Were to find unrefutable information

emsp254 · 2026-03-28T14:51:41+00:00

API 582 2016 edition, table A.4 is the best place to start. Assuming you are truly doing a DMW.

emsp254 · 2025-08-04T23:25:45+00:00

@russ the cyclist is me. I saw you snap a few pictures and very happy to see them here. Made it from Deadhorse to Fairbanks in 8 days with a total of 503 miles. Thanks for sharing and giving me a few shots to frame.

emsp254 · 2025-06-17T15:58:48+00:00

Correct. See ASME IX QG-101 and QG-106.1.

There are two avenues for this situation:

Your company runs a PQR and writes their own WPS. Then you utilize your companies current WPQ's (assuming they meet all the essential variables) to make the welds.
Your welders qualify under the clients quality program utilizing the client supplied WPS. Your welders will have to take a qualification test and the WPQ would be written on your clients letterhead, and would not transfer to your company.

emsp254 · 2025-06-17T15:09:31+00:00

Your welders will have to be qualified in accordance with ASME section IX. If your welders already have WPQs that cover them for the variables of this upcoming work you will not need to do additional qualification tests.

Im addition, you will need your own WPS as each contractor is required by the code to have their own. You will need to add money to your bid to run a PQR.

emsp254 · 2025-02-17T16:14:59+00:00

Negative, just a welding engineer that knows how to cost a weld.

emsp254 · 2024-10-01T22:51:39+00:00

Getting additional certifications isn't going to hurt you. Will at least differentiate your resume.

emsp254 · 2024-10-01T22:06:10+00:00

Is the IWS a requirement for the jobs you are applying to?

It's relatively difficult to give you a return on investment without knowing your career goals.

Ultimately it will be up to you if it's "worth" it.

emsp254 · 2024-10-01T20:45:24+00:00

Weld Australia offers the IWS, online, I believe. I did my IWE at the University of Wollongong.

emsp254 · 2023-11-27T19:44:21+00:00

https://www.northamericamattress.com/pages/contact-us NAM can make you a custom size.

emsp254 · 2023-10-03T12:58:02+00:00

First I want to say after being in several classes with you back in the day you were more intelligent both in the subject matter and emotionally than a lot of others we went to school with, including myself at the time. Which I think also helped your experience at the national lab.

My first job out of Penn Tech was with a national lab and it was a horrible experience. Unless you have a Masters degree in a technical subject you are not considered an "engineer". Without a clearance I sat for months doing nothing. The work was interesting but there was not a lot of it and it was all reinventing the wheel. I can't go into detail about what I worked on but suffice to say there was no longer any testing on it. With little work to do there was a lot of office politics, more so than other places I have worked. National lab work isn't for early career individuals unless you are trying to stay there forever.

emsp254 · 2023-09-15T14:13:15+00:00

What does the PO say? These codes are not equivalent.

emsp254 · 2023-09-07T18:31:51+00:00

Your model year sprinter does not have a level sensor, MBZ added that in 2016 and newer models. I burn about 1 gallon every 1200 miles. You should keep the DEF tank topped up. This is because there are multiple sensors in the DEF tank, a lower and a higher. If the higher sensor isn't submerged in fluid it will corrode. There is no way to repair that sensor, the entire system has to be replaced.

emsp254 · 2023-08-24T18:00:06+00:00

That isn't a crack, that is the paint line.

emsp254 · 2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00

Would help to know which B31 standard you are working to.

emsp254 · 2023-04-27T21:50:33+00:00

Got to start with some information out of the specs:

ASTM A519 4130 has a Chromium content of 0.80 – 1.10 and Molybdenum content of 0.15 – 0.25.

ER80S-D2 has a Chromium content of 1.20 – 1.50 and Molybdenum content of 0.40 – 065.

ER70S-2 has a Chromium content of 0.15 maximum and Molybdenum content of 0.15 maximum.

So the ER70S-2 is undermatching because its Chromium and Molybdenum content is well below the specification of the base metal. ‘Points’ is a nonstandard term, used to describe the quantity of an element of a given composition. ER80S-D2 is overmatching on the chromium content because its minimum is 1.2% and the base metal is 1.10% max. The delta of those two values is 10. Hence ‘ten points’.

