Welding and Cutting Useful Terms
The following are common terms in welding.
Abrasive A material such as sand, silicon or crushed stone used for surface
cleaning.
Acetylene Gas A chemical combination of two elements: carbon and hydrogen.
Alloy A metal that is made by mixing two or more metals, or a metal and
another substance:
Alternating Current (AC) Is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction change in
cycles, as opposed to direct current, whose direction is constant.
Arc Welding(Shielded Metal Arc Welding) A welding process where similar materials are joined with a heating process caused by an electric arc. In the most common use, this
process includes the use of a filler metal.
Argon Is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic
number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table
(noble gases). Argon is present in the Earth's atmosphere at slightly
less than 1%, making it the most common noble gas on Earth.
Brazing A process where metals are joined using a filler metal that melts at a
temperature above 450 degrees Celsius.
Butt Joint(Butt Weld)A joint (or weld) where the two pieces being connected
come directly together in the same plane.
Consumable & non consumable electrodes Consumable electrodes provide a path for the current, they also supply fuller metal to the joint. Non-consumable electrodes are only used as a conductor for the electrical current, such as in gas tungsten arc welding.
Cutting Tip The part of an oxygen torch that directs the flow of the gas.
Cutting Torch The device used in oxygen cutting to control and direct the flow of the
gasses used for cutting and heating metal.
Cylinder A container to store and transport compressed gas.
Defective Weld A weld with one or more of the following defects: Porosity, Undercut,
Slag Inclusion, and Improper Weld Size.
Direct Current (DC) Or "continuous current", is considered as the constant flow of
electrons in the single direction from low to high potential.
Down Hand Weld A vertical weld where the welder starts at the top and works
downward.
Edge Weld A weld where the edge of two pieces come together.
Electrode(Arc Welding)A rod made up of filler metal with a coating on it designed to aid and
protect the bead during the welding process.
Electrode Holder The "handle" portion of the arc welder that holds the electrode in
place.
Face Shield (Helmet)A safety device worn over the face to protect the eyes and face from
the arc, sparks and molten metal. Arc welding without proper eye
protection can lead (quickly) to permanent damage to the eyes.
Ferrous Containing or relating to iron.
Fillet Weld A weld joining two pieces of metal that are more or less perpendicular
to each other.
Filler metal Is a metal added in the making of a joint through welding, brazing, or
soldering. Various types of filler metals exist.
Fixture A tool or device used to hold pieces in place for welding.
Flat Weld A weld where the pieces being joined come together horizontally in
front of and below the welder.
Flux A substance which facilitates soldering, brazing, and welding by
chemically cleaning the metals to be joined.
Forge A device used to heat metal for forming and bending.
(Blacksmithing)
Fuel Gases Gases mixed with oxygen in heating and cutting operations.
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) or (TIG) Commonly known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that uses a nonconsumable tungsten electrode to
produce the weld.
Hand Shield Similar to a Face Shield or Helmet, but held in front of the face rather
than worn.
Iron A base element that is the primary substance in the makeup of steel,
cast iron and wrought iron.
Inert gas/Shielding gas:A gas that does not normally combine chemically with materials. Their
purpose is to protect the weld area from atmospheric gases, such as
oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.
Lap Joint A joint where two pieces of metal lap over each other, allowing a bead
to be placed between the edge of one piece and the face of the other.
*MIG Welding(Metal Inert Gas)Also known as wire-feed welding, although it is possible to do wirefeed
welding without the inert gas. Metals that are difficult to arc weld
may be MIG welded.
Mild Steel Steel with less than 0.15% carbon. (Low carbon steel). Most steel in
common use is mild steel.
Out-Of-Position Weld Any weld where the work is not flat in front of the welder.
Overhead Weld An inverted weld where the pieces being joined are above the welder.
Oxyfuel Pure oxygen combined with gas
Plasma A gas that has been heated to the point where it will conduct
electricity.
Plasma Cutting:A cutting process where the metal is heated to the melting point by an
arc through the plasma and then removed by the pressure of the gas
as directed by the nozzle. CNC (computer numeric control) plasma
cutters are used for precise cutting of complex patterns in metal.
Polarity The polarity of a machine refers to direction of current flow. Polarity
can only be obtained on a DC machine.
Radiation Energy from heat or light that you cannot see.
Shielding Gas --See inert gas.
Slag Inclusion Non-metallic material trapped in a weld.
Soldering A method of joining metal parts using a filler material (solder) which
has a melting temperature below 450 °C (842 °F).
Spot Weld A weld between two overlapping pieces of material. Normally used for
sheet metal.
Tack Weld A small weld used to hold pieces of an assembly in place prior to the
final (continuous) welding.
TIG Welding(Tungsten Inert Gas) A welding process where and inert gas protects the molten metal from
the atmosphere to produce a high quality weld.
Tungsten A non-consumable material used in TIG welding to carry current to the
weld puddle.
Up Hand Weld A vertical weld where the welder starts at the bottom and works
upward.
Ventilate To cause fresh air to enter and move around an enclosed space
Weave Bead A welding pattern often used in butt welds where the welder moves
the arc back and forth across the joint while also moving along it.
Weld To join two pieces of metal together permanently by melting the parts
that touch.
Welder (noun) a person whose job is welding.
Welding Power Supply a device that provides an electrical current to perform welding.
Welding Rod A means of delivering filler metal to the weld. In arc welding, the rod
is called an electrode.
Voltage (V) Is the pressure required to move the electric current.
