Cover November 2014_4/06 Cover 10/16/14 8:47 AM Page C1

November 2014
WELDING JOURNAL VOLUME 93 NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 2014
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATION OF WELDING
AND ALLIED JOINING AND CUTTING PROCESSES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING BRAZING, SOLDERING, AND THERMAL SPRAYING

Final Layout TOC Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/16/14 8:52 AM Page 3

November 2014 Volume 93 Number 11

CONTENTS

FEATURES
40

Explosion Welding of Dissimilar Metals

Metals such as aluminum can be metallurgically
joined to stainless steel or titanium D. J. Butler
and D. G. Brasher

44

HighPurity Welding in the Biotechnology and

Pharmaceutical Industries
High-tech industries depend on clean welding
conditions R. Campbell et al.

50

Dissimilar Welding Utilizing NickelBased Filler Metals

Knowing the characteristics of nickel-based filler
metals will determine if they are right for joining
dissimilar metals B. Gaal et al.

54

44
54

HighPurity Welding for Hygienic Applications

Standards have been developed for joining piping,
tanks, and vessels in the food and dairy
industries W. Roth et al.

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

58

ControlledAtmosphere Induction Brazing Brightens

Surface Finish
The popularity of induction brazing in a
controlled atmosphere is growing K. K. Kuhn
and R. Detty

62

Brazing Best Practices: 12 Tips for HVAC Technicians

See step-by-step procedures for sound fabrication
of HVAC equipment C. Cordia and G. Mitchell

66

Brazing Ceramics to Titanium Using Amorphous

Filler Metal
A study was made to determine the optimum
parameters for joining metal to ceramic
Y. H. Liu et al.

66

62

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

411s Effect of Inserted Strips on Electrode Degradation
in Resistance Spot Welding
A copper-nickel strip inserted into the spot welding
process showed signs of extending electrode life
Y. Y. Zhao et al.

421s Material Strength Effect on Weld Shrinkage

and Distortion
Factors that influence welding distortion and shrinkage
were examined Y. P. Yang et al.

Forces acting on droplet transfer were analyzed to

better understand the indirect arc welding process
J. Wang et al.

439s The Effect of Materials on Radiation Exposure

during the GTAW Process
Visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation were
measured with gas tungsten arc welding of carbon steel,
stainless steel, and titanium to determine the effects of
electric current on photon energy rates A. Gursel
and A. Kurt

431s Metal Transfer with Force Analysis in Consumable

and Nonconsumable Indirect Arc Welding Process
NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 3

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DEPARTMENTS
6
8
10
16
18
20
22
26
32
74

Editorial
Press Time News
News of the Industry
Business Briefs
International Update
Stainless Q&A
RWMA Q&A
Technology
Product & Print Spotlight
Brazing & Soldering Today
Technology News

OFFICERS
President Dean R. Wilson
Welldean Enterprises
Vice President David J. Landon
Vermeer Mfg. Co.
Vice President David L. McQuaid
D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc.
Vice President John R. Bray
Affiliated Machinery, Inc.
Treasurer Robert G. Pali
J. P. Nissen Co.
Executive Director Ray W. Shook
American Welding Society

DIRECTORS
U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Subsea Global Solutions
R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc.
D. J. Burgess (Dist. 8), Alstom Power
N. C. Cole (Past President), NCC Engineering
G. Fairbanks (Dist. 9), Fairbanks Inspection &
Testing Services
T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Victor Technologies
K. Fogleman (Dist. 16), Consultant
P. H. Gorman (Dist. 20), Sandia National Laboratories
S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries
K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards
J. Jones (At Large), The Harris Products Group
J. Knapp (Dist. 17), Gas and Supply
T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory
D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training
C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc.
S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
K. A. Phy (Dist. 6), K. A. Phy Services, Inc.
W. R. Polanin (At Large), Illinois Central College
W. A. Rice (Past President), OKI Bering
R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Airgas USA, LLC,
NorthCentral Region
4 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