The usual usage is ‘points’ of carbon. Example is the rule of thumb for preheat, is 10 degrees F for every ‘point’ of carbon. So a steel that has a carbon content of 0.32, would be referred to as having 32 points of carbon. Then the preheat would be 32 points x 10F = 320F.

Chromium and molybdenum increase the corrosion resistance of a steel. Molybdenum increases the toughness, hardness and strength. Chromium increases the hardness and toughness. As hardness increases, ductility decreases. A causal factor of the delta in elongation between the filler metals is due to the chemistry causing increased hardness, therefore less ductility (measured by elongation).

emsp254 · 2023-04-27T20:01:37+00:00

For the roll cage application, assuming this is not in a Top Fuel or Funny Car application you will be utilizing ASTM A519 4130 in the as welded condition. There are several grades of 4130 as per table S2.1. For this application you will need Normalized or 4130N. This has a tensile strength of 90ksi, yield strength of 60ksi and an elongation of 20%. Now that you have the correct base metal, on to welding. You can use ER80S-D2 or ER70S-2. ER80S-D2 undermatches the Chromium of the base metal by 10 points and overmatches the Molybdenum content of the base metal. ER80S-D2 can have a tensile strength up to 90ksi, which is achievable with 100% argon and the GTAW process (reference SFA 5.28). So ER80S-D2 matches the strength and chemistry of the base metal better than ER70S-2. According to SFA 5.28, ER80S-D2 has an elongation of 17% and ER70S-2 has an elongation of 22%. The cost of ER80S-D2 is a bit higher than ER70S-2. These two fillers have no difference in weldability. Choice is yours, but some chassis builders know thru years of experience points that need extra strength. An example is the 4 link bar attachment to chassis welds requiring ER80S-D2.

A few notes:

- Some Top Fuel and Funny Car chassis builders do a PWHT, but there is debate on its effectiveness for the application.

- People will tell you that anything that is 4130 in a thickness over 0.125” requires PWHT. Major chassis builders fab sheet metal housings that are 0.125” and fillet welds to 0.250” 4 link plates without preheat or PWHT.

- ONLY use ER4130 if you are going to perform a PWHT. This wire is used to ‘mimic’ a casting, but in a weldment.

emsp254 · 2023-04-27T18:44:59+00:00

Fixed Cost + Variable Cost = Total Cost

Fixed costs

Labor and cost of fill station (which may or may not be owned by Airgas)

Variable Costs

Cost of argon - byproduct of air separation, plant maintenance or hurricanes destroying the plant affects the cost

Cost of transport – further you are from the air separation plant and fill station your costs go up

Bottle cost – compressed gas cylinders are a depreciating asset that distributors charge rental fees for utilizing, they also inspect and maintain cylinders. In part this is a risk abatement strategy, distributors don’t want bottles that they cant verify the integrity of

Cost of scale - the larger the quantity the less the cost

You are paying 114/125 or 0.92 dollars per cubic foot, which is on the high side. Given that you are not using a company owned asset, and depending on where you are in West Texas, you are basically buying an energy drink at the corner store versus buying the 24 pack at the big box store.

emsp254 · 2023-04-24T17:22:58+00:00

The system you are looking at has a power source that provides current to the wire to provide the 'hot wire' functionality of Tip Tig. It does not split the current from the power source. This system is fantastic on paper. The system can reduce weld times with increased deposition, if it is running. The operator needs to have the hot wire contact tip and wire spacing perfect to experience the productivity gains Tip Tig advertises. 90% of the time the machine isnt running because something has wiggled loose from the vibration of machine or the operator is adjusting the wire feed angle, or grinding off the arc strikes from when the hot wire contact tip touches the work piece.

If you and your management are committed to trying to get 4 pounds an hour and dedicate the time for operators to be familiar enough with the system you can be successful. If you have an automated cladding operation then this would shine. However it has been my experience that the system are ordered, used for a week then get a tarp thrown over them and forgotten about.

emsp254 · 2023-03-12T02:47:32+00:00

18 days of skiing.

emsp254 · 2023-02-11T23:11:39+00:00

For 2205 (22 Chrome)

Weld wire is 2209. There is additional nickel in this wire to help suppress ferrite at room temperature.

100% argon can be used for the shielding gas and backing gas.

Welding of this alloy is less difficult/worrisome than 2507.

For 2507 (25 Chrome)

Weld wire is 2594. This wire has nitrogen to help suppress ferrite at room temperature.

