Unless you are a design engineer you typically don’t have to worry about determining the strength of a weld. The strength of a weld refers to its load carrying capacity, or how much load it can handle before it fails. However, it is very important for all of us involved in the welding process, from […]
Whenever we think about qualifying welders we typically think about welding codes such as one of the AWS structural welding codes, API 1104 or ASME Section IX. In most cases qualifications are carried out to comply with a customer requirement. But what if you simply want to qualify your welders as part of your own […]
Many fabricators struggle to get a grip on their welding costs. The best they can do is try to find suppliers that will sell them their consumables, gas and other raw materials at a lower price. Those who try to reduce costs by being more efficient soon realize that simply speeding up welding is not […]
Are you planning on becoming a certified welding inspector (CWI) in the near future? Or do you need one of your employees to get this certification? If so, you have probably heard that the exam is pretty tough. Although the American Welding Society (AWS) does not publish information on passing rates, it is estimated that […]
There is a misconception in our industry that the qualification of welders, and welding procedures for that matter, needs to be done by a certified welding inspector (CWI) or a welding engineer. Or that it has to be done by a third party. Although this may be the case if specified in contract documents, more […]
The purpose of welder performance qualifications is to ensure that the welder can deposit sound welds. There are several tests, both destructive and nondestructive, that are used to evaluate a welder’s ability to deposit good welds. Below are four of the most common test applied for these qualifications: Visual Inspection (VT) Visual inspection is […]
Many of our customers realize that there is a great potential for reducing costs in welding operations. Yet, not many are willing to attack this area of manufacturing. The reason for this is that welding is a very complicated industrial process. It has many variables that come into play which determine quality and productivity. So […]
Measuring fillet weld legs is meaningless, well… not really. Fillet weld leg sizes are very important, but simply measuring the leg of a fillet weld does not tell us if we actually achieved the desired throat dimension. The strength of a fillet weld is determined by its effective throat. As you can see in the […]
Keeping track of welding procedure specifications (WPSs), procedure qualification records (PQRs) and performance qualification records (WPQRs) can become a tedious task. A simple WPS and PQR may not seem like much, but a medium to large contract may require you to qualify 5-10 welding procedures procedures along with 15-20 welders. If this is the case […]
The purpose of having welding procedures specifications (WPS) is to ensure quality. This is accomplished by giving the welder a detailed set of instruction on how to deposit weld metal for a specific joint. Consistent quality can be achieved, but there is one caveat. The welding procedures must be well written. A poorly written welding […]
