THE WELDING CONSULTANT

INTRODUCTION
The welding consultant is a welding engineer who gives professional technical advice in the field of welding engineering.  Therefore, the welding consultant is a person with a welding engineering degree who understands the depth and breadth of the science of welding metal alloys and joining materials, the welding thermal cycle, and the complex microstructure and property changes taking place in the weld and heat affected zone more than any other engineering discipline.  And contrary to popular belief, metallurgical and materials consulting are not equivalent to welding consulting; and neither is any other engineering consulting discipline.  Because the science and technology of welding are not generally taught at the four-year university or college level to engineering students, except to those in a welding engineering degree program.

FUNCTION
The welding consultant typically works in a support role to establish and specify welding requirements, answer technical welding questions, and advise designers, engineers, fabrication and quality personnel on matters of welding during the design, procurement, and fabrication phase needed to design and build in welding quality, by avoiding mistakes, and thereby ensure weldments are suitable for the intended purpose.  The welding consultant also writes the welding specification which defines welding and fabrication requirements for processes, materials, procedures, qualifications, codes and standards, workmanship, inspection, testing, quality, and procurement.

EDUCATION
In addition to the basic core of engineering mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc., required for all engineering disciplines, the welding consultant also studies:

  • Welding design
  • Ferrous and nonferrous process/extractive metallurgy
  • Ferrous physical metallurgy
  • Nonferrous physical metallurgy
  • Ferrous and nonferrous welding metallurgy
  • Joining ceramics, plastics, and composites
  • Physics and chemistry of welding and cutting
  • Heat flow in welding
  • Welding processes
  • Brazing and soldering processes
  • thermal spraying
  • Heating and cutting processes
  • Welding quality systems and programs
  • Codes, standards, and specifications
  • Welding qualification and certification
  • Welding inspection
  • Nondestructive examination
  • Destructive testing
  • Weldability testing
  • Defects, discontinuities, and failure analysis
  • Welding fabrication, manual, mechanized, automated and robotic
  • Welding process monitoring and control
  • Welding residual stress and distortion
  • Weldment tooling, fixturing, and positioning
  • Welding costs and economics
  • Welding health and safety