Preheating steel before welding is common practice. Sometimes we apply heat after we are done welding as well. Other times we apply heat between passes to maintain the minimum interpass temperature. Many use preheat simply because it is written in the WPS, but not really understand why it is necessary. Preheating is used for […]
We recently helped out a customer in determining why some of their welds were cracking. It was determined that cracking on their parts was due to rapid cooling and improperly sized welds. The discussions we had before and after determining the cause were quite interesting. We went over the typical causes for cracking with our […]
Should I use 4043 or 5356 aluminum wire for my application? This is a very commonly asked question. The application of these two aluminum alloys has such a big overlap that a lot of times it simply comes down to welder preference, cost or availability. When determining which filler alloy to use the most important […]
If you are involved in the welding industry you are constantly surrounded by all sorts of acronyms. Below is a list of the most commonly used abbreviations in our industry. ABS American Bureau of Shipping AC Alternating current AlSl American Iron and Steel Institute. AL Aluminium AMP Amperes (measure of current) ANSI American National Standard Institute. […]
The ability to interpret welding symbols is very important, yet the vast majority of welders have hard time doing so. A very small percentage of companies require that welder candidates know how to read symbols. With the shortage of welders in today’s market imposing this prerequisite would not be feasible. What companies need to do […]
