2 samples for unlimited thickness welder qualification

Date 05-05-2008 13:34

Hello everyone! This is Wiggles8879. I have a quick question. I am doing unlimited thickness tests in the 1G position on all of the welders in the shop. I am welding with 25mm thick plates with an included angle of 22.5 degrees on the plates. Its a double v groove weld. My question is this: After I cut the 2 specimens out of the plate and I surface grind them to thickness, is there anything in the D1.1 code that says that both of the side bend specimens has to pass or does only 1 of the 2 specimens have to pass? I have been looking and I cant seem to find it anywhere. I know it says that if one of the samples exceeds the acceptance criteria for cracks then another specimen can be cut from the original test and substituted and tested in its place. I just cant seem to find it anywhere in there and I want to make sure that I dont retest the guys if I dont need to. Thanks in advance for any input anyone has on this matter.

By Shane Feder (****)

Date 05-05-2008 13:55

wiggles8879,
Both of the bend samples have to pass for Welder Qualification.
The section that you are looking at is applicable to Welding Procedures only. If a bend fails on WPS qualification you can submit another one as it may have failed due to the welders ability and not the mechanical properties of the weld.
If you use RT in lieu of bend tests you must RT all the plate (apart from 1 1/4" at either end of plate) and this must all pass. It is the same with the bends, wherever you cut them from they must pass.
Just curious wiggles, why are you not testing in the 2G or 3G position.? That will qualify them for the horizontal and flat or vertical and flat. If you do the 1G you get flat only. Do 2G or 3G and you get flat by default,
Regards,
Shane

By wiggles8879 (*)

Date 05-05-2008 15:42

Shane,
At the facility I work at we do heavy weldments and we only weld in the flat position for all groove welds and only in the flat and horizontal position for fillet welds. In some cases I do an overhead fillet weld test but very seldom. It is more of a case of repair welding when they would need to weld overhead or vertical so the company doesn't see the need to do the 2G or 3G test. I would love to test them for everything but its not practical for the welding we do here.

By Jeffrey Grady (***)

Date 07-27-2008 19:05

wiggles8879,
i was doing a search on the forum about unlimited thickness testing. i notice You use strictly metrics in your terminology. You wouldn't happen to work for Komatsu would You? I only ask because i have a weld test set-up for this thursday (the 31st of July). It's a 25mm groove in 1G and a 13mm fillet in 2F. Any recomendations on proper wire speed and voltage for this 25mm plate test?
Respectfully, Jeffrey Grady

By wiggles8879 (*)

Date 08-05-2008 14:33

Jeff,
Sorry for the delay in responding. We weld in pulse with our welders. We run a reference number (not voltage) of 30.0 and wire speed of 460. Both of the numbers are +/- 5%. I would venture to say that on CV the voltage will be a little bit lower, around 26-28 volts but the wire speed will be pretty close to 460. Hopefully this is helpful, if not could you tell me what your settings were for future reference. Thanks in advance.

By Jeffrey Grady (***)

Date 08-05-2008 15:27

wiggles8879,
it's perfectly OK. I know people are very busy. I posted a thread in shop talk that got alot of responses. But for reference purposes here are the settings used and wire used. .052 lincoln ER70S-6 At 27 V / 280 IPM, 90% argon mix at 50 cfh, non pulse spray transfer. I failed that test because I was not allowed to adjust my machine, nor was I allowed to check over the machine for the purpose of finding out why it was performing so badly. I believe I needed to have the liner changed out, As it was pushing wire too slow for even 280 IPM. The wire would not advance for at least 2-3 sec. after a trigger pull. And there was a lack of electrical contact when the wire would advance to the metal. It popped and sputtered the whole time, but as I said, I was not allowed to touch that machine.
Respectfully, Jeffrey