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How to Become an AWS Certified Welding Inspector

Perhapsthemostcommonofallmisnomersdealswiththeprocesses.

• Oxyacetylenewelding(OAW)issometimescalledgasweldingortorchwelding.

• Shieldedmetalarcwelding(SMAW)iscalledstickwelding.

• Gastungstenarcwelding(GTAW)iscalledTIGweldingorheliarcwelding.TheheliarcweldingtermwasbornfromitsoriginaluseofheliumbyUnionCarbide,LindeDivision.Whenitwasdiscoveredthatargoncouldbeusedasamuchlessexpensiveinertgas,TIGwastheterm used.

• Gasmetalarcwelding(GMAW)wasreferredtoasMIGwelding.ThisnamechangecameaboutwhenitwasdiscoveredthatCO2gasworkedverywelloncarbonsteel.SinceCO2gasisnotaninertgas,theMIGtermwas no longer correct.

• Flux-coredarcwelding(FCAW)wascalledinnershieldoroutershield.InnershieldreferredtotheLincolnElectricwireusedwithoutashieldinggas.Hobart,Linde,andAlloyRods,nowESAB,beganproducingwirethatusedashieldinggas,usuallyCO2.Nowmixturesofgasescanbeusedinthisprocess.Inthebeginning,carbonsteelwastheonlywireonthemarket.Nowseveralalloys,suchasstainlessandnickel,areavailablefortheFCAWprocess.

• Submergedarcwelding(SAW)hasbeenreferredtoasfluxweldingandtheoriginalterm,unionmelt.Again,aswithGTAW-heliarc,theLindeDivisionofUnionCarbidepioneeredthisprocess.

Manynewandfairlyrecentlydiscoveredprocessesarelistedinthe“TermsandDefinitions”publications.TheAWSA3.1publicationdepictsaMasterChartofweldingprocesses.Thisisawallchartthatisniceforaclassroominaschoolortrainingroominanindustrialsetting.Italsoisusefulinanengineeringdepartmentforthenonweldingengineer'suseinpreparingspecifications.Manytextbooksandweldinghandbooksincludethechart.

169013_NATM-Tracks ad.indd 1 12/6/16 10:14 AM

Tracks

www.NATM.comJanuary/February 2017

How to Become an AWS Certified Welding Inspector

HowtoBecomeanAWSCertifiedWeldingInspector

This article originally appeared on TheFabricator.com, the website of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association.

BecominganAWScertifiedweldinginspectorisachallengingtaskthattakesseriouspreparationandstudy.Shortcutsdon’tcutit.

IfyouhavedecidedtomakethebigmovetobecominganAWScertifiedweldinginspector(CWI),youwillfindasomewhatchallengingroadahead.Whetheryouareawelderoranengineer,youwillneedtrainingthatisspecifictothistask.Thepassingratehasincreasedovertheyears,butonlyforthosewhoprepareproperly.

WhenItookcoursestobecomeaCWI,thepassingratewasabout15percent.TherewerenoAmericanWeldingSocietyseminars,andtheonlygameintownwastheHobartInstituteofWeldingTechnology.Theseguyswere(andare)excellentteachersandmadethewholethingfunbutchallenging.(Icouldnamethem,butnoonewouldrememberthemexcepteveryoneover65)Therewasareviewtesteverymorningtoawakenus.Thehomeworkwaswell-arrangedtotakeuptheevening,sotherewasnopartyingorboozing.Theinstructorswereavailableforadviceuntil10:00p.m.

How It Works Now

Ifyoureally,reallywanttobecomeaCWI,itisnecessarytotakethelongroad,notashortcut.MakingaquickdecisiontoscheduleatimetogotoanAWSseminarandthentaketheexamwithoutwhatIcallpre-prepwillmaketheroadmuchmoredifficulttomaneuver.

SeveralcommunitycollegesoffercoursesforCWIprep.Thesearenottheendofthetraining,however.Intoday’sworldthereisonlyonewaytobesuretogettheverybestlegupforthetest.Thatistotakethepre-prepandthentheAWS,Lincoln,orHobartseminars.Evenifyouhavebeeninvolvedintheweldingindustryforseveralyears,thereismuchinformationtodigest.

By Carl Smith, AWS, CWE, NDE Level III Weld Inspection and Consulting

Getting Started

ThefirstthingtoconsideriswhetheryouhavethenecessaryexperienceandotherqualificationstobecomeaCWI.Apotentialcandidatemaygoonlineatwww.aws.orgtoobtainthatinformation.

Ifyouareaneducator,youprobablywillbeinterestedinbecominganAWScertifiededucator(CWE)atthesametime.Takealookatthoserequirementsalso.TheCWIexamqualifiesyoufortheCWEforanadditionalfee.

