A career as a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) can be very rewarding. This certification, which is awarded by the American Welding Society, carries a lot of weight both nationally and internationally. The main responsibilities of a CWI is to make sure that welding operations are manufacturing products that comply with specified welding codes and standards. CWIs essentially are expected […]
The AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code (Steel) welder qualification plate tests consists of a groove weld with a 45-degree included angle. The plates are prepared to a knife’s edge and a ¼ in [6 mm] backing strip is used. The test for unlimited thickness will use plates that are 1 in [25 mm] thick. Anything […]
In our previous article we mentioned that a customer was inquiring about running their 98% argon / 2% carbon dioxide (98/2) shielding gas on mild steel. This gas is used on stainless as it maintains the amount of reactive gas (in this case CO2) under 3%. Our quick answer was “yes, you can weld carbon […]
The qualification of welders and welding procedures often involves macro-examination of welds. Performing macro-etches is a relatively simple procedure, but strict guidelines must be followed to ensure safety. Most chemicals used in etching solutions are hazardous and must be handled accordingly. Any person etching with these chemicals must familiarize him or herself with the corresponding […]
If you have been reading our articles for some time you know how strongly we feel about having documented welding procedure specifications which have been qualified by testing or prequalified in conformance with code requirements. Yet when we recommend that these very important documents be developed and used in production we get a lot of […]
If you have ever been tasked with selecting the right specification and grade of steel for a particular application you know there are hundreds of choices. Typically these are based on the materials tensile strength and yield strength. There are many factors that go into selecting the right base metal for a given application. In […]
Last week we had the pleasure of working with a fabricator of pressure vessels in order to help them reduce manufacturing costs. As mandated by the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code this fabricator had welding procedure specifications (WPSs) and procedure qualification records (PQRs) in place. These were properly written, tested and documented. The WPS […]
Not all weld discontinuities are weld defects, but all weld defects are discontinuities. Understanding the difference will let you know if you need to scrap a part, repair it or simply add more weld. There are many codes depending on what type of product you are welding on. The codes are used as guidelines by […]
The new edition of AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code (Steel) has been released. If you are looking to get the hard copy you may need to wait a few weeks, but the electronic version is ready for purchase from the American Welding Society (AWS) through their website. There is a significant cost to obtain the […]
Certified Welding Inspectors (CWIs) who have been certified by the American Welding Society or other international bodies tend to be considered experts in the welding industry. They certainly should be experts in visual inspection and in the interpretation and application of welding codes and standards; however, this does not necessarily mean they are experts in […]