78
84
86
88
91
92
104
108
113
118
120

Coming Events
Certification Schedule
Conferences
Welding Workbook
Society News
Tech Topics
Guide to AWS Services
Personnel
Brazing Profiles
Classifieds
Advertiser Index

R. W. Roth (At Large), RoMan Manufacturing, Inc.

N. Saminich (Dist. 21), NS Inspection and Consulting
K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
T. A. Siewert (At Large), NIST (ret.)
J. Stoll (Dist. 18), Bohler Welding Group U.S.
H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), UL, Inc.
R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), Ford Motor Co.
J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College
M. R. Wiswesser (Dist. 3), Welder Training &
Testing Institute

WELDING JOURNAL
Publisher Andrew Cullison
Editorial
Editorial Director Andrew Cullison
Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen
Associate Editor Howard M. Woodward
Associate Editor Kristin Campbell
Editorial Asst./Peer Review Coor. Melissa Gomez
Publisher Emeritus Jeff Weber

On the cover: Good practices will allow

brazed joints for use in heating, ventilation,
and airconditioning applications to with
stand high operating pressures and last the
life of the compressor or evaporator. (Photo
courtesy of TurboTorch, St. Louis, Mo.)

C. Coffey, Lincoln Electric

D. DeCorte, RoMan Mfg.
S. Fyffe, Astaras, Inc.
D. Levin, Airgas
R. Madden, Hypertherm
D. Marquard, IBEDA Superflash
J. F. Saenger Jr., Consultant
S. Smith, WeldAid Products
D. Wilson, Welldean Enterprises
J. N. DuPont, Ex Off., Lehigh University
L. G. Kvidahl, Ex Off., Northrop Grumman
Ship Systems
D. J. Landon, Ex Off., Vermeer Mfg.
S. P. Moran, Ex Off., Weir American Hydro
E. Norman, Ex Off., Southwest Area Career Center
R. G. Pali, Ex Off., J. P. Nissen Co.
N. Scotchmer, Ex Off., Huys Industries
R. W. Shook, Ex Off., American Welding Society
American Welding Society
8669 NW 36 St., # 130, Miami, FL 331666672
(305) 4439353 or (800) 4439353

Design and Production

Production Manager Zaida Chavez
Sr. Production Coordinator Brenda Flores
Manager of International Periodicals and
Electronic Media Carlos Guzman

Advertising
National Sales Director Rob Saltzstein
Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Sandra Jorgensen
Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Annette Delagrange
Manager of Sales Operations Lea Paneca
Sr. Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson

Subscriptions
Subscriptions Representative Tabetha Moore
tmoore@aws.org

PUBLICATIONS, EXPOSITIONS,
MARKETING COMMITTEE
D. L. Doench, Chair, Hobart Brothers Co.
S. Bartholomew, Vice Chair, ESAB Welding
& Cutting Prod.
J. D. Weber, Secretary, American Welding Society
D. Brown, Weiler Brush
T. Coco, Victor Technologies International

Welding Journal (ISSN 00432296) is published monthly by

the American Welding Society for $120.00 per year in the United
States and possessions, $160 per year in foreign countries: $7.50
per single issue for domestic AWS members and $10.00 per single
issue for nonmembers and $14.00 single issue for international.
American Welding Society is located at 8669 NW 36th St., # 130,
Miami, FL 331666672; telephone (305) 4439353. Periodicals
postage paid in Miami, Fla., and additional mailing offices. POST
MASTER: Send address changes to Welding Journal, 8669 NW
36th St., # 130, Miami, FL 331666672. Canada Post: Publications
Mail Agreement #40612608 Canada Returns to be sent to
Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2,
Canada.
Readers of Welding Journal may make copies of articles for
personal, archival, educational or research purposes, and which
are not for sale or resale. Permission is granted to quote from arti
cles, provided customary acknowledgment of authors and sources
is made. Starred (*) items excluded from copyright.
Copyright 2014 by American Welding Society in both
printed and electronic formats. The Society is not responsible for
any statement made or opinion expressed herein. Data and infor
mation developed by the authors of specific articles are for infor
mational purposes only and are not intended for use without inde
pendent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.

