The 53-foot trailer has been on a cross-country tour ever since it was debuted at last November’s FABTECH Expo in Chicago. And just like the IIW, the trailer was created with the goal of promoting welding.
Through a partnership with the American Welding Society and Lincoln Electric, the trailer was outfitted with five VRTEX® 360 Virtual Reality Arc Welding trainers. That’s a fancy and technical way of saying that people can climb aboard the trailer, put on a virtual reality welding mask, and perform virtual welds using fake welding guns.
But virtual reality usually means there’s a game involved, and it wouldn’t be a game unless there was some sort of competition. Fortunately for the competitive welders out there, the VRTEX also awards points based on your welding skills.
This is all part of the American Welding Society’s initiative to promote welding and skilled labor to the younger generation. According to Weld-Ed, a National Science Foundation funded center, at least 238,693 new and replacement welding professionals will be needed by the year 2019. The ‘Careers in Welding’ trailer may be one of the most innovative ways to get kids interested in welding.
