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Up Topic American Welding Society Services / Certifications / interest
- - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-16-2007 21:13 Edited 05-16-2007 21:17
i am thinking of  becoming a cwi can someone guide me in the right direction should i just take the test or try to get in with a co that will train me
Parent - - By chuck meadows (***) Date 05-16-2007 21:49
I think that anyone who has taken the CWI test will attest to the fact that you should not "just take the test" without some degree of prior preparation. Personally, I ordered and received all the study material form AWS long before taking the test, attended the intense 5 day prep seminar, took the test on the 6th day, and still had some degree of doubt about whether I passed it or not. I suggest you be prepared long before even considering taking the test. I know of no company "that will train" you. There are companies that will pay for your study material and for the test, but it is up to you to do the studying and preparation. Either way, if you decide to attain a CWI license, let me be the first to wish you the best.

Chuck
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-16-2007 22:25 Edited 05-16-2007 22:30
i have a associate degree in welding and fabrication technology and have been working in the field for 4 yrs i have welding technology books which cover the fundamentals so i am not goin into this blind i have an understanding of various welding processes and fabrication.... what kind of study materials did you get and what is included on the test as far as the math and nde conversions and calculations
Parent - - By chuck meadows (***) Date 05-16-2007 23:23
Your associate degree will be of benefit to you, but from what I can understand, the test is somewhat different than when I took it in 1990. I would suggest you take the time and expense to contact the AWS and get the study material. Not being fully prepared and possibly having to retest will amount to more money that to initially order the study material and passing it on the first try...Believe me, having an Associate in Welding Technology will not prepare you enough for the exam. I know that for a fact. Maybe some of the other CWI's in the Forum will contribute their ideas on this.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-17-2007 00:40
what kind of stuff can i expect to see on the test the welding technology books i have are more like engineering books they are detailed about the processes, definitions, symbols(nde and welding) different examination processes including vt,mt,ut,rt,etc they they cover discontinuities and defects, joint design so i believe the books i have will do for most of the fundamental part........id imagine the aws info has the same material the only thing i still need is the weld parameters for the various common electrodes and other misc. stuff ..........ive heard that there is math on the test also.............does it include the need to know formulas for elongation and related stuff
Parent - - By chuck meadows (***) Date 05-17-2007 01:24
I taught Advanced Welding at University of Texas (TIG welding on high alloy material) and a Welding Technology class (for the Associate degree) at College of the Mainland, and it focused on the different welding processes and such. Not at all an Engineering aspect. Trust me, the Welding Technology class will not fully prepare you for the CWI exam. If you feel that your past studies will give you the info you need, then that is your choice. If I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing I did to prepare the first time. Better to be sure than sorry. If you're going to spend that much money, it is better to be safe than sorry. I can't tell you what is on the test because it's been nearly 17 years and a lot has changed, I'm sure. You can search the archives in this Forum and the guys that have taken the exam will tell you that it is a hard test and you must be prepared to the fullest. But, if you feel your Welding Technology books are enough, go for it. I just don't think it is all the material you will need. At least, the classes I taught wouldn't have prepared the students enough to take the exam. The AWS study guides will cover everything on the test, and that is your best preparation in my opinion.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-17-2007 02:45
the aws study guides cover everything ..........does that mean all the fundamentals and the practical i am not  currently an aws member and am having trouble finding the books but will do what is necessary .....how many different books are there and approx how much do they cost.........what books and editions do you recommend for me to fully prepare....i appreciate your help in this matter being that everyone i have talked to just says to pass the test and really offered no real direction as to how to prepare after studying the books do you recommend a seminar
Parent - - By chuck meadows (***) Date 05-17-2007 03:37
Please do not take this wrong, or with any disrespect, but I honestly do not feel you are anywhere near ready for the CWI exam. If I may ask, at what institute did you receive your Associate in Welding Technology?

All I can tell you is that to fully prepare is to obtain the study guides from AWS and study, study, study. I would even recommend attending the 5 day prepatory seminar and take your test on the 6th day while the information is fresh on your mind. Again, I'm only telling you what worked for me. Of course I was paying my own way and did not have a company sponsoring my study guides or paying for my test, so I couldn't afford to fail it and have to pay again to take the test. So, I tried not to take any chances of failing. I did the same with my CWE license. Like I said prior, it's been a long time since I first took the exam and a lot has changed. It would be better for you to talk to someone that has recently taken the test. Look through the Forum and you will find guys (or women) that have recently taken the test. They will tell you first hand how important it is to be prepared. 
Parent - - By hogan (****) Date 05-17-2007 14:58
the "certification manual for welding inspectors" by aws is a good representation of the general knowledge portion of the test.
Parent - - By new tito (***) Date 05-17-2007 15:17
100% agreed on the Certification Manual.  That's really the only book I studied prior to the seminar and testing.  Get you code book also and get really familiar with it. 