Editorial November 2014_Layout 1 10/15/14 10:22 AM Page 6

EDITORIAL

The AWS Foundation at 25

Gerald D. Uttrachi
Chair, AWS Foundation

It is critical that
welders, welding
managers, and
welding engineers
understand basic
welding science in
addition to
knowing manual
welding skills.

This year, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the AWS Foundation and its mission
of supporting the education of new generations of welding professionals through scholarships and other endeavors. It is fitting that
the AWS Foundation was formed 25 years
ago with a donation recognizing the work of
a pioneer in the welding industry. Glenn
Gibson is recognized by many as the inventor of the first practical gas metal arc welding (GMAW) apparatus (U.S. Patent
#2,504,868 filed in January 1949). His sons
donation in honor of his father was the
Foundations first of significance. Although
other early patents appear to address a version of GMAW, they lacked some vital factor.
For example, a patent by GE from 1936 (U.S.
2,053,417) showed a shower head-type
shielding device employed in its apparatus.
Later work in gas tungsten arc welding
showed this method of shielding to be nonfunctional because air aspirated between the
widely spaced gas ports. This may be why
the GE patent employed a magnetic device
to shake drops from the melting electrode.
The Gibson patent, in four of its claims,
states the gas shielding must be nonturbulent.
None of the patents cited as prior art against
this patent address proper shielding. Gibson
clearly understood this critical element needed
to make a viable GMAW process. My recent experience indicates many welders and welding
managers do not understand what Gibson
clearly knew: shielding gas flow beyond about
25 L/min (55 ft3/h) using typical industrialsize nozzles causes turbulence and inferior
welds. The idea that if some is good, more
must be better, is all too prevalent when setting shielding gas flow.
Thats just one reason why it is critical that
welders, welding managers, and welding engineers understand basic welding science in addition to knowing manual welding skills, and
be able to communicate it to others. The AWS
Foundation helps by providing scholarships
at various levels for welders, welding engineers, and those seeking advanced science degrees in welding or metallurgy-related fields.
Since its inception in 1989, and the first Research Fellowship grant in 1991 for $20,000,
the AWS Foundation has awarded more than
$6.4 million to more than 5000 students pursuing studies/research in welding and related
joining technologies. In 2014, $500,000 in

6 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

scholarships were awarded to more than 525

students. You can see that from modest beginnings, the Foundation has come a long
way in support of welding education.
Today, its scholarship program includes
District Scholarship Program, which provides
$10,000 to each of the 22 AWS Districts annually for a total of $220,000 in funding to
help students at trade/technical schools,
community colleges, and universities.
Educators Scholarship Program, which
provides funds for teachers/instructors
pursuing additional studies.
Section and District Named Scholarship
Program. To date, there are 77 scholarships endowed by Districts, Sections,
and/or individuals.
Graduate Research Fellowship Program,
which offers four fellowships endowed at
$500,000, providing an annual award to
four students of $25,000, matched in kind
by the university.
National Scholarship Endowment Program, with a minimum funding endowment of $50,000 from individuals and
corporations, provides funds for students
pursuing associate and bachelor degrees.
The initial Foundation bylaws also stated
an objective to provide image enhancement
and public awareness. To that end, its welder
workforce development program continues
to grow and expand. Traffic at www.careersinwelding.com and www.jobsinwelding.com has
increased dramatically. Since its initial tour
in 2011, the Careers in Welding mobile exhibit has traveled 50,000 miles to 53 events
in 43 states, and more than 90,000 visitors
have walked through the exhibit.
The Foundation board and its Careers
Committee continually look for opportunities to influence welding workforce initiatives that impact the welding profession
from recruitment to retirement. They have
identified areas of focus through the Boy
Scouts, 4H, and FFA. Our Women in Welding programs focus on recruitment of more
women into our profession. These are just
some of our current focuses.
The AWS Foundations work and scholarship activity are very important to the
health of our industry. I urge you to support
the Foundation through donations and your
estate plan so this vital work can continue
for the next 25 years and beyond. WJ

aws educ show conf ad_FP_TEMP 10/13/14 2:08 PM Page 109

Atlanta Nov. 1113

Check out these AWS programs at the show.

