Many times you just accept things as being a certain way and keep doing what has always been done. Then there are times you get so fed up wasting your time and money and think there must be a better way. This is the point of no return for me, when I become driven to find a solution to a long-standing annoyance.
After devising the first welding gun holster prototype, I wanted real life feedback to see what could be improved. The answer came through the help of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California.
The College is an educational facility for students of all ages, including me. It is a Welding Certification Test Center for ASE (The Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) and I-CAR (Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) for professionals in the automotive industry. What a perfect environment to get feedback from folks new to welding and professionals in the industry!
Peter Lock, Professor and Director of the program, was enthusiastic about letting us set up every welding station with its very own a MIG Buddy. This means each person using a welding station at the college has the opportunity to use the MIG Buddy while they work. With a facility that busy, those MIG Buddys get a lot of wear and tear. Thru observation and discussion with other welders, improvements were made to both design and function.