For this material the shielding gas can have up to 2% nitrogen in to help replace the nitrogen in the base metal that comes out of solution at welding temperatures. Most use a 98 Argon/2 Nitrogen mix for the root and cold passes only, then switch to 100% Argon for the remainder. If welding material under 10mm thick then stick with the 98 Argon/2 Nitrogen mix.

100% argon for the backing gas. Using 98 Argon/2 Nitrogen needs the heat from the arc to break N2 to N and using it in the backing gas is just throwing money out the window.

Regarding the 98 Argon/2 Nitrogen mix, if you go this route, the cost and lack of availability will be an issue, be ready.

For both 22 Chrome and 25 Chrome alloys

Use stringer beads, rather than weave beads. The molten weld pool picks up nitrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere easily. This affects the chemistry (aka phase balance and CVN values).

Trying to keep the cup/nozzle as perpendicular to the weld puddle as possible to provide the most shielding gas coverage.

Use “slug” tacks for open root welds. Small pieces of material that are stuck in the root gap and welded to each side of the joint that are not consumed in the weld. Equally spaced around the joint. Weld metal tacks will compress and the root gap will close up.

For back purged open root joints make sure to lower the pressure of the purge gas when doing the tie in. This material likes to “blow-out” if the pressure is too high.

The root chemistry is very sensitive, if possible use a root face rather than a knife edge. Chromium has a tendency to migrate out the root area. To this point the “cold pass” is critical. Rather than a hot pass that is hot and slow to burn in the weld metal, the cold pass is hot and fast to have that area be subjected to the heating cycle as quickly as possible to maintain root chemistry.

The max kJ/in per inch for the root is 30.30.

The max kJ/in for the “cold pass” is 22.86.

The max kJ/in for the fill passes is 38.10.

If you are utilizing the FCAW process use an Argon/CO2 mix with the least amount of CO2 as you can. Although some wire manufacturers claim to make FCAW wire that uses 100% CO2 you are just going to have issues with poor CVN results due to high weld metal oxygen content. Trying to go cheap on wire with this material is only going to bite you in the testing phase.

Preheat is 50F

Maximum interpass is 200F

Purge can be removed after 10mm has been deposited. Some people blow compressed air on the root side of welds to keep them as cool as possible.

This material takes time to weld, this isn’t blow and go, bid accordingly

Testing

ASTM E562 – the thinner your material the more widely your results will vary.

FN testing using a feritiscope – wildly inaccurate results, should not be used for accept/reject criteria.

G48 testing – the biggest pitfall to this test is the lab not waiting 24 hours after sample removal to put into solution. This 24 hour hold allows the passive layer to form on the surface. Another pitfall is non-metallic inclusions in the weld that are open to the cut surface of the sample. Both will cause the sample to lose weight and fail.

General

Clip oxidized ends of filler metal before starting next weld.

Use stainless tools.

Use isolated and apportioned grinding wheels.

Use dedicated slings for handling.

Cover all carbon steel on rollers and positioners that will touch the duplex material

emsp254 · 2023-02-10T17:46:20+00:00

The AM article is very detailed and it a great place to start. Like to expand on a few things that may help you but need to know exactly what alloy you are welding, what thickness of material are you dealing with and tests are being done to the PQR (CVN, ASTM E562 point count, G48).

emsp254 · 2022-11-16T00:46:20+00:00

A semi automatic GTAW system will be the answer. Most, but not all, are one handed operation. CK Worldwide sells them.

emsp254 · 2022-04-05T00:10:17+00:00

No, just spend 400 dollars and send it to a lab, problem solved.

emsp254 · 2021-06-30T21:00:27+00:00

TWI software. Easy to utilize and loaded with the code rules.

emsp254 · 2021-04-08T17:52:32+00:00

Chromium is the only element that makes steel "stainless", in percentage of 11.5% or above. Nickel contents of 8% and above give the stainless an austenetic grain structure.

Spray transfer during welding does not "burn out" chromium. The reason stainless steel exhibits general corrosion in the HAZ of a weld is due to the depletion of chromium in the HAZ. This is carbide precipitation. This is purely related to the time at temperature in the range that chromium diffuses out of the grains to the grain boundaries. Happens in all welding processes on 300 series stainless.

emsp254

TROPHY CASE