So Youre the New Welding Engineer Tues. (Nov. 11) & Wed. (Nov. 12)
How to get up to speed quickly. How to ask the right questions. How to get the results needed, save money, and
stay out of trouble! Two-day program for managers, engineers, designers, and others with welding
responsibility but limited exposure/background in welding.

Thermal Spray Technology: High Performance Surfaces Wed. (Nov. 12)

The International Thermal Spray Association, a standing committee of AWS, has organized this coatings conference
to introduce and highlight various advantages of the thermal spray process. This conference will benefit both
potential users and those actively involved with thermal spray coatings, as it will focus on actual applications and
new developments in thermal spray technology.

Resistance Welding School Wed. (Nov. 12) & Thurs. (Nov. 13)
The Resistance Welding Manufacturing Alliance, a standing committee of AWS, offers a two-day program conducted
by industry specialists with extensive resistance welding experience. The basics of resistance welding and reallife application of the process are covered. Each participant may learn at their own pace, and discuss specific
welding concerns with the instructors. You are invited to bring your own samples for discussion.

Additive Manufacturing Conference Thurs. (Nov. 13)

Additive manufacturing represents the realization of the ideal of on-demand manufacturing. Without molds or dies,
additive manufacturing enables production of parts and prototypes on demand. Design improvements can be made
and tested rapidly without tooling and machining constraints. Come and learn from the experts about additive
manufacturing processes such as powder bed fusion, material extrusion, directed energy deposition, material
jetting, and more.

plus dozens of other educational sessions.

Explore all the educational opportunities and register at www.fabtechexpo.com
Earn PDHs toward your AWS recertification or renewal when you attend these programs!

Project1_FP_TEMP 10/20/14 1:08 PM Page 30

The 2014 AWS Roboc

Arc Welding Compeon
In this corner robot welding programming experts only!
By Vern Mangold
Vice-Chair of AWS D16
Committee on Robotic and Automatic Welding

from 20 to 30 . The time allowed remains the same, with contestistory was made on November 20, exam
ants having up to 20 minutes to answer as many of the exam questions
2013, at FABTECH in Chicago, Ill. as possible. The questions cover welding fundamentals and robotic arc
systems. The performance test is also a timed exam where conFor the first time in the history of in- welding
testants will demonstrate familiarity with the components of a robotic
dustrial robots, a competition was held by a arc welding cell, program the machine to weld a test coupon, weld the
coupon, and visually verify the coupons quality. Wolf Robotics and
professional society that involved the use of Miller Welding Automation will provide the robotic welding cells for
competition. Servo Robot will again serve as the official judge of
off-the-shelf industrial robots in a head-to- the
the welded coupons.The competition format and structure are designed
head skills competition. Each contestant to emulate the examination process and testing procedures that the
Welding Society uses for actual Certified Robotic Arc Welder
raced against the clock to answer as many American
certification testing.
technical questions as possible in the time
Brief History of Robot Arc Welding and Cercaon
provided, and to successfully weld a pre- A The
use of industrial robots to perform arc welding processes is reltacked steel coupon.
atively new. Industrial robots turned 50 years old in 2011, and the
Nineteen contestants competed at the 2013 event, with Jennifer
Hildebrandt emerging victorious. Her winning marks included a perfect score on the written examination and time of 19 minutes in the
performance test. The combination of her marks for overall weld quality, excellent floor-to-floor time, and the written examination results
proved too much for the rest of the field. Hildebrandt was crowned as
the first AWS Robotic Arc Welding Champion. Second place went to
Jeff Stein, a welding engineering technology student at Ferris State
University who also works for Polaris Industries, and Mike Kimball, an
AWS CWI and robot programmer for Jay Mfg. in Oshkosh, Wis.
A new year has arrived, and it is time to name the best robotic arc
welder for 2014, at FABTECH Atlanta this month.
The only substantive change in the competition for this year is the
increase in the number of multiple choice questions on the written

