Trouble with text or images? View this article on your web browser Hello Reader Rework is one of the largest hidden costs in welding. When a weld is rejected, the cost extends far beyond simply making another weld. The original weld must be removed, the joint prepared again, the weld deposited a second time, and in many cases the repair must be inspected before the product can move forward. What should have been completed once now requires three separate operations—and sometimes even more....
19 days ago • 4 min read
Trouble with text or images? View this article in your web browser Hello Reader In many fabrication shops, welding engineering is viewed as something that only matters to welding engineers. The assumption is that welders should focus on making welds, inspectors should focus on acceptance criteria, and engineers should handle the technical details behind the scenes. In reality, some of the biggest quality, productivity, and rework problems in fabrication occur because critical welding...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Trouble with text or images? View this article in your web browser Hello Reader The qualification of welding procedures is one of the most important steps in ensuring weld quality. A welding procedure may look good on paper, but unless it has been tested—or developed within the limits of an accepted prequalified procedure—there is no assurance that it can consistently produce sound welds. As discussed throughout this series, welding quality is not determined by appearance alone. Proper...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Trouble seeing images or text? View this article on your web browser Hello Reader, What drives the need for preheat prior to welding carbon steels? Is it carbon content, material thickness, welding process, or all of the above? We get asked this question all the time so we decided to update a previous article on this topic. Preheat is used when a base material, due to its chemical composition, thickness or level or restraint, is susceptible to cold cracking. Knowing what temperature to...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Trouble with text or images? View this in your web browser Hello Reader Stainless steel can be challenging to weld. Especially if most of your experience in welding has been with carbon steel. Stainless steels possess many properties that make them different from those of carbon steels. These differences provide certain advantages, such as corrosion resistance, but we must be aware of some of the intricacies of welding stainless steel to avoid problems. Many welding professionals, including...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Trouble seeing text or images? View this article in your web browser Hello Reader, We constantly hear welding experts, welding engineers, CWIs and other industry professionals say that concave fillet welds are bad and should not be allowed. This is a hard stance that may be supported by field failure, but more often than not only by anecdotal evidence. However, it is worth noting that a concave fillet weld is not necessary a problem and sometimes it provides a desirable bead profile. The...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Troulbe with text or images? View this in your web browser Hello Reader Most fabrication shops don’t struggle with welding because they lack capability. They struggle because of the decisions they make every day—especially when those decisions are based on habit rather than engineering and economics. One of the most common examples is electrode selection. Many shops default to using flux-cored wire for everything, assuming it provides the best combination of quality and productivity. Others...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Trouble with text or images? View this article in your web browser Hello Reader If you are a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), welding engineer, or anyone responsible for interpreting welding codes, you have likely encountered situations where the code language is not completely clear. Many of the questions we receive from readers are related to interpreting welding codes and standards such as AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel. In many cases the challenge is not simply understanding...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Trouble with text or images? View this article in your web browser Hello Reader Taking responsibility for welding operations is a significant step in any welding professional’s career. This role might fall to a new welding supervisor, but it can just as easily be a welding engineer, certified welding inspector (CWI), operations manager, or even a plant manager. Regardless of the title, the responsibility is the same—you are now accountable for the quality, productivity, and cost of welding...
5 months ago • 3 min read
