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The Roboticist ChroniclesAuthor: ARC Specialties
Automation improves people's lives. Allowing bots to do the dirty, dangerous and monotonous work lets people be safer, more efficient, and work on more creative endeavors. Find out all the ways how on The Roboticist Chronicles, an ARC Specialties podcast. Listen Notes Language: en-us Genres: Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Breaking the Rules: Off-Label Robotics, Desert Racing, and the Future of Cladding
Wednesday, 10 December, 2025
In this episode, host Dan Alford welcomes back Nathan Sumrall, Welding Engineer at Superior Cladding, for a deep dive into the creativity required to survive and thrive in modern manufacturing. Nathan reveals how his team "tricks" standard robotic systems into performing complex, "off-label" applications—like welding massive conical parts with explosion-bonded Monel—that the machines were never originally designed to handle.Beyond the shop floor, the conversation shifts to the high-octane world of desert racing. Nathan shares stories from his side hustle, "Good Mayhem Racing," and discusses how building race trucks for the Baja 1000 parallels the problem-solving skills needed in welding engineering. From diversifying Houston’s economy beyond oil and gas to revising the American Welding Society’s handbook, this episode explores how the next generation of engineers is redefining the industry.Key Topics Discussed:"Off-Label" Automation: How Superior Cladding used an ARC 5i system (designed for bores) to successfully weld complex cones and long-radius elbows.The Science of Dissimilar Metals: Technical insights on welding Monel to steel using nickel buffer layers to prevent hot cracking.Good Mayhem Racing: Nathan’s passion for desert racing and how he applies engineering principles to build race-ready Toyota 4Runners.The "Replacement" Myth: Why robots handle the "dark, dirty, and dangerous" jobs to upskill workers rather than replace them.Diversifying Manufacturing: Moving beyond the "oil patch" into aerospace, defense, and marine sectors (including submarines and icebreakers).The LeTourneau Legacy: The shared educational roots of Dan and Nathan at LeTourneau University and the philosophy of "no big jobs, only small machines."Guest Bio: Nathan Sumrall is a Welding Engineer at Superior Cladding in Houston, Texas. A graduate of LeTourneau University, he specializes in corrosion-resistant alloy welding and parametric programming. He creates custom solutions for the oil and gas, aerospace, and defense industries and currently chairs an AWS committee revising the handbook on clad and dissimilar metal welding.
