![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.SessinBioWithHammer.jpg\")
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Sessin Durgham, award winning jeweler and tech support rep at Rio Grande.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Sessin will introduce pulse arc welding to the Metalwerx community in an upcoming workshop, \u201cInnovations in Metalworking: Pulse-Arc Welding<\/a>\u201d (Sept. 19-21). Participants will have access to an Orion<\/a> brand welder (one for every two students). There will be pre-made projects on which to practice, such as welding small silver findings, and re-tipping a prong-set CZ in a silver band. Students will have the option to purchase one of three Orion models after class.<\/p>\n Trade journals have plenty of stories about jewelers who have used welding technology, either pulse arc or laser, to enable them to create pieces that would have been impossible without this option. The biggest concern about adding a welding machine to a studio is often the price, but even that is changing.<\/p>\n “We want one!” said Lindsay Minihan, Executive Director at Metalwerx. “We invest all revenue back into our organization to support our programs. It\u2019s important to keep Metalwerx at the forefront of the industry, and prepare our students for a career in jewelry and metal arts.”<\/p>\n To ensure our classroom has the most current metalworking technologies, Metalwerx is embarking on a fundraising campaign<\/a> to purchase this specialized equipment (see more below). “We’ll be better able to service the public,” Lindsay added. “We can take in jewelry for repairs, and educate our students on how to best take advantage of this incredible tool for their own work. And the folks who take the course can come in and use it.”<\/p>\n Pulse arc welders use a sharpened electrode tip that is placed on the seam. An electric energy pulse of argon gas produces a rapid-fire zap that joins the metal. On the other hand, costlier laser welders shoot a hot, high-speed beam of light energy through the air to reach the seam. Either method is a vast improvement over soldering. One can connect metals with no fear of firescale, or more importantly, causing damage to precious stones that already are in place.<\/p>\n Pulse arc welding in action. Note the running bead, and the seam preparation.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This means repairs can be done in record time. No removal of stones. No concerns about matching solders. Re-sizing rings, re-attaching fallen earring posts, re-tipping prongs, spot welding areas to keep complex sections in place\u2014all can be done in just a few minutes, followed by normal clean-up. The design and time-saving implications are enormous.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology has advanced. The machines are better, and there is more education [available] on the equipment,\u201d Sessin said. \u201cSome people have used them successfully for a long time, but just a tiny group. Now that\u2019s growing.\u201d Embracing a new and relatively pricey technology for the studio is something experienced jewelers may have trouble with. We\u2019re trained to use solder, to expect that glorious instant when it flashes and flows, and, inevitably, to clean up the blobs that go where you don\u2019t want them to go.<\/p>\n Many won\u2019t consider investing in a welder because torch soldering has always worked for them, Sessin said. \u201cFor a long time, it [welders] was expensive, and small shops couldn\u2019t afford it,\u201d he said. Laser welders now start around the $18,000 range. A pulse arc welder can be set up for anywhere from four to seven thousand dollars, and now smaller operations can compete with bigger shops, he said.<\/p>\n Orion 150i model with swing arm.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n But even those prices can put off a small-scale, independent jeweler. Why should they consider taking the plunge?<\/p>\n Sessin reels off a number of cases that show the benefit to art jewelers of owning a pulse arc welder. He gave an example of a jeweler whose most popular design involved a pod-like feature. \u201cIt takes her twenty minutes to do what used to take three hours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Larger operations also have gained from micro-pulse technology. A manufacturer that Sessin worked with makes a water heater thermostat that includes an apparatus needing twenty solder seams. Each join was fluxed, torched, and soldered by hand. But since converting to the welder, they\u2019ve managed to cut by half the time previously spent on hand-soldering.<\/p>\n As for that learning curve, Sessin acknowledges it takes a while to master the equipment. But once you learn the skill, the shots are deeper, and as the user becomes more proficient, the faster the work goes along, he said. Throughout the workshop, Sessin will discuss the options, limitations, and compromises, of soldering versus welding.