May 1, 2006 - 5:00pm
Metal testing just got faster for Malaspina University-College students and some Vancouver Island companies with the donation of a bender from the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB).
"It will cut down time and works really well for students as well," said Mark Gall, a Malaspina welding instructor.
Up until last month, students and faculty have used two older benders. A bender is a machine used to curve metal samples called coupons to reveal the quality of the processed metal. Each bender can do only one sample at a time, making for a time-consuming and expensive testing process, especially when 15 metal "coupons" are needed for every CWB certification. If you have 16 students being certified you’d need to bend 240 coupons, said Gall.
"The new bender will cut our time in half and the cost to pay an inspector," said Gall.
Welding companies like the Nanaimo Shipyard Ltd. pay to use the Malaspina benders to re-certify their work every two years with the CWB in Vancouver. Only companies who meet the high standards of the CWB will receive certification.
The certification process also helps students. Like the companies who get their work certified, Welding Level C students can have their own work tested against CWB standards.
"Someone looking at our students can see they can weld to CWB standards, which makes our students more employable," said Gall.
Gall and his fellow faculty were going to build a bender like the one that was donated but the materials alone would cost about $2,000.
So, when the CWB offered up a gently used one, the Malaspina welding staff were thrilled.
"Malaspina does a lot of work for the welding industry," said Rick Ellis, manager of the CWB in British Columbia.
"Hopefully this bender will help Malaspina continue to work with the industry and the students."
There are 68 CWB certified steel companies and 21 aluminum companies on Vancouver Island.
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