Industrial Welder Course

Lesson 1 • Workplace Hazard Identification

Identifies physical, chemical, and electrical hazards present in welding environments. Prepares students to recognize risks before operating any equipment.

Lesson 2 • Overview of the Welding Trade

Covers welding's role in manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure. Grounds students in industry scope before introducing technical content.

Lesson 3 • Ventilation and Fume Control

Explains local exhaust ventilation, general airflow, and fume extraction systems. Ensures students can assess and set up safe breathing environments.

Lesson 4 • Personal Protective Equipment

Details selection, fit, and maintenance of PPE required for welding tasks. Connects proper protection to specific hazard types covered in the previous section.

Lesson 1 • Distortion, Stress, and Fit-Up Control

Explains how heat input causes distortion and residual stress in weldments. Students apply fit-up and sequencing strategies to minimize dimensional error.

Lesson 2 • Weld Positions and Accessibility

Introduces flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead welding positions. Students understand how position affects technique and quality before hands-on practice.

Lesson 3 • Metal Identification Techniques

Teaches spark testing, magnetic testing, and visual inspection for material identification. Enables students to verify metal type before selecting welding parameters.

Lesson 4 • Weld Joint Types and Geometry

Defines butt, lap, T, corner, and edge joints along with their structural uses. Connects joint selection to load requirements and accessibility.

Lesson 1 • SMAW Equipment and Setup

Covers power source types, polarity settings, and lead connections for SMAW. Correct setup is the prerequisite for all subsequent electrode and technique work.

Lesson 2 • Electrode Classification and Selection

Decodes electrode classification systems and matches electrodes to base metal and position. Students select correct filler metal before striking an arc.

Lesson 3 • Weld Discontinuities and Correction

Identifies porosity, undercut, overlap, and incomplete fusion in SMAW welds. Students diagnose root causes and apply corrective parameter adjustments.

Lesson 4 • Flat and Horizontal Position Welding

Applies SMAW technique to butt and fillet welds in 1G and 2G positions. Students develop consistent bead geometry and fusion on carbon steel plate.

Lesson 1 • GMAW Equipment and Gas Systems

Covers wire feeders, drive rolls, contact tips, and shielding gas selection for GMAW. Equipment mastery precedes any arc-on practice in this chapter.

Lesson 2 • Flux-Cored Arc Welding Introduction

Introduces FCAW as a GMAW variant using self-shielded and gas-shielded wires. Students compare FCAW to solid-wire GMAW and apply it to structural fillet welds.

Lesson 3 • GMAW on Aluminum

Addresses aluminum-specific challenges including oxide layer removal and push technique. Students adapt parameters and gun handling for non-ferrous material.

Lesson 4 • Transfer Modes and Parameter Setting

Explains short-circuit, globular, spray, and pulse transfer modes and their applications. Students select voltage and wire-feed speed for each mode and material.

Lesson 1 • GTAW Pipe Root Pass Technique

Focuses on open-root pipe welding in fixed positions using GTAW. Students achieve full penetration root passes that meet visual and dimensional acceptance criteria.

Lesson 2 • GTAW Equipment and Torch Setup

Covers tungsten electrode types, torch components, and high-frequency arc starting. Proper setup is critical because GTAW tolerates less equipment error than other processes.

Lesson 3 • GTAW on Aluminum with AC

Covers AC polarity for aluminum oxide cleaning action and balance control settings. Students weld aluminum sheet and plate using proper tungsten preparation.

Lesson 4 • GTAW on Carbon and Stainless Steel

Applies GTAW to butt and fillet welds on carbon and austenitic stainless steel. Students manage heat input to prevent sensitization and distortion in stainless.

Lesson 1 • Weld Procedure Specifications

Explains the purpose, content, and application of weld procedure specifications and records. Students read and follow WPS documents as required in certified production environments.

Lesson 2 • SMAW Pipe Welding Procedures

Applies SMAW to complete groove welds on pipe in 2G, 5G, and 6G positions. Students follow written weld procedure specifications to achieve consistent results.

Lesson 3 • Structural Steel Fabrication

Covers layout, cutting, fit-up, and welding of beams, columns, and gussets. Students apply distortion control and sequencing to multi-member assemblies.

Lesson 4 • Pipe Preparation and Fit-Up

Covers pipe beveling, alignment, and tack welding for groove weld preparation. Precise fit-up at this stage determines root pass quality and overall joint integrity.

Lesson 1 • Liquid Penetrant and Magnetic Particle Testing

Covers PT and MT procedures for detecting surface and near-surface discontinuities. Students apply both methods and interpret indications against standard acceptance criteria.

Lesson 2 • Visual Weld Inspection Methods

Teaches systematic visual examination of weld profiles, surface discontinuities, and dimensions. Visual inspection is the first and most common quality gate in production welding.

Lesson 3 • Quality Management in Welding

Introduces quality management systems, traceability, and corrective action processes. Students connect inspection findings to production improvement and documentation requirements.

Lesson 4 • Destructive Testing Methods

Covers bend, tensile, macro-etch, and hardness tests used to qualify weld procedures. Students perform guided bend tests and interpret results against acceptance standards.

Lesson 1 • Submerged Arc Welding Process

Covers SAW equipment, flux selection, and high-deposition-rate applications in heavy fabrication. Students set up and run SAW on thick plate to understand its productivity advantages.

Lesson 2 • Plasma Arc Welding and Cutting

Introduces PAW for precision keyhole welding and plasma cutting for profile work. Students compare PAW to GTAW and identify applications where plasma offers advantages.

Lesson 3 • Mechanized and Automated Welding Systems

Covers travel carriages, seam trackers, and robotic welding cell fundamentals. Students understand how automation extends manual welding skills into high-volume production.

Lesson 4 • Welding Dissimilar Metals

Covers metallurgical challenges and filler selection for joining dissimilar base metals. Students apply buttering and transition-layer techniques to prevent cracking and failure.