Here's some idea as to what is on the test:  Definitions (according to AWS 3.0); heat control and metallurgy (you better know you metallurgy); reports and records; welding processes (covers all processes, not just SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW.  it includes the lesser known ones too like PAW, ESW, EBW); NDT test methods (know your NDT and the fundamentals behind the 5 major methods); Destructive test (you had better know about ductility, brittleness, tensil strength, yeild strength, elongation and what test methods check for what); symbols (you better know all of them and be really familiar with them and their applications).  You had also better be prepared with inspecting to a code for your practical, and be familiar with actually inspecting.  Most people retesting when I was there were there because they failed the practical part.

As for calculations and formulas...that's the easy part.  They give you all the formulas.  It's simply figuring tensil strengths, and converting from one unit of measurment to another.  But, as I said, you have access to all the formulas.

I highly suggest the seminar.  It helped me realize where I needed to improve my studies.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-17-2007 19:54 Edited 05-17-2007 19:56
first i would like to thank you all for the direction you have given at first i think what i was trying to find out was being misinterpreted  i feel as of now i am not ready to take the test i was simply showing interest in the cwi and trying to find info on obtaining the knowledge to pass the test the certification manual from aws was the answer i was looking for.........for those who suggested it was that the only book you needed for all the information in the fundamentals.........if there is more sources i should use please let me know.........also is there tests in the manual...........also upon being comfortable with the material in the book what seminars do you suggest
Parent - - By new tito (***) Date 05-17-2007 20:09
The seminar is put on through AWS.  Check out AWS' home page and look for certification programs.  Read all the info there for the CWI.  It will give you a better understanding of all the requirements and offerings.

As for books, if you take the seminar (highly, highly suggested) they will give you quite a few books there like Welding Inspection Technology (very similar to Certification Manual), Visual Inspection Workshop, AWS B1.10, AWS A2.4, AWS A3.0, and QC1.  The first two mentioned do include workbooks and practice exams.  All of these books will help you prepare for the test.

Here's what I suggest, as I have numerous times - Get the Certification Manaul and make copies of the practice tests in there.  There is one at the end of each chapter.  Take the test before ever reading the book...this will tell you where you need to concentrate your studies.  Then read each chapter and immediately take the practice test again, and do this for all chapters.  When done reading the entire book, take the entire test again.  Depending on how far out your test will be, keep yourself re-reading those books.  Again, I highly suggest taking the seminar.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-17-2007 20:21 Edited 05-17-2007 20:35
the manual i found on aws is from 2000 is that the most recent publication of this book and just to confirm you guys recommend studying this book then taking a seminar
Parent - - By new tito (***) Date 05-17-2007 21:24
Certification Manual 4th edition.

Get your code book too and familiarize yourself with it.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-18-2007 00:50
the only cert manual i can find is from 2000 it says it is updated and costs 176  does this sound like the book i need
Parent - - By new tito (***) Date 05-18-2007 01:31
Check this link.  At the bottom of the 1st page there is a section for recomended self study books.  The AWS order number is CM:2000, get that one.  http://www.aws.org/certification/docs/cert0570.pdf
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-18-2007 17:07
thanx now can someone tell what the job entails once certification is achieved do companies try to argue alot with the inspector or do most of them accept they have a job to do............once item is signed off on is that the responsibilitie of the inspector if something would happen or is the inspector just verifing the job was completed to meet the code
Parent - - By new tito (***) Date 05-20-2007 18:09
Oh man, go see my thread in "shop talk" titled "starting to hate my job". 

Other than that, it depends on the company.  Some companies are excellent in their vision of quality.  Some see it as a necessary evil.  Some only have it because a customer says they need it.  You will always run into people that argue with the inspector, and will never understand the concept of quality control.
Parent - - By tbigtdav (*) Date 05-22-2007 20:18
thanx for all the input .......now i have another question ......will the welding inspection handbook(wi2000) help give me a good understanding of the practical part of the cwi or what is recommended to help me prepare for that part of the test
Parent - By welderwv (*) Date 05-23-2007 11:23
By practical I assume you mean the hands on part.  The manual should help with the basics but working with the measuring gages will help the most.  Getting used to using the different types of gages.

If you are unfamiliar with some of the gages you can go to galgage.com and order a catalog of their products and they send you a free CD that shows demonstrations of using the different gages.  It was helpful to me because some of the gages I hadn't ever used.

The book that helped me the most was the Certification Manual for Welding Inspectors.
Up Topic American Welding Society Services / Certifications / interest

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