Welding/Metal Fabrication - Fox Valley Technical College

Welding/Metal Fabrication from Fox Valley Technical College is a Campus Certificate Engineering General degree that prepares you for a Engineering career. Career Opportunities As a metal fabricator and welder , you lay out, shape, form and weld various types, sizes and shapes of metals. You fabricate and assemble structural metal products such as framework or shells for machinery, ovens, tanks, pipes, stacks and parts for buildings according to job orders or blueprints. Among the skills you must have are techniques of layout using triangulation and parallel and radial line development. You understand the physical properties of metal and must be able to figure the stock allowances for thickness when setting up a machine for the fabrication of metal parts. Such machines may include shears, press brakes, rollers, drill presses, lasers and abrasive water jet cutting machines and automatic welding machines. You know how to set up and use equipment to cut, shear and saw, form, roll and bend for welding of metals. Fabricators must also have knowledge of trade mathematics including basic geometry and trigonometry. You must be able to read blueprints and welding symbols, and have a basic understanding of blueprint reading, sketching and basic welding metallurgy. Typical jobs that you may obtain after graduation involve metal fabrication and welding including structural steel welding, metal arc welding , and cutting. You will usually find these occupations with construction firms, large metal equipment manufacturing companies, or small businesses that manufacture specialized products such as sheet metal cabinets, desks, shelving, pipes, ducts, fire truck builders, yard and garden equipment, snow blowers and equipment for material transfer or food products machinery. Program Description You will be able to start the Metal Fabrication/Welding program at the beginning of either semester in which openings occur. Full-time students will attend 28 hours per week in the Metal Fabrication/Welding lab and theory. Students may also enroll in morning (20 hours), afternoon (8 hours) or evening (12 hours per week), which is considered half-time, provided there are openings. Half-time enrollment, however, would lengthen the time to complete the program. You are required to furnish your own safety glasses and small hand tools as well as welding helmets, cutting glasses, gloves and welding leathers. Program Outcomes The primary goal of the Metal Fabrication/Welding program is to prepare the student for employment as an entry-level welder. Graduates will demonstrate proficiency in: Setup and welding using welding processes including shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding , flux cored arc welding, and gas tungsten arc welding . Setup and operation of fabrication including press brakes (manual and CNC), saws (manual and CNC), and iron workers, punching operation, lasers, and abrasive water-jet, tubing bending and power rollers. Fabrication and repair of parts using thermal cutting processes including oxy-fuel cutting equipment, air carbon arc, and plasma cutting equipment (manual and CNC). Blueprint reading. Basic pattern drafting methods. Interpretation of welding symbols. View more details on Fox Valley Technical College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Engineering General courses.