\u00a0He also will share results of research conducted at Rio Grande on what these machines can offer the jewelry industry. The findings were presented at this year\u2019s 2014 Santa Fe Symposium<\/a>, billed as the premier educational worldwide forum for jewelry manufacturing technology.<\/p>\n The first step to using a welder is that a jeweler has to \u201clearn to think like a welder,\u201d Sessin said. Jewelers accustomed to soldering are familiar with the flow and the predictable clean up. \u201cA weld [seam] isn\u2019t like that. In most cases there will be controlled lumps or a running bead, and you do have to prepare your seam slightly differently.\u201d Whereas solder penetrates and flows throughout the whole seam area, a weld only penetrates about a millimeter deep.<\/p>\n Sessin in the classroom.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n Sessin will demonstrate additional applications for pulse-arc welding such as fabricating large jewelry objects and small hollow ware by using consistent, repeatable weld seams, and joining dissimilar metals, such as titanium to karat gold, karat gold to iron, and more. He encourages participants to bring in their own design parts to see if it could benefit from welding.<\/p>\n An example of large hollow ware seams. Welded sculpture by Sessin Durgham.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way not to fall in love\u201d with these machines, says Jason Davis at Orion Welders in Payson, Utah. The company occasionally provides machines for instructional workshops. At Metalwerx, students will have access to three jewelry models, from the compact Orion 100c<\/a>, the Orion 150s<\/a>, and the top-of-the-line Orion 150i<\/a>. All three include the microscope, the hoses, cables\u2014everything you need to weld except the tank of argon gas and a regulator. The machines cost, respectively, $3,700, $4,800, and $7,500 (all US).<\/p>\n \u201cThe nicest, the Orion 150i, has a nine-inch touch screen and microscope on a swivel arm, a small power supply, and has the most control over power on the bottom end,\u201d Jason said, allowing you to weld even delicate pieces such as filigree, hollow ware, costume jewelry, or any items that are very thin.<\/p>\n Pulse arc welding to restore\u00a0 an anvil. Using tool steel rods,\u00a0 the welder can be used to repair anvils, dies, hammers and more.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This workshop is for professional and serious metal artists who have intermediate and above soldering skills. Additionally, it includes a thorough introduction to the principles and maintenance of micro-TIG welders. By the end of the weekend, participants will have begun to learn how to think like a welder, and apply this skill set to their jewelry and metal smithing practices. Sessin brings firsthand knowledge to how such a product can increase productivity. He is an award-winning studio jeweler in the industry for twenty-five years.<\/p>\n Metalwerx is particularly fortunate to host this information-packed workshop as the school begins its fundraising drive to purchase its own pulse arc welder.\u00a0 It\u2019s a move Sessin heartily applauds. \u201cFor a school to have one, it gives students every advantage to expose them to all the technology possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Metalwerx, a 501(c)3 nonprofit school and community studio, asks your support on our fundraising campaign to purchase a pulse arc welder for our classroom.\u00a0 Our goal is to raise $6000.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0—by Yleana Martinez<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a micro-revolution happening in studios. It takes place one pulse at a time but can add up to big savings of time and money. Developments in pulse arc welding technology are giving jewelers an alternative to soldering that can ultimately free them to indulge in more creative pursuits. \u201cWe finally have something for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1481"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.SessinFishVesselInProgress.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.OrionVideoDemo.jpg\")
<\/a>Video: attaching an ear post. More demonstration videos available at the Orion<\/a> website.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.Orion150i.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.SessinTeaching.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.metalwerx.com\/blog\/8-2014.SessinAnvil.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Make](\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/btn\/x-click-but21.gif\")
<\/a>Come learn about what this micro-revolution can do for your business. There are still seats available (class total is 12 students). To learn more click here<\/a> or call Metalwerx at 781-891-3854.<\/p>\n