new about manufacturers' aiming to improve productivity, though marketers may expect that in 2010 operators will want equipment and consumables that will justify the hard lessons of 2009. Robotic welding continues to expand because operators cannot find, or cannot afford, the laborers they need to compete for work. Together, Lincoln and FANUC Robotics are offering a new Robotic Education Cell that moves from one classroom to another to train welders in robotic programming and welding. Students learn robotic welding basics and more advanced technologies, so they're prepared for a variety of industrial, construction, and other welding applications.

Lincoln also introduced a new virtual-reality welding simulator that teaches techniques so students can improve their welding skills and practice new ones. The VRTEX 360 system incorporates technology developed for training software and graphic simulation and provides a hands-on experience that gives students more exposure than is feasible in traditional training, and provides real-time feedback about their welding techniques. Students practice welding in virtual environments, using a virtual welding gun and helmet equipped with internal monitors, and VRTEX 360 relays the computer-generated data that can be evaluated.

Real-time performance improvements are emphasized, too. Hypertherm aims to enhance plasma cutting with its newest HyPerformance technology, called True Hole, which features two new motion control systems and an advanced program software. True Hole uses a specific combination of cutting parameters (optimized for mild steel) to improve the shape of a hole by up to 50%, and nearly eliminate taper and dings on holes with an equal diameter-to-thickness ratio.

Conserving Energy — Plenty of new processes and products will carry a “green” label, but cutting energy costs is the immediate aim for many operations. Lincoln offers one response: it is equipping its Power Wave power source units with a proprietary technology to measure heat input of welds more accurately.

Heat input calculations are used in industrial welding, but thanks to recent advances (e.g., shorter arcs, pulse modes) the traditional method for measuring heat input (average voltage and current) is less reliable. Lincoln developed the True Energy method to measure instantaneous energy values throughout an entire weld sequence, to calculate the total amount of power put into a weld. This value, in conjunction with the length of the weld, determines heat input more accurately.

With True Energy embedded in the Power Wave units, heat input can be determined by reading the value from the power-source display and dividing that value by the length of the weld. Lincoln's Production Monitoring 2 software can display True Energy values and monitor other data points, too, such as arc on-time, weld faults, and wire usage.

Direct to Market — Most of the commercial changes in the welding market are responses to changes in the manufacturing sector. For example, with so much investment expected in energy and infrastructure projects, equipment suppliers are targeting those markets more specifically. Thus, Fronius introduced a new digital inverter power source specifically for steel welding. Numerous manufacturers are focused on the welding requirements of the wind-energy sector.

Miller's PipeWorx pipe-welding system is a multi-process solution designed for use in pipe fabrication shops that provides simple process setup, quick process changeover, and reduced training time.

PipeWorx has a one button for changing between processes, selecting the right output studs, gas and polarity. Cables remain connected to the power sources. Different welding techniques (stick, TIG, flux-cored, and MIG) are optimized for pipe welding, so there's no need for different welding machines in the cell.

The backdrop to every scenario for a 2010 manufacturing-sector recovery is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the $787-billion federal stimulus program enacted in February. One qualification for funding is a “Buy American” provision for materials and supplies used in “construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building public work must be produced or manufactured in the United States.” This means that infrastructure projects expected to drive demand for welding equipment and consumables — roads, bridges, energy-generating equipment and structures, schools and public buildings, and a range of “green” projects — must use domestically built and produced goods, right down to welding wire.

One company primed to profit by this circumstance is Lincoln Electric, which has introduced the “Buy America” welding consumables series to signal compliance. Lincoln's Buy America consumables are certified to offer the same performance as their standard counterparts, but are produced from U.S.-souced steel rods or strips. The line includes several varieties of stick electrodes and flux-cored and submerged arc wires.