Setting SMART Goals
Regardless of our profession we all have goals. As 2015 approaches this is a great time to review our progress towards goals we have set in the past. If we have not sat down before to state our goals now is a good time. A great template to follow is the SMART goals template. A […]
Advantages and Limitations of GMAW
The GMAW process is a commonly used arc welding process. As all other processes, it has its advantages and limitations. The gas metal arc welding process, most commonly known as MIG, is one of the most used joining processes in the world today. The process had its beginnings over 60 years ago, but it is […]
Proper Use of Weld Gages
In the January 2011 AWS publication of Inspection Trends, Albert J. Moore Jr. states that “other than the measuring tape, the fillet weld gage is the most used measuring device in the welding inspector’s kit.” We agree with this statement, but are also convinced that the fillet weld gage is THE most underused tool by […]
Importance of Root Fusion
When weld sizes are determined by design engineers, the theoretical throat is used to calculate weld strength which in turn gives our leg size (for fillet welds). This means that the desired strength of a weld is achieved only if we attain fusion to the root and side walls. The terms fusion and penetration are used […]
How To Know If You Are Wasting Shielding Gas
Most manufacturing facilities use 1.5 to 3 times as much shielding gas as they should. The reasons for this can be found in a previous post: Control Your Shielding Gas Usage. Before doing all the checks to see if you have leaks or other problems there is a simple way to get an idea of whether or not […]
Types of Weld Joints
Welding joints vary widely but can be traced back to a few basic joint types. Typically we hear terms like fillet weld, butt weld, lap weld or corner weld. These are all all joints but within these there are variations. Below we outline the joints and provide a graphical representation. These joint types are categorized […]
Why Welds Crack
A weld failure is never good. Whether a weld cracks on a truck’s axle or on the post holding your house’s fence, there are always consequences. Hopefully the consequences are limited to time and money. Unfortunately, weld failures can cause injury. Welds can fail due to design flaws, but the majority of weld failures occur […]
Real Cost Benefits of Bulk Wire Packaging
A customer recently questioned our advice of going to bulk packaging for his mig wire. He stated that paying an extra $0.10 per pound was the complete opposite of what he wanted to do. We explained how spending a little more per pound would translate into significant savings for his company. Typically the bigger the package the […]
Can You Benefit From Robotic Arc Welding?
Over the past several years we have seen a tremendous increase in the amount of automation in our everyday lives. This is no different in the welding industry. Gone are the days when you needed to make 50,000 identical parts to justify a robot. With prices going down and quality, reliability and flexibility going up, […]
Deposition Rate by Wire Type
A common question in the field is which wire type will provide the best deposition rate. In one of our earlier posts “Calculating Deposition Rate for Solid Wires” we discussed deposition rates strictly for solid wires. Here we will talk about deposition rates across wire types – mainly solid wire, metal-cored wire and flux-cored wire. […]