welding videos

Machinists make things. They mount steel billets, brass rods, and other metal stock onto lathes, drill presses, and milling machines and use their skills and tools to shape them into a part that will be used in some other machine. Some machinists produce large quantities of a single part, but most produce small numbers of one-of-a-kind components. Every job is unique, requiring the machinist to draw on his or her knowledge of different metals and how they behave when shaped view more

Computer Numerically Controlled—or “CNC” (Narrator, pronounced: “see-en-see”)—machines are industrial robots that drill, grind, punch, extrude, or mill plastic or metal stock into parts for home appliances, industrial equipment, and many other products. The machines are very fast, very efficient, and very accurate. But they are useless without skilled numerical control machine operators. Human beings must set up every machine, making sure that the various bits, bores, and other tool heads are sharp and racked where the machine expects them to be view more

Sheet metal duct installers make, install and maintain heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. They may also construct pollution control systems. Ductwork installation actually begins in a shop, where components are fabricated to meet a particular building’s needs. Drafting and specification reading are important tools at this stage, so installers must have good math skills and mechanical aptitude view more

Sheet metal workers make and install products from large metal sheets. Roofs, siding, air ducts, gutters – even outdoor signs – are made by these highly skilled craftspersons. Following detailed plans, they cut, mold, bend and fabricate the large pieces for installation at a job site. Sheet metal workers should have knowledge of drafting, reading blueprints, handling tools, and welding. The job also requires standing for long periods, bending, squatting, and lifting heavy materials view more

Some manufacturing workers like their jobs super-sized. Structural metal fabricators and fitters construct enormous metal objects from tanks and water towers…to frames for buildings and bridges. Though the projects can be massive, the work is quite intricate. Following blueprints, fabricators make patterns and templates as guides. Fabricators use special machinery to cut the metal into the required pieces or plates view more

If it weren’t for tool and die makers, there would be no manufactured goods. That’s because there’d be no one to make the molds that shape the plastic...or the tools that make other tools...or the dies used to stamp out parts. Tool and die makers decide on the best way to shape a piece of metal to the specifications of an engineer’s blueprint. They operate many different machines to cut, bore, mill, grind, and polish the finished piece to a precision 40 times smaller than a human hair! Typically, one worker creates a single device, from start to finish view more

Welders cut, gouge, finish, and--most importantly--join pieces of metal. Any kind of metal: steel, cast iron, bronze, aluminum, or whatever else the job involves. Welders do their work by literally melting the edges of the metal pieces, forcing the materials to flow together, and then letting them cool to form a solid bond. Often a metal welding rod is melted as part of the process to supply the additional material needed to complete the weld view more