The basic terms used in welding
Welding industry has its specific welding terms that each commercial welder has to be aware of. Of course, there is no need learning the entire welding vocabulary, yet one should get acquainted with some of the major terms, such as:
Arc Cutting – process that can be done with a 6010 or 6011 rod with a very hot machine. It is where you cut through the steel using the force of the arc.
Automatic Welding - a weld made by special equipment.
Flash Burn - This is a radiation burn from the ultra violet rays from the welding arc. The flash burn is similar to sunburn and it starts hurting hours later, being very painful to the eyes.
Machine Welding – the weld is done by machine and is inspected by a person.
Manual Welding – welding by an actual person. In stick welding, the welder holds the stinger, processing the welding electrode and controlling the weld pool. In mig welding is used Mig gun feeding wire to do the same. In TIG welding is used a torch and the filler rod is manually fed.
Melting Rate – the rate at which the rod, wire, or TIG rod is melted.
Melting Point – the point at which the metal goes from solid into liquid state.
MIG Welding – uses a solid steel wire rolled up on a spool and fed through a welding lead with a liner in it.
Seam Weld – the seam is located where the two plates, strips, etc. touch. Half of the weld pool should go to each side of the seam.
Semi-Automatic Welding – when the machine runs the filler metal and supplies the shielding gas automatically, but a person should pull the trigger and manipulate the gun in order to make the weld.
Shielded Metal Arc Welding – welding with electrodes, practical when climbing around on a high-rise tower, shopping centers and large spread-out structures.
Stick Welding – welding with electric powered or gasoline operated machine. For
TIG Welding - welding process that joins metals by heating them with a non-consumable tungsten electrode.
Weld - bonding or fusing of two materials that is done with or without filler rod or wire
Weld Blanket – applied to keep sparks and molten steel from burning, scarring, or catching surrounding area on fire when welding or cutting.
Weld Joints - Lap, Butt, Edge, Corner and Tee are the five basic weld joints.
Weld Metal - melting together of the filler metal and the melted parent metal.
Weld Positions - Flat, Horizontal, Vertical and Overhead positions of welding.
Welding Certification - papers showing what test a welder has passed. The tests are available by the American Welding Society – structural steel; American Society of Mechanical Engineers – boilers and pressure vessels; and the American Petroleum Institute – oil and gas pipelines.
Weld Test - Visual tests, Destructive tests, and Non-Destructive tests in welding.