As the scale of global pipeline construction continues to increase, industries are looking for advanced and effective ways to ensure pipe welds meet and exceed standards while providing a longer service life. But overcoming pipe welding challenges—such heavy wall welding, welding in curved areas, and ensuring proper alignment in the…
Industries like oil and gas routinely employ the welding process for fusing pipes. However, the complexity of pipe welding makes it one of the most challenging processes. In welding the pipe circumference, factors from arc positioning error to manual fatigue can contribute to the welding errors that include poor bonding…
For anyone who thinks that the importance of and reliance upon oil and natural gas was diminished or will be soon, you are mistaken. The impact of the hack and partial shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline that supplies much of the east coast in the U.S., as well as the…
Imagine you are on a game show, and the final question that could bring you the grand prize is, “What is the most used metal in the world?” Immediately, you think, steel, and you start imagining yourself cutting through the ocean at the helm of a new large boat. However,…
There is a saying that “life imitates sports.” Non-sport fans may find this amusing; however, fans will likely find wisdom in those words. It is not uncommon for a good defense to be fooled by a trick play in football. And regardless of how many fastballs a pitcher throws, he…
The 1979 Oil Crisis was one of the most trying economic crises of the twentieth century. The crisis was caused by instability and decreased oil production in Iran; its effects doubled crude oil prices and ignited panic buying by oil companies. Gasoline shortages and long lines at the pumps followed….
Pipe welders are required to weld in multiple positions—flat, vertical, and overhead—as they work their way around the pipe. Transitioning through these various positions tests the welder’s skill, and it is one reason pipe welding is a highly skilled task. After overhead pipe welding, vertical pipe welding is the second…
Metals with a thickness of 3 millimeters (⅛ inch) or more are generally too thick to weld with a single pass. Instead, it is customary to bevel both pieces to be joined with an angle between 60 and 75 degrees to reduce the material thickness at the root of the…
A high-purity weld is any weld that contains fewer than ten parts per million (ppm) of contaminants like oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. Ultra-high-purity welding keeps these contaminants below one ppm. High-purity and ultra-high-purity pipe welding are used in processes where cleanliness of the product is paramount, such as in semiconductor…
Because of the speed of wire feed welding, welders coming from more demanding manual processes tend to enjoy their first time using a wire feed process like gas metal arc welding (GMAW) or flux core arc welding (FCAW). Pairing a wire feed with automated orbital welding offers a similar experience….