Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon along with several other elements in small quantities, all of which have an impact on its properties. Steels can contain varying amounts of carbon and are typically categorized as low, medium or high carbon steels. Low carbon steels are those containing 0.30% carbon or less. Medium carbon […]
Metal fabricators, or at least those in charge of welding operations, must have a sound understanding of metallurgy. Metallurgy is the study of metals, their properties and their behaviors, especially when undergoing the welding process. Below are 6 areas of fabrication for which an understanding of the metallurgical properties of metals is vital. Material Selection […]
High strength steels are becoming more and more popular in steel construction. Higher strength means we can reduce the thickness of the base material and thus reduce weight. This is very important not just in vehicles but in static structures as well. However, higher strength steels usually bring about a few issues that if not […]
Have you heard of post weld heat treatment (PWHT)? Of course you have. If you are involved in welding you have definitely heard this term. But what is PHWT? When is PWHT required? What temperature should PWHT be done at? Heat treating of materials can be a very complicated subject, but when it comes to […]
Preheat is used when a base material, due to its chemical composition, thickness or level or restraint, is susceptible to cold cracking (hydrogen induced cracking). Knowing what temperature to preheat your base metal is sometimes a complicated matter. You may hear people say “preheat to 300F to be safe.” The reality is that 300F may […]
Most types of stainless steels have good weldability and can be welded with all arc welding processes (GMAW, FCAW, GTAW, SMAW and SAW). Stainless is used in many different applications for its strength, abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, many assume it can be welded just like carbon steel. In fact, this is the first […]
Bigger is not always better, at least not in welding. Making welds bigger than they need to be is not only wasteful and costly, but can cause other problems such as distortion and premature failure. Below are 3 reasons why you may need to pay close attention to your weld sizes. 1. Bigger welds cost […]
When we weld we generate enough heat in the welding arc to melt the filler metal and base material. Or just the base material is we are welding autogenously (as in GTAW without filler). The edges of the base material melt and combine with the filler metal to create what is called the composite zone. […]
Today we’ll cover 5 more very important concepts that are governed by the AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code (Steel). If you missed our last post with the first five questions simply click here. These concepts can show up as questions in the Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) Exam. As stated in our article from last week, […]
If you have taken or hope to take the CWI exam you probably have searched for some practice exam questions. In practicing for the code book portion of the test you may have come across a few questions for which you could find the answer, but didn’t really understand the importance of the question or […]
