A welding certification is a key possession of a professional welder and comes with many rewards. The first of these is the addition of qualifications when being considered for certain welding applications, but improved job stability, and higher salaries often come with the certification.
Fabricators want to ensure they are supplying their customers with a high quality product. A welding certification is an excellent way to help ensure that the welds of fabricated components are of good quality. These high quality welds can be proof that a welder has passed a welding test that assesses the skill level of the welder in a particular circumstance or job.
A welder can hold one or more welding certifications simultaneously, since each certification covers the combination of a material type, a joint type, a welding process, and one or more welding positions. As a result, a welder may need several unique welding certifications in order to perform all of the welds on a complex part using a variety of welding equipment.
Before we discuss what types of certificates a welder can obtain, knowing the different types of welds and positions is where to start before the certification process begins.
Types of Welds
Welds can be described as being a particular type depending on the orientation and preparation of the pieces to be welded. The two most common joint types are:
- Fillet weld: Most often fillet welds involve welding in the crease formed by two pieces of metal oriented perpendicular to each other.
- Groove weld: Most often, groove welds involved welding in the crease formed by two pieces of metal butted together in the same plane.
In the certification world, achieving a weld certification to perform groove welds often permits you to perform fillet welds, but not the other way around. Likewise, both fillet and groove welds can be made on pipe or on plate. Often, certifying on plate also provides certification for very large diameter pipes.
Understanding the Types of Welding Procedures
As with types of welds, obtaining a certification in one welding process does not permit you to weld the same types of joints with different welding processes.
Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
Shielded metal arc welding is also known as stick welding. It uses a consumable electrode that produces a protective environment around the molten weld metal in addition to depositing weld filler. Stick is still a very popular process in laying pipeline and in steel structure erection
Flux-Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)
Flux Cored Arc Welding is often referred to simply as “flux core”. Like SMAW, it uses a consumable electrode that protects the weld, but instead the electrode is a tubular wire. The process may or may not use an external shielding gas to help protect the weld further. Flux cored welding that does not require shielding gas is popular in steel structures and field repairs, while the gas-shielded process variant is popular for ship and railcar fabrication, among many other heavy-duty applications.
Gas Metal Gas Welding (GMGW/MIG)
Gas metal arc welding is also known as MIG, which stands for Metal Inert Gas. Like some FCAW wires, an external shielding gas is required to protect the weld from the atmosphere. The benefit of MIG is that the wire does not produce a slag that must be cleaned after welding. Although MIG does not have the tolerance for dirty or rusty materials that flux cored arc welding has, it is a much more productive process and popular for heavy equipment and general fabrication.
Gas Tungsten Arch Welding (GTAW/TIG)
Gas tungsten arc welding is also known as TIG, which stands for Tungsten Inert Gas. This process is different from the aforementioned because the electrode is made of tungsten and is non-consumable. To add filler to the weld joint, it must be manually added by the welder or welding machine. An external shielding gas is required to protect the weld deposit from atmospheric contamination. The primary advantage of TIG is the high level of control that is offered by the process, especially when welding materials other than steel in high-purity applications. Common users of the TIG process are the aerospace and custom automotive industries.
Welding Positions & Certifications
A welding certification will often limit the holder to a particular range of welding positions depending on the welding position in which their certification test was conducted. Welding positions are typically indicated using a numerical designator:
- Indicates that welding occurs in the “flat” position. Typically this means that the axis of welding is along the surface that the work is being held on, either the table or floor. This welding position is often considered the easiest, but it is important to maintain good control of travel speed to prevent issues with slag inclusion or lack of fusion.
- Indicates that welding occurs in the “horizontal” position. Typically, this means that the axis of welding is parallel to the ground, but the direction of welding is from left to right as opposed to up/down. Because the horizontal position is considered more difficult than the flat position, many horizontal certifications also cover the flat position in addition to the horizontal position.
- Indicates that welding occurs in the “vertical” position. Typically, this means that the axis of welding is perpendicular to the ground and the direction of welding is from the top-down or vice-versa. The vertical position is more susceptible to the negative effects of gravity, and for this reason, the vertical position is considered even more difficult than the flat and horizontal positions.
- Indicates that welding occurs in the “overhead” position. Typically, this means that the axis of welding is parallel to the ground and, as the name suggests, positioned above your head. A difficulty achieving comfort and the need to fight gravity head-on makes overhead a difficult weld position.
- Indicates that welding occurs on a pipe when the pipe is oriented horizontally to the floor. A challenge with this position is that you must, in a way, weld in the flat, vertical, and overhead positions as you progress around the circumference of the pipe.
- Indicates that welding occurs on a pipe that is oriented at a 45 degree angle to the floor. It uses many of the same skills as the 5G position, but with increased difficulty that requires additional care to work angles, travel angles, as well as bead placement.
Welding Certifications
To be a good welder you will need to know the above welding positions to successfully complete various welding tasks. However, there are specific certifications and requirements that you might want to obtain as a welder to show your professional ability and increase your chances of landing a welding gig. If you are interested in obtaining any certifications, The American Welding Society (AWS) offers numerous other certifications including various specialty certifications such:
- Certified Welder (CW)
- Certified Welding Inspector (CWI)
- Certified Welding Educator (CWE)
- Certified Resistance Welding Technician (CRWT)
- Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)
- Certified Welding Engineer (CWE)
Having these certifications will give any welder a competitive edge and increase overall marketability to take on more challenging welds. Additionally, there are various safety courses that welders might need to complete before specific jobs can be worked on. completing both safety courses and welding certificates through the AWS will help ensure a safe working environment for all welders and employees.
Welder Rentals from Red-D-Arc
Welding is an exciting opportunity in the industrial sector because of the high job demand and range of industrial processes to use. But because the world of welding is so large, welding certifications exist to communicate a welders skill in a prescribed environment that includes base metal type, weld type, process, and weld position.
If you have additional questions about welding certifications, call our world-class customer representatives at 1-866-733-3272. Our representatives and welding experts can help you understand and respond to a wide range of challenges that you may have.
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