The 4 Most Common Welding Discontinuities That Pass Visual Inspection
One of the most persistent challenges in welding quality is that many serious problems are not obvious at the surface. In the previous articles in this series, we established that welding quality is created through procedures, qualification, and process control—not inspection alone. Visual inspection remains an important quality tool, but it has inherent limitations that […]
How Welding Procedures, Welder Qualification, and Inspection Work Together
In the first article of this series, What Weld Quality Really Means, we established that welding quality is not created at the inspection table—it is the outcome of a system. That system is made up of three core elements: welding procedures, welder qualification, and inspection. When these elements work together, welding quality becomes predictable and […]
What Welding Quality Really Means
In many fabrication shops, welding quality is judged at the end of the process. If the weld looks acceptable, meets visual acceptance criteria, and passes inspection, it is often assumed to be “good.” When failures occur later—cracking, distortion, fatigue issues, or excessive rework—the focus usually shifts to the welder or the inspector. In reality, welding […]
Using AWS D1.6 Stainless Steel Prequalified Welding Procedures
Most welding professionals are familiar with AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel and its allowance for prequalified welding procedures when welding carbon steel. Prequalification under AWS D1.1 is widely used to save time, reduce cost, and establish code-compliant welding procedures without qualification testing. What far fewer people realize is that AWS D1.6 Structural Welding […]
How Prequalified Welding Procedures Are Misapplied in Production
When followed correctly, prequalified welding procedures are one of the most reliable tools available for producing consistent, code-compliant welds. Yet many quality issues attributed to “bad procedures” are not failures of prequalification at all—they are failures of application and control during production. Understanding how prequalified welding procedures are commonly misapplied helps prevent these issues and […]
Why Some Welding Procedures Must Be Qualified by Testing
Prequalified welding procedures are an excellent tool. When used correctly, they provide a fast, reliable, and code-compliant way to establish welding procedures without the time and cost of qualification testing. For many fabrication environments, prequalification is not just acceptable—it is the smartest starting point. At the same time, there are situations where a welding procedure […]
How to Stay Within Prequalified Welding Procedure Requirements
Prequalified welding procedures are one of the most effective tools available to fabrication organizations. When used correctly, they provide: Immediate compliance with AWS structural welding codes A defensible foundation for quality and consistency A significant reduction in technical and organizational risk In fact, in many environments, using a prequalified welding procedure is far safer than […]
When Prequalified Welding Procedures Are the Smartest Option
Prequalified welding procedures are often misunderstood. In some organizations, they are viewed as a shortcut—something used to avoid the time and expense of procedure qualification testing. In others, they are treated as a default solution, applied broadly without much consideration beyond whether the code allows them. In reality, prequalified welding procedures can be the smartest […]
A Practical Framework for Weld Troubleshooting
Most weld troubleshooting efforts fail for a simple reason: they focus on fixing the current weld, not the system that produced it. When a defect appears, the pressure is to act quickly. Welding parameters are adjusted, techniques are changed, consumables are swapped, and production moves on. Sometimes the problem disappears. More often, it returns later—on […]
How to Troubleshoot Lack of Fusion and Incomplete Penetration
Lack of fusion and incomplete penetration are among the most misunderstood weld defects in fabrication. They are often grouped together, treated as interchangeable, or attributed to a single cause such as “not enough heat.” As a result, corrective actions tend to focus on increasing amperage, slowing travel speed, or making other blunt adjustments that may […]