Practical Welding Today - July/August 2010

Welder ‘Bob’ dedicated as Hobart
Institute celebrates 80 years
AIAG develops system assessments for soldering, welding

Sculptor Gregory Johnson, HIWT President André Odermatt, and William H. Hobart Jr. pose with welder “Bob.”

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio, has unveiled “Bob,” a bronze sculpture that stands at the entrance to the school, as part of the activities celebrating the institute’s 80th anniversary.

Sculpted by Gregory Johnson of Cumming, Ga., and cast by Eagle Bronze Foundry of Lander, Wyo., the 43-in.-tall sculpture weighs 360 lbs. and stands on a 450-lb. base.

Dedicated to all past and present Hobart instructors, “Bob” is named in honor of Robert C. Bercaw, the first instructor at the Hobart Trade School, the former name of the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. In 1930 Bercaw was personally recruited by William H. Hobart Sr. from the New York Central Railroad to teach welding in a corner of the Hobart Bros. Co. factory. Bercaw was also instrumental in writing the first Hobart training manuals.

The steel base was designed and fabricated by HIWT staff, under the direction of Ron Scott, vice president of the school. The base then was powder-coated by Aesthetic Finishers of Piqua, Ohio.

In its 80-year history, HIWT has trained approximately 90,000 welders. The school offers courses in all arc welding processes. Students also have the opportunity to learn blueprint reading, weldability of metals, and pipe layout. Continuing education courses in technical aspects of the trade include fundamentals of visual inspection, arc welding inspection and quality control, liquid penetrant and magnetic particle inspection, welding for the nonwelder, and preparation for AWS’s certified welding inspector/ educator examination.

Volunteers from AIAG member companies Chrysler Group LLC; Delphi Corp.; Ford Motor Co.; General Motors LLC; Honda of America Mfg. Inc.; Nexteer Automotive; The Lincoln Electric Co.; Toyota Motor Eng. & Mfg., North America; TRW Automotive; and Visteon Corp. have developed the soldering (CQI- 17) and welding (CQI- 15) system assessment guidelines. These guidelines join the family of special process assessments, providing a common approach to welding and soldering management systems for automotive production and service part organizations.

“The CQI- 15 and CQI- 17 assessments
are important to the industry as a whole and
specifically to individual companies because
they provide a roadmap for companies to
keep their procedures and processes updated,”
said Virender Choudhri of Delphi Corp.,
who was a member of both work groups.