Six Hacks For Superior Welding
Welding is vital and highly versatile in the manufacturing process, and as the nation’s infrastructure begins to age, welders will be needed to repair and replace necessary components. Hence having a good foundation of welding skills will undoubtedly prove to be increasingly beneficial in upcoming years.
Becoming a welder takes a strong knowledge of welding and metal properties, and ability to read and interpret blueprints, drawings, and technical documents, experience with specialized types of welding equipment, manual tools and procedures, knowledge of safety standards, and an eye for detail. Becoming a professional welder also requires relevant training and professional certifications.
When undertaking professional welder training and getting certified, you will be tested to prove your skill and knowledge, and it is essential you get a high score. To help you with this, CNDT Canadian Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection has listed six hacks to superior welding. Through these hacks, we have highlighted the easiest ways to guarantee a beautiful clean weld that passes every inspection. Please keep reading to know what they are and how they work.
Hack #1: Perform a fillet weld test
First, perform a fillet weld test to set the machine for a plate test. Perform one-inch fillet welds on the plate with the same plate thickness as the plate you plan on testing. Next, break apart and inspect. Penetration should be at least 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch into the plate. If you are happy with penetration, then proceed to the plate test. If not, increase settings until proper penetration is achieved. Performing a fillet weld test will ensure appropriate weld settings on the company product, as well as ensuring you have the appropriate setting for certified plate tests.
Hack #2: Pull roots on plate test as well as critical roots on the product
Pulling roots ensure adequate penetration and increases the chances of arcing on the puddle. This will help you pass a certified plate test as well as providing quality welds on company products.
Hack #3: Keep a tight arc
For SMAW (Shielded metal arc welding), keep a tight arc. This will ensure proper penetration, arc control and significantly decrease the chance of porosity and arc blow. This overall increases weld quality while ensuring success on welder testing.
Hack #4: Preheat test plates
Make sure to let the inspector know you want to sweat the test plate out (or preheat it). If you attempt this without first informing, you will automatically fail the test. Preheating removes coolness and moisture from the test plate, therefore, increasing the success rate of welder testing. This especially helps the GMAW (Gas metal arc welding) Flat plate test as this has the highest failure rate in the industry.
Hack #5: Remove all scales from the test plate
Even if this means breaking the test plate apart to remove scale, then so be it. Remove all scales from the test plate as scale increases the chance of Lack of Penetration. Remember, GTSM (grind to sound metal).
Hack #6: Use run-off tabs on welder plate testing
Run-off tabs ensure the weld is brought out evenly and uniform as well as placing the end-welds on run-off tabs. Starting welds at the end of the run-off tabs helps increase the plate’s temperature, helping with weld penetration. Although there is an amount that gets cut-off or is not radiographed, it is the best practice to use run-off tabs.
If you are looking for a company to assist with visual, non-destructive inspection and testing services across Cambridge, Ontario, get in touch with us at CNDT Canadian Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection. As a customer-driven organization, we are responsive and committed to safety, professionalism, and excellence. As a result, we uphold our core values of trust, integrity, and loyalty for the clients that we serve. We conduct visual inspections for various industries, including general fabrication, lifting equipment, crane repair, mining, construction and quarry trucks, and MTO truck scales. We also render quality assurance during the manufacturing process, in-field/onsite surveillance, and when auditing, reviewing, and implementing company welding programs.
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