process of robotic arc welding has been in existence in rudimentary

form since 1972. A slightly more mature robot welding process is robotic resistance welding, also known as spot welding. Spot welding is
typically used to join sheet metal structures together. Robots have successfully welded automobile bodies together since 1965. Arc welding
with robots only became a reality when the servo and computer technologies used by robots improved and the ability of robots to move in
a continuous, variable, and controlled fashion was perfected. This enabled machines, for the first time, to duplicate the dexterity of human
hand motion.
By trial and error, the robot arc welding process developed over time
until today robot arc welding is considered a mature manufacturing
process technology.
In 1985, the AWS Technical Activities Committee added a new technical machinery committee to its family of technical committees. John

Project1_FP_TEMP 10/20/14 1:08 PM Page 31

Jennifer Hildebrand, the 2013 CRAW

Champion, evaluates her compeon
program, just before successfully welding the
coupon and becoming the champion. Not
only is Hildebrandt an honors graduate of
Milwaukee Area Technical College, but she
recently enjoyed an opportunity to take her
talents out of the college lab and into the
industrial world. This summer she interned at
Wolf Robocs, Ft. Collins, Colo., where she
was able to apply her skills in an industrial
seng. Her knowledge and experse
connued to evolve as she worked with the
robots every day. If she does repeat as
FABTECH CRAW Champion in Atlanta, it will
certainly not be a maer of luck.

Hinrich, past AWS director-at-large and former A.O. Smith executive, leveraged his extensive experience with arc welding robots and
his contacts within industry to convince AWS
to become actively involved in the safe and efficient application of this emerging technology. At Tower Automotive (formerly A.O.
Smith), Mr. Heinrichs engineers developed
techniques and manufacturing protocols for
arc welding robots which became the foundational information and benchmarks for the
new D16 Committee on Robotic and Automatic Welding. The first task addressed by the
D16 Committee was the development of an
arc welding robot system safety standard. The
document identification number is D16.1,
which became an ANSI-approved standard in
2001.
The committee has successfully published
four AWS/ANSI robot standards, along with
technical reports and other tools that continue to enhance and augment the safe application of arc welding robots.
With the completion of the first edition of
D16.4, Specification for the Qualification of Robotic Arc Welding Personnel, AWS recognized
industry demand for certification in robotic
arc welding. The AWS Subcommittee on Certification of Robotic Arc Welding Personnel
was formed in order to establish the requirements for two levels of certification, the Robotic Arc Welding Operator and Technician.
The acronym CRAW (Certified Robotic Arc
Welding) was adopted for the new certification and is the term used when referring to
the CRAW-O (Certified Robotic Arc Welding
Operator) and CRAW-T (Certified Robotic Arc
Welding Technician) credentials. Qualification
for these two certifications are based on a

combination of experience and education requirements related to use of manual or semiautomatic arc welding that includes robotic
and automatic operator experience, and working in an occupation that has a direct relationship to welding and robotics. The CRAW-T
level of certification also requires certification
as an AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI).

The exam for both levels of certification includes a written test with up to 135 multiplechoice questions, and a performance test that
includes the finish welding of a mild steel
coupon.
Although not required, training is recommended as an integral part of the CRAW
program for each of the two levels of certification. This training is offered by AWS Approved
Testing Centers (ATCs) that also administer
the required written and performance exams.
Potential candidates can contact the AWS
ATCs listed below, visit the AWS website

at www.aws.org/certification/CRAW, or contact
AWS at (800) 443-9353, ext. 272.

