Join Us in Chicago
Expo Hours
| Monday Sept. 8 | 9 AM — 5 PM |
| Tuesday Sept. 9 | 9 AM — 5 PM |
| Wednesday Sept. 10 | 9 AM — 5 PM |
| Thursday Sept. 11 | 9 AM — 3 PM |
Venue
McCormick Place
2301 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60616
About the Expo
North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to McCormick Place in September 2025. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.
North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event
Welding
W5: Weld-Ed Conference: Improving Welding Education and Training
Welding is a critical technology driving the US economy. The AWS reports 330K welding professionals needed by 2028. Therefore, the need for effective and efficient welding education and training is needed to successfully prepare potential welding professionals for the workforce. The conference will describe innovations in welding education and strategies to improve the content and delivery of welding technology to students.
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM
Welcome / Introductions
Rick Polanin, Professor, AWS President, CoPI Weld-Ed
8:45 AM – 9:15 AM
Preparing Students for Certification
Rick Polanin, Professor, Illinois Central College, AWS 2022 President
9:15 AM – 10:00 AM
Plummer Lecture – Finding Success in Your Welding Community: Reflections from a Rogue Instructor
Randy Emery, Professor, College of the Sequoias
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Break
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM
Welding Codes, Which is the Right One?
Bill Newell, PE, AWS DAL
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Who You Gunna Call at AWS?
AWS Staff
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM (Lunch Sponsored by Hypertherm Inc.)
Hypertherm Plasma Systems
Hypertherm Inc.
12:45 PM – 1:30 PM
Recommend Practice for Holding a Welding Competition
Nick Peterson, Miller Electric, AWS DAL
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Surviving the First Years of Teaching
Grant Von Lunen, Assistant Professor, Johnson County Community College
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Welding Educators Panel Discussion
Tim Baber, Joel Johnson, Dan Turner and Grant von Luen
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM
AWS Scholarship Opportunities / Wrap-Up, Evaluations
Monica Pfarr, AWS Foundation Executive Director
About This Session
- Date: October 15, 2024
- Time: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
- Track: Welding
FABTECH Conference
Tracks: 3D/Additive, Automation, Cutting, Laser, Forming & Fabricating, Job Shop, Lean, Management, Marketing & Sales, Robotics, Smart Manufacturing, Stamping, Workforce Development
| Sessions | Member Price | Non-Member Price |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Sessions | $195 | $220 |
| Workshops | $499 | $599 |
| Best Value Full Conference (5-8 Sessions)
| $795 | $900 |
CCAI Finishing Conference
| CCAI Finishing Conference | Member Price | Non-Member Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Session | $112.50 | $125 |
| 2 Sessions | $202.50 | $225 |
| 3 Sessions | $270 | $300 |
| 4-8 Sessions | $405 | $450 |
AWS Welding Conference
| AWS Welding Conference | Member Price | Non-Member Price* |
|---|---|---|
| One-Hour Sessions (W7, W8) | FREE | FREE |
| Two-Hour Sessions (W1, W2, W12, W13, W14) | $95 | $150 |
| Weld-Ed Conference (W5) | $50 | $75 |
| Half-Day Sessions (W3, W10, W15) | $345 | $430 |
| Full-Day Sessions (W4, W6, W9, W11) | $565 | $665 |
| Professional Program (W16) | $395 | $495 |
| *Non-member price for AWS Welding Full-Day Sessions only includes a one-year AWS Individual Membership. | ||
2025 Platinum Sponsors
