8 Common Mistakes Made When Using Prequalified Welding Procedures

Before getting into today’s topic we wanted to make you aware of a new resource we are creating and which will be available soon.  Prequalified Welding Procedures for Steel Fabricators will provide a list of prequalified procedures written in conformance with AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code which can be used in the fabrication of carbon […]

3 Effective Ways to Reduce Welding Rework

Rework is extremely costly, especially in welding.  If you consider what happens when a weld is rejected it is essentially triples the amount of work. You weld, you remove the weld, you reweld.  On top of this it may require additional inspection.  So, reducing rework can save considerable amounts of time and money. 

Welding Procedure Development: Selecting Welding Parameters

When writing a welding procedure one of the most critical steps is selecting our welding parameters. This means determining the appropriate amperage and voltage as well as other critical aspects that the welder must adhere to such as travel speed and travel and work (transverse) angles.  What follows is an explanation as to the importance […]

Welding Procedure Development: Selecting the right filler metal

Selecting the filler metal should not be a trivial matter.  The easy way out is to select a filler metal that has matching strength, meaning that the minimum specified tensile strength of the filler metal matches that of the base metal. However, this is not always the best option. In some cases it may be beneficial to use undermatching filler metals.  There are many factors to consider when selecting the right filler metal. Understanding requirements in the areas of strength, ductility, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, in-service demands, cost and productivity is essential.  

Welding Procedure Development: Selecting the right welding process

Selecting the best welding process is a critical step in developing a welding procedure that attains the desired quality and optimizes productivity.  Many times we look for the welding process that can give us the highest deposition rate to optimize productivity. However, every welding process has limitations. For example, submerged arc welding (SAW) has extremely […]

Understanding the Difference between Qualified and Prequalified Welding Procedures

One of the most common questions we get around the topic of welding procedure qualification is regarding the differences between qualified and prequalified welding procedures.  The main question is typically: is one better than the other?  Before we answer this question, let’s first discuss the need for qualified, or prequalified, welding procedures.   If you have […]

The Importance of Contact Tip to Work Distance in GMAW

If you look at any of the structural welding codes you’ll notice that contact-tip-to-work-distance (CTTWD) is a variable which must be listed in welding procedure specifications (WPSs).  However, it is not an essential variable, meaning that changes to CTTWD of any amount do not require requalification.   This can seem puzzling to some, especially those […]