Plumbing · Copper and joining · virtual skills lab

Cut it, clean it, flux it,
sweat it.

A shop work order: cut one 14-1/4 in stub from 24 in stock of 3/4 in Type L copper and sweat a wrot coupling onto the cut end. Every step a first-year plumber has to get right is here, from clearing flammables off the bench to wiping the joint warm.

  • 33graded steps
  • ~20minutes
  • 80score to pass
Sweat a copper joint virtual skills lab

The job

What you do in this lab

  1. Put on PPE, read the work order and clear the flammables off the pipe table.
  2. Measure and mark the cut, set the tubing cutter on the mark and feed it lightly round the tube.
  3. Ream the inside, deburr the outside and clean both surfaces to bright copper.
  4. Flux the tube and the fitting socket, then seat the coupling to its stop.
  5. Shield behind the joint, check the extinguisher, light the torch and heat the fitting, not the tube.
  6. Pull the flame clear, feed the solder round the seam, wipe the joint and inspect the fillet.

Skills practiced

What it builds

  • Measuring and cutting copper
  • Reaming and deburring
  • Surface preparation and fluxing
  • Torch safety
  • Soldering a full fillet
  • Joint inspection

Every action is scored as you work. Wrong tools, skipped safety steps and wrong readings cost points, and the questions along the way ask why, not just what.

How to play

Browser or headset

In a browser

Open the lab on a laptop or desktop in Chrome, Edge or Safari. Look around with the mouse and click to act. On a touchscreen tablet the lab switches to touch controls. The lab is a large download, so give it a moment on the first load.

Open the lab

In VR

On a Meta Quest, open the Quest browser and go to titanlearning.com/vr/sweat-a-copper-joint. Choose Play it in your browser, then Open in VR inside the lab, then Enter VR in the tab that opens. Use the controllers, or put them down and point and pinch with your hands.

For schools

Train on labs like this every week

This lab is one of the virtual skills labs built into Titan Learning programs. Learners practice the work between lessons, and instructors see every attempt and score. A headset is optional.

Put this lab on your school’s website

Paste this into an HTML block on any page. It shows a small card with a play button. The lab opens in a full-screen player on your page and only downloads when someone presses play, so your page stays fast. Replace YOUR-SCHOOL with a short name for your school.

<div data-titan-sim="sweat-a-copper-joint" data-school="YOUR-SCHOOL"></div>
<p class="titan-credit">Plumbing virtual skills lab by <a href="https://www.titanlearning.com/vr/sweat-a-copper-joint/">Titan Learning</a></p>
<script src="https://www.titanlearning.com/vr/embed.js" async></script>