Randolph Community College officials will cut the ribbon on a new 5,700-square-foot Welding Center at the Archdale Center on Friday, Aug. 12. New welding equipment for the Center was purchased through a $248,222 grant from Duke Energy Community College Grant Program.
RCC will start fall semester Curriculum classes in the new Center on Aug. 15; the school has just added a one-year diploma program in Welding Technology. RCC will also continue to offer Continuing Education certification classes in welding in the new lab and at the Asheboro Campus. Continuing Education classes in Basic Welding and Comprehensive Welding are scheduled to start Aug. 15 and are still accepting new students; classes are offered day and evening and on Saturday.
The Asheboro Campus has had a successful welding program and a 10-station laboratory for over 40 years, according to Lonnie Hamm, who has been coordinating the Continuing Education welding program for several years. The programs include stick, TIG, MIG, and cutting with gas (braizing, soldering with torch work), he said. Even though the Asheboro lab is still in use six days a week, "it does not allow RCC to train and equip our students in modern welding trends," said Hamm. "Those markets are Pulsed Spray Transfer (MIG) by such companies as Deere-Hitachi, Caterpillar, Olympic, Melroe-BobCat, and all the nation's shipbuilding ports. The other major market is pipe welding or AWS pipe weld to AWS 6-G status, ASME, and APXI. These support power plants and new energy work. The two new skill sets also pay the highest wages."
The new Welding Lab in Archdale has 15 welding stations of Spray Transfer MIG and 20 stations overall and is designed to keep up with the rapid changes in welding technology. It includes a VRTEXTM 360 Virtual Reality Arc Welding Trainer, which combines realistic puddle simulation and arc welding sound tied to the welder's movement providing a realistic hands-on training experience.
Archdale was chosen as the location for the new Welding Center because, "The Archdale-Trinity area of Randolph has the largest cluster of businesses that require welders and welder training," continued Hamm.
For more information on RCC's new Welding Technology program, visit www.randolph.edu, or to sign up for Continuing Education welding classes scheduled to start Aug. 15, contact RCC at 336-862-7980 in Archdale or 336-633-0268 in Asheboro.