AWS CRAW Approved Tesng

Centers (ATCs)
ABB, Inc.
Auburn Hills, Mich.
(248) 391-8421
Genesis Systems Group
Davenport, Iowa
(563) 445-5688
Milwaukee Area Technical College
West Allis, Wis.
(414) 456-5454
OTC Daihen, Inc.
Tipp City, Ohio
(937) 667-0800
The Lincoln Electric Co.
Cleveland, Ohio
(216) 383-8542
Wolf Robotics
Fort Collins, Colo.
(970) 225-7736

Safety First: An AWS Tradion

It is significant that the D16 Committee has
produced ANSI standards that address the
technical needs of the welding industry in the
logical areas of business productivity and efficiency. The committee produced the D16.2
Recommended Practices standard in 1998 (last
revised in 2007). However, the D16.1 robotic
safety standard remains the most important
publication produced by the D16 committee.
The D16.1 standard provides comprehensive
directions and information necessary for the
safe use of robot arc welding technology. N

How to compete at FABTECH

The 2014 Roboc Welding Compeon will be an abbreviated version of an AWS
CRAW cercaon examinaon with a 20minute wrien exam and a 20minute
robot programming and welding test.
First prize will be free tuion for full CRAW training and the ocial exam. The top
three contestants will also receive awards and due bags. All contestants will receive
an AWS tshirt. To apply for the contest, go to the AWS website at www.aws.org/
cercaon/CRAW or visit Booth A2825 at Fabtech to register and compete on
Tuesday, Nov. 11 during show hours, or on the morning of Wed., Nov. 12.
In addion to the Roboc Welding Compeon, AWS will conduct the 2014 U.S.
Invitaonal Weld Trials, also in Building A of the Georgia World Congress Center.

Candidates must robocally weld a CRAW

weld coupon as shown above, per criteria in
AWS D16.4, Specicaon for the Qualicaon
of Roboc Arc Welding Personnel.

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Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/14/14 2:32 PM Page 44

Fig. 1 Biopharmaceutical
process skid. (Photo courtesy of
CSI Central States Industrial.)

High-Purity Welding in the

Biotechnology and
Pharmaceutical Industries
Exploring the joining
of metallic and
polymeric materials,
including whats in the
ASME Bioprocessing
Equipment Standard

BY RICHARD CAMPBELL,
JAMES DVORSCEK,
CURTIS ELKINS, AND
WILLIAM ROTH
44 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

he 2010 edition of The American

Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME) B31.3, Process Piping
Code, included a new chapter X on
high-purity piping which, in addition
to the pressure-safety requirements of
B31.3, also addresses cleanability requirements of high-purity applications.
This chapter provides alternative
rules for designing and constructing
piping designated by the owner as
high-purity fluid service. It also adds
requirements to the B31.3 base code,
such as requiring welds to meet not
only requirements in there, but for the
biopharmaceutical industry those in
the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment
Standard (BPE Standard) and for the
semiconductor industry those in the

SEMI standards. This chapter only allows orbital gas tungsten arc welding
(GTAW) for production welds and requires using weld coupons.
High-purity welding is typically
broken into three categories. The
highest level of purity is in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries, where fabricating equipment and
piping systems to manufacture wafers
and chips requires welding inside of
cleanrooms. Welding is performed
with orbital GTAW equipment using
high-purity argon shielding and purging from dewars of liquid argon using
stainless steel tube for the purge lines
with in-line purifiers and filters to remove contaminants from these gases.
The next level is the biotechnology

Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/14/14 2:32 PM Page 45

and pharmaceutical industries, where

welding is performed on equipment,
along with piping and tubing systems,
used to manufacture drugs and other
biologics. Although some welding is
performed in cleanrooms, most is
done in fabrication shops or construction sites with precautions taken to
keep the inside of the materials clean.
Welding tube in this industry is done
with orbital GTAW equipment. Welding pressure vessels and tanks is done
with various arc welding processes. Argon purging is typically used, but either dewars of liquid argon or cylinders of high-purity argon are used
with a polymer hose for the purge
lines; purifiers and filters are typically
not used.
The next level involves the food,
dairy, and beverage industries, where
much of the welding is performed with
manual GTAW to standards such as
the American Welding Society (AWS)
D18 specifications.

