Weld Symbol from Norway

By JH McHaney Date 04-08-2002 17:46

Assistance with a weld symbol from an assembly drawing for a large ship unloader fabricated in Norway would be appreciated.

The weld symbol indicates a double fillet weld at a corner joint where two 10mm thick plates meet in a tee shape. The leg size for both welds is listed as "a5". I presume the number 5 indicates 5mm, but I do not know the significance of the lower-case letter "a" preceeding the 5 in "a5". Other fillet weld symbols on this drawing also have the letter "a" preceeding the number, such as "a3" and "a6".

Thanks, Jim

By pdweldor (*)

Date 04-08-2002 20:54

The "a" means that the number is shown is the throat of the weld. In Europe, they specify fillet weld sizes by the throat dimension, rather than by the leg size "w" like we do in North America. The "a" is included in all fillet weld symbols. The symbols used in Europe are covered in standard EN 22553.

Regards.

By JH McHaney Date 04-09-2002 15:35

Thanks for your prompt assistance. Jim

By adavis

Date 11-01-2002 21:15

Correction, both leg and throat may be specified 'a' before dimension means throat thickness and 'z' means leg length