What do you all think of welding simulators?

[cianh91]

I just cant see the simulator working to teach how to know if a liner is your problem if the tips gone etc... as said already the heat every lad I no can run a perfect weld in theory but when it comes to smoke heat metal prep and all the other factors there theory is gone out the window without the heat your hands are in a completely different position how good will the simulator show the difference between wires how good will it show difference between steels .. theres loads of factors that can only be learned from doing it for real learning how to spot whats causing the problem will it show you how differnt people weld differnt ways or will it just say your doing it wrong if your not doing it like it expects

NOthing beats real practice and if you want to learn properlg dont waste time and effort learning on something that wont give proper teaching grab some scrap a welder some ppe and start practicing like all the real welders have better off watching an old timer for 30 mins and get a few tips than spending 30 hours practicing on a computer

 

[Rig Pig]

I don't see much benefit in this. I had a go in a crane simulator the other day, it was about as realistic as an old playstation but the clowns at the training place have convinced people that it's better than using a real crane!

 

[Bill Edwards]

A lot could probably be done to give a basic level of control of a torch and to cover some of the basic welding faults.

But really I see no way that it can come close to the real thing, once you're at a bench with all the gear on, smoke/fumes and spatter flying about and the noise it's going to be very different.

As to the costs, if a simulator was good enough to be a 'real life' as possible then I'm sure the cost would be quite high.
The basic costs of consumables to teach welding amounts to very little.

How long does a 15kg reel wire last and what does it cost?
Very little cost for a lot of hours for a newbie.

How long does a bottle of gas last and what does it cost?
Again, not that much and a long time, even for a hobby size bottle if a person is learning at home.

How much does the metal & prep cost to practice on?
Very little, 6mm thick flat bar can be used to teach all the basics for MIG work, and then the same pieces can be welded together again and again making a lot of joints from very little.

In real terms, a couple of hours welding using a few pounds of gas, wire and metal will probably be far more useful than several days on a simulator, and probably no more expensive as the equipment still needs to be available for any training course. So a simulator would have to be purchased on top.

 

[JDJones]

Hi All
I do'nt know about simulators for welding but what attracted me to this forum was the superb photography, being able to show a film like the ones you have before taking students to the shop floor to start welding would have been fantastic and also using the modern helmets where you can see what your doing before striking the arc as well, for absolute beginners that's the hard bit. wish we had it in my day. J D Jones

 

[Kent]

Well that one has been thought up by someone who aint no welder for sure Serious waste of time and fankly no matter how good the thing is it wont simulate the real thing, there is no substitute for burn time. Like others have said its not like you are flying a million plus plane, most of us learnt on lumps of scrap metal and the critical / experienced eye of our boss, it just don't get any more cost effective tan real life.

 

[Jim Davey]

I've used the
Lincon VRTEX machine a couple of times at various trade shows etc.
I thought is wasn't a bad tool as a way of demonstrating welding principles in front of a large class, free from the issues of fume, fire hazard and electrical safety risk. I can see it also being a handy supplement to real welding in a welding school or similar training facility to help people get to grips with the various body positions and build up the muscle memory needed to produce satisfactory welds repeatably. But what I couldn't get my head around was the huge cost.
For the price of one VR simulator you could kit out a school with four welders, extractors, safety clothing, gas kit and consumables for a good period of time. Hence the fact they aren't taking off in a big way.

 

[Kent]

I've used the
Lincon VRTEX machine a couple of times at various trade shows etc.
I thought is wasn't a bad tool as a way of demonstrating welding principles in front of a large class, free from the issues of fume, fire hazard and electrical safety risk. I can see it also being a handy supplement to real welding in a welding school or similar training facility to help people get to grips with the various body positions and build up the muscle memory needed to produce satisfactory welds repeatably. But what I couldn't get my head around was the huge cost.
For the price of one VR simulator you could kit out a school with four welders, extractors, safety clothing, gas kit and consumables for a good period of time. Hence the fact they aren't taking off in a big way.

That expensive? I am not surprised they aint taken off. In relation to your comments as above- all this has to be covered first though before letting guys go at the real thing, so there is no point in skipping the HS.

One thing I will say was I spent a while on a shotgun simulator this last summer. Supposed real quarry with the correct flight patterns but the speeds were well out with many, the gun didn't recoil and was very much lighter than the real thing. There were many more things but this kit cost mega bucks and at best it was a neat game to play with, the instructor / demonstrator that operated it said they no longer watched TV!

 

[Jim Davey]

I'd happily have one in the shop, and I'd be prepared to pay in the region of 5k for one, but not 20.

 

[PhillipM]

Had a play with one the other day, I can see how it could be useful, but not at the price they come in at, you can burn a lot of practice wire for that kind of money and end up better at the end of it!

 

[Jim Davey]

I can see the usefulness in something like a school where you can't have the little darlings exposed to the risk of burns, UV, sparks, fume grinders etc. I don't think it's easy for schools to get approval for hot work, so it one way to get around that I guess.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I struggle to imagine much use for it in schools; if it's to let young kids have a play at welding then they would probably not find it too exciting as they need something to actually hold and take home afterwards - 'look, I stuck this together'.
Anything serious and it's not going to be enough to teach people to become welders alone so they'll still have to use an actual welder at some point anyway.

 

[matt1978]

I just don't think there "real" enough at the moment. All the ones I ever tried are hard to use esp if you already know how to weld. To get top marks on the simulator you have to adapt your technique to "weld" to suit the simulator but it's not the sort of thing you'd be doing for real

 

[brightspark]

just teach yourself thats all i have done all me life and i get by

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Local college brought one to a works site open day, and encouraged us tradesmen to have a go and tell the students how good it was. few red faces when we all declared it complete junk. It teaches nothing, feels nothing like welding and is disgustingly expensive. I learnt to weld on a big old Skool esab mig set, set fire to myself a few times, got a few shocks and burnt my fingers a lot, but I learnt to weld properly!

 

[Rrunnach]

I was recently offered a job at a training establishment in Saudi Arabia, which has a couple of Lincoln VRTEX machines, be lucky to have a sniff at one here at home, let alone have access to two!