Welding in the
Biotechnology and
Pharmaceutical Industries
In the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and biopharmaceutical industries,

welding is typically performed in accordance with the BPE Standard.

This standard, first published in
1997, was developed for equipment
and tubing systems used for manufacturing biopharmaceuticals such as
drug products. It provides requirements for the design for sterility, materials, surface finishes, and materials
joining, plus examination, inspection,
and testing.
The materials joining chapter (Part
MJ) of the BPE Standard is not prescriptive but provides requirements
and acceptance criteria. Part MJ covers joining of both metallic and polymeric materials.

Joining Metallic Materials

Welding metallic materials involves
welds on stainless steels (mainly UNS
S31603 and N08367) and nickel alloys. Part MJ provides rules for welding on pressure vessels, pipe, tube, and
tube attachments, such as the skid
shown in Fig. 1.
The BPE Standard first identifies
process contact surfaces vs. nonprocess contact surfaces. Process contact surfaces are defined as those surfaces that are in contact with, or have
the potential to be in contact with, raw

Fig. 2 Orbital gas tungsten arc welding of a stainless steel tubing

system. (Photo courtesy of Magnatech, LLC.)

materials, in-process materials, cleaning or steaming solutions, and where

there is a potential for that surface to
affect the drug product. Cleanliness
of these process contact surfaces is
critical.
Part MJ addresses, in a general
manner, the welding processes used
for metallic materials. For welds where
the process contact surfaces will be
used in the as-welded condition, the
BPE Standard limits welding processes
to the inert-gas arc processes (such as
GTAW or plasma arc welding) or the
high-energy beam processes (such as
electron beam or laser beam welding).
Since no postweld finishing will be
performed, the welding process must
provide as-welded surfaces that are
sufficiently clean to avoid contamination of the product. Thus, the requirement for the inert-gas arc or high-energy beam welding processes.
When the welds are to be finished
after welding (via various mechanical,
chemical, and/or electrochemical
processes addressed in the standard),
the BPE Standard allows welding to be
performed with the high-energy beam
or any of the arc welding processes
(such as shielded metal arc welding,
gas metal arc welding, GTAW). These
processes are typically limited to weld-

Fig. 3 Tube-attachment welding of fittings to transfer panels.

(Photo courtesy of CSI Central States Industrial.)
NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 45

Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/15/14 7:59 AM Page 46

ing pressure vessels, tanks, and fittings where the weld surface can be
ground and/or polished after welding,
which will remove any contaminants,
slag, or discoloration produced from
the lower-purity welding processes.
For welding pressure vessels, Part
MJ requires welding procedure and
performance qualifications, joint designs, examination, inspection, and
testing to be in accordance with the
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Section VIII, in addition to requirements in the BPE Standard. Likewise,
similar requirements for welding pipe
and tube must be in accordance with
the B31.3, Process Piping Code, plus
additional requirements in the BPE
Standard.
In the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries served by the BPE
Standard, pipe and tube are clearly different, unlike codes such as B31.3.
Pipe is classified according to its nominal diameter while tube is by its outside diameter. Most importantly, tube
is typically used in these industries because both the inside and outside surfaces are mechanically polished (and
sometimes the inside is electropolished) to provide a smooth and clean
surface, which also allows welds to be
cleaner from oxides and other slags
compared with welds on pipe.
The BPE Standard has additional
requirements for welding tube, such
as requirements for making coupon or
sample welds on a periodic basis, and
recommends these at the beginning of
each work shift, when the purge gas
cylinder is changed, or when the orbital welding equipment is changed.
Additional examinations include
100% visual examination of the outside diameter surfaces of welds plus a
minimum of 20% visual examination
of the inside diameter surfaces of
these welds (direct or indirect with a
fiberscope or borescope).
Most of the welding on tube is performed with the autogenous (no filler
metal) GTAW process, the majority
utilizing orbital tube welding equipment Fig. 2. Because this is a mechanized or automated process, the
preparation and fitup of the joint is
critical.
Precision orbital cutoff saws and
facing equipment to properly prepare
the joint faces are used. Tack welding
is typically performed manually to ensure proper joint alignment, although
most of the orbital equipment is capable of doing this. The weld head is
46 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

