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Flux-Cored vs. MIG Wire: What Most Shops Get Wrong
What To Do When Welding Codes Are Not Clear
5 Mistakes Made by New Welding Supervisors
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3 Effective Ways to Reduce Welding Rework

Rework in welding is a massive productivity killer—tripling labor, wasting material, and slowing down production. While there are many causes, three simple fixes can drastically reduce rework: stop overwelding, use properly qualified welding procedures, and maintain your equipment. In this post, we dive into how these small changes yield big results—lowering costs, improving quality, and increasing efficiency across the shop. If you're tired of grinding out the same welds twice, this is the post for you.

How to Control Welding Fumes

Welding fumes pose serious health risks—not just to welders, but to everyone in the shop. This post walks you through the correct order of steps for reducing and controlling fume exposure, starting with engineering controls and ending with PPE as a last resort. You’ll learn how to effectively use substitution, isolation, and ventilation, as well as practical safe work practices that can dramatically reduce exposure. If your shop hasn’t taken a strategic approach to fume control, this article is an essential read.

welding procedure development
How to write AWS D1.1 Prequalified Welding Procedure Specifications

The AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code for Steel allows fabricators to use prequalified welding procedures (WPSs), saving significant time and money by exempting them from testing. This post outlines an 8-step guide to writing a prequalified WPS, covering selecting approved base metals, weld joints, welding processes, filler metals, shielding gases, and determining preheat, interpass, and post-weld heat treatment. It emphasizes that anyone who understands the code can create these essential documents for quality and productivity.

6 Challenges When Increasing Deposition Rates

Want to boost welding productivity? Increasing your deposition rate is one of the most effective ways—but only if done right. This post explains the difference between melt-off and deposition rate, how higher deposition leads to faster travel speeds (and real time savings), and the common mistakes that sabotage these gains. Learn how to avoid costly errors, why simply turning up the amps isn’t enough, and how training and proper welding procedures can unlock major efficiency improvements in your shop.

The Most Dangerous Weld Defect

While cracks are often considered the "worst" weld defect, the most dangerous ones are those that go undetected and are put into service. Many common discontinuities like lack of fusion, internal porosity, or even small surface cracks can be missed if quality control standards are inadequate or if inspections are timed improperly. For example, hydrogen-induced cracking can appear up to 48 hours after welding, and incorrect shielding gas for stainless steel, though visually appealing, can lead to costly premature corrosion or sensitization in service. Effective quality control, including qualified procedures, trained welders, and appropriate inspection timing and methods, is essential to prevent these hidden, catastrophic failures.

welding procedure development
Welding Procedure Development: Qualification

This blog post concludes a series on developing welding procedures by discussing the crucial topic of qualification. Qualification involves performing both destructive and non-destructive tests to ensure a procedure can produce sound welds, typically following the requirements of specific codes like AWS D1.1. An alternative to this rigorous testing is prequalification, which allows the user to forgo testing if all the requirements of the applicable code's prequalification clause are met. Regardless of the method, the document emphasizes the importance of verifying and documenting the suitability of all developed welding procedures for future reference and quality assurance.

Welding Procedure Development
Welding Procedure Development: Selecting Welding Parameters

Amperage, voltage, travel speed, and other key variables are crucial for creating a robust welding procedure that ensures sound and high-quality welds.Blog Post Summary This blog post explains the importance of key welding parameters when developing a welding procedure specification. It details how amperage (current) directly influences weld penetration and productivity, while voltage primarily affects bead shape and width. The post also highlights that travel speed is critical, as it impacts weld size, heat input, penetration, and overall weld quality. Additionally, it covers the significance of travel and transverse angles, noting their effects on weld shape and potential for defects. Finally, the post emphasizes the often overlooked but critical role of Contact Tip to Work Distance (CTTWD), explaining how it can drastically alter amperage and potentially lead to a non-compliant or defective weld if not properly controlled.

Welding Procedure Development: Selecting the right filler metal

Selecting the right filler metal is a critical step in welding procedure development and should never be treated as a default or trivial decision. This article explains why matching strength filler metals are not always the best choice and how undermatching filler metals can improve ductility and reduce cracking, especially in highly restrained or high-strength steel applications. It also explores how service conditions—such as low-temperature performance, corrosion resistance, stress relieving, and wear requirements—directly influence filler metal selection. Real-world examples illustrate why tensile strength alone is insufficient when evaluating filler metals for production welding. Understanding these factors allows welding engineers and practitioners to make informed, economical decisions that improve long-term weld performance.

welding procedure assumptions short circuit globular pulse
Welding Procedure Development: Selecting the right welding process

Selecting the right welding process is a foundational step in developing a welding procedure that balances quality, productivity, and cost. This article explains why the highest deposition rate process is not always the best choice and how real-world constraints—such as available equipment, joint type, welding position, environment, and welder skill—shape process selection. It also examines productivity in terms of deposition rate, cleanup requirements, and electrode efficiency, rather than speed alone. By introducing return on investment as a decision factor, the article highlights when investing in new welding equipment may be justified. Understanding these considerations helps ensure the selected welding process supports both production goals and long-term weld quality.

Who should develop welding procedures?