What to Study First

Ithasbeenmyexperiencethatmostcandidatesneedtostudythe“TermsandDefinitions”ascontainedintheAWSA32010.Atthistimeitcosts$168fornon-members/$126formembers,butifyoureallywanttogetajumponthe“Fundamentals”sectionoftheexam,obtainingthispublicationwillserveyouwell.

Figure 2: The gap between two plates or pipes is a root opening.

Root Opening

Common Misnomers

ItissurprisingtosomewithweldingexperiencetolearnthatagapbetweentwoplatesorpipesisactuallyarootopeningasdefinedbyAWS(Figure2).Astingerisreallyanelectrodeholder.An electrode is not a welding rod.

Thebestwaytodistinguishbetweenawelderasa“person”ora“machine”istorefertothemachineasapowersource.Oneofmypetpeevesisthespellingof“welder.”Intheolddays,apersonwhoweldedwasa“weldor.”IwouldliketoleadacampaigntocauseMr.Webstertochangeit.OmarBlodgettofLincolnElectricsaysthespellingshouldremainasweldor.

DO

T-C2

TracksSpecifications and Classifications for Welding Materials

Theaveragewelderorevenaweldingsupervisormaynotbefamiliarwiththeinformationthatisrequiredforaproperweldingprocedurespecification(WPS).Theclassificationsarefamiliartomostpersonnelintheweldingfield;howeverthespecificationsareusuallynotcommonlyusedbytheshoppersonnel.

FnumbersalsoarerequiredforWPSandwelderqualificationforms.Theweldingengineerortechnicianusuallyisthepersonwhomustbewell-informedaboutthisinformation.

The Importance of Specifications

ThespecificationsforweldingmaterialsarefoundintheAWSA5publicationandinASME,SectionIIPartC.Thedifference(Idon’tknowwhythereisadifference,butIsupposeitisjusttobedifferent)isthenumbering.TheAWSA5.1isSFA5.1intheASMEpublication.Thesenumbersdonothaverelevancefortensilestrengthorpositionliketheclassificationnumbersdo.Instead,theyprovidethelocationofinformationrelatingtotheproduct.

An Example of the Content

OneveryhelpfulsectionoftheA5publicationisA5.01,“ProcurementGuidelines.”ThissectiondescribestheuseofA5.ItcoversthefillermetalclassificationselectedfromthepertinentAWSfillermetalspecification,thelotclassificationselectedfromSection5ofthisdocument,andtheleveloftestingscheduleselectedfromTable1,Section6.

AswithallAWSpublications,expertsfromtheweldingindustryareinvolvedindevelopingimportantdocuments.Manyofthepeoplearewell-knowntoAWSmembers.

• JimHannashasbeenaroundinmanydifferentareasoftheweldingfield.HehasbeenwiththeMidwestTestingLaboratoryinPiqua,Ohio,andalsoheadedtheweldingdepartmentattheEdisonInstitute.

• SamReynoldswaswiththeU.S.NuclearRegulatoryCommissionandWestinghouse.

• DamianKoteckiwaswithTeledyneMcKayandLincolnElectric.

Committeeservantsdotheworkvoluntarily,andittakesalongtime,sometimesyears,tocompletethework.

Example of an A5.1 Specification for Covered Carbon Steel Electrodes.Theclassificationforthistypeofelectrodemustmeetthefollowingcriteria:

1. Typeofcurrent.

2. Typeofcovering.

3. Usablepositionsfortheelectrode.

4. Chemicalpropertiesoftheweldmetal.

5. Mechanicalpropertiesoftheweldmetalinthe“aswelded”condition.

BeforethematerialisacceptedbytheAWSclassificationstandard,itmustmeetthecriteriaasstatedinsection5.01,procurement.

TobeAWScertifiedinacertainclassification,anelectrodemusthavethemarkingrequiredbyParagraph6.0ofSectionA5.1.Thismarkingcertifiesthattheelectrodehaspassedalltherequiredtestingassetforthinthisspecification.Someoftherequiredtestsare:

1. Chemicalcompositionofthecorematerialandoftheas-welded condition.

2. Mechanical,usability(position),andsoundness(byradiography).

3. Allweldmetaltensiontest(sometimescalledthe505test),becausethediameterofthetestcouponis0.505inch.

4. Charpyimpacttest(toughnessatagiventemperature).

Thenextarticleinthisserieswillcoverdetailsoftheclassificationnumberingsystem.

For more information about the American Welding Society's Certified Welder program, visit www.aws.org/certification.

For more information about welding and shop management, visit www.TheFabricator.com.

To access more informational welding articles published in Tracks Magazine, please visit www.NATM.com

How to Become an AWS Certified Welding Inspector