Page 7 - HIWT Winter 2017 World of Welding

Additional AWS Offerings What’s the Value in Earning an

These courses are also available: Preparation for AWS Certified
Welding Supervisor Examination, Certified Welding Educator AWS CWI Status?
Examination, Recertification of CWI, and CWI Code Endorsement. HIWT Senior Tech Instructor Elmer Swank Jr. sees great value
Nondestructive Details in achieving the CWI status. If an individual who likes welding
and inspection wants to challenge him or herself, or gets injured
At HIWT’s new facility, the nondestructive testing lab and classroom and can’t crawl, for example, trying to achieve this distinction is
is set up for 12 students to learn hands-on liquid penetrant and another employment path.
magnetic particle inspection. These are taught over a one-week,
40-h class, where 21⁄2 “As a CWI, they can use their knowledge and experience in a
days are spent on each different way,” Swank said. “It’s not as physically demanding,
topic. The class ends and they can stay in the industry.”
with a written exam. In addition, Technical Training Instructor Russ Shurtz said, “Any
Content consists of place in the industry with a code-type welding, someone needs
interpretation and to do visual inspection. It’s a valuable credential. You can move
evaluation of indications; up in careers, maybe if you don’t want to be under the hood. It
test procedures and does open up more responsibilities.”
standards; effects
of discontinuities
on materials; Fig. 3 — Applying cleaner, penetrant, and while a qualification is the
developer sprays on a welded specimen as
magnetization/ part of liquid penetrant inspection reveals ability to produce a sound weld
demagnetization; and transverse cracks (as seen here in red). to a procedure. Testing is also
evaluation techniques code dependent, so based on
and quality control. the application, adhering to
what’s specified in a particular
Equipment includes code takes place.
fluorescent liquid
penetrant sprays, “It’s stating this welder can
involving cleaners, pass this procedure to make
penetrants, and sound welds,” explained
developers, that get Testing Specialist and Welding
applied to welded Instructor David Chambers Sr.
specimens to reveal He’s also a CWI and CWE. Fig. 5 — A — Set to undergo a
guided bend test, this welded piece
transverse cracks, as Fig. 4 — Wet fluorescent magnetic particle The equipment includes band of A36 steel is shown in its original,
well as wet fluorescent inspection takes place in the nondestructive saws, grinders, bending horizontal form (see the middle of
testing lab at HIWT’s facility.
magnetic particle machines where welded the photo); B — after the guided
inspection machines that create magnetic fields so particles find specimens are turned into bend test, this piece is now in a U
voids and flaws show under black lights — U shapes to find surface shape, which helps indicate surface
Figs. 3, 4. discontinuities, tensile discontinuities.
Testing Specialist and Welding Inspector Luke Bailey, who’s also machines to test the yield
a CWI and CWE, noted students taking this course range from strengths of metals by
beginners to experienced bridge and airplane workers. “There’s a lot applying force, heat-treating
to learn, and some are more familiar with one process vs. another,” capabilities for annealing
he said, of what’s challenging. welded specimens, polishing
devices, microscopes, and a
“All our students do an AWS-QC7 National Welder Certification test Charpy V-notch tool — Figs. 5A,
[which is part of their tuition],” Bailey added. Passing gives them a B and 6.
step up, because it proves to employers they can complete this type
of test. “If a setup is wrong, you can
injure yourself,” Chambers
Continuing education classes include fundamentals of visual warned, so safety is stressed.
inspection and arc welding inspection.
Additionally, 24 welding booths
Destructive Highlights are located in an adjoining lab Fig. 6 — A band saw blade (front,
if an employer wants to qualify right) cuts a block of metal so its
The welder performance qualification lab is for destructive testing inside contents can be seen and
and serves as a process lab. employees, which can be further tested.
custom tailored.
Students learn that a procedure is the instruction to make a weld, (Continued on page 10)

www.welding.org - 7 - 2017 WINTER ISSUE