Fig. 4 Beadless welding of polymer tubing. (Photo courtesy of GF Piping Systems.)

Fig. 5 Acceptable and unacceptable groove weld profiles for metallic tube welds (Ref.
ASME BPE Standard, Fig. MJ-8.4-1). (Reprinted from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The
American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)

Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/15/14 7:59 AM Page 47

Table 1 Acceptance criteria for groove welds on metallic tube-to-tube butt joints (Ref. ASME BPE Standard, Table MJ-8.4-1). (Reprinted
from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)

placed over the joint and shielding gas

(typically high-purity argon) fills the
weld head to shield the arc.
Purging the inside surfaces of the
tube is essential and done with the
same gas, typically using polymer tubing to deliver the purging gas. Purging is

performed until the oxygen content is

low enough to ensure that very little
discoloration of the inside surface of the
weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) will
occur.
Unique to the high-purity industries are transfer panels that provide a

means of connecting tubing systems

between rooms or switching from one
tubing system to another (such as
from the drug product system to a
cleaning solution system). These panels involve fittings welded to stainless
steel sheet, requiring fillet welds to
NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 47

Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/15/14 8:00 AM Page 48

Sample #1a

Sample #1b

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

Sample #5

Fig. 6 Discoloration acceptance criteria for groove welds and

heat-affected zones on mechanically polished UNS S31603 tube
(Ref. ASME BPE Standard, Fig. MJ-8.4-3). (Reprinted from ASME BPE2012, by permission of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)

make these tube-attachment welds,

which are typically made with manual
GTAW (Fig. 3) and sometimes with
mechanized or automatic tube-totubesheet GTAW equipment. Other attachments are also covered by the requirements for groove and fillet tubeattachment welds in Part MJ.

Joining Polymeric Materials

The 2014 edition of the BPE Standard incorporates joining polymer
tube and pipe into Part MJ. This requires welding procedure and performance qualifications in accordance
with AWS B2.4, Specification for Welding Procedure and Performance Qualification for Thermoplastics. Joint designs
are limited to square grooves in butt
joints.
The examination, inspection, and
testing must be in accordance with the
B31.3, Process Piping Code, in addition
to requirements in the BPE Standard.
The joining method is limited to beadless welding (Fig. 4), where the two
pieces of tube are prepared and faced
to provide a tight, square joint, then
placed in the welding equipment, and
a bladder is placed inside to help shape
the inside surface while the joint is
heated, resulting in essentially no
underbead.
48 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

Fig. 7 Acceptable and unacceptable weld profiles for beadless

welds on polymeric tube (Ref. ASME BPE, Fig. PM-4.2.8.1-1). (Reprinted from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The American Society of
Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)

Weld Acceptance
Criteria in the ASME
BPE Standard
Part MJ provides four separate visual examination acceptance criteria
tables for welds made on metallic materials, one each for pressure vessel
and tank welds, pipe welds, tube
welds, and tube-attachment welds,
plus separate criteria for tube welds on
polymeric materials.

Metallic Materials
In each of the tables for metallic
materials, there are separate criteria
for welds on process contact surfaces
and nonprocess contact surfaces.
Table 1 shows the acceptance criteria for groove welds on tube-to-tube
butt joints. Similar to codes and other
standards, this table addresses weld
defects such as cracks, lack of fusion,
incomplete penetration, porosity, inclusions, undercut, arc strikes, along
with overlap and allows none of
these.
However, this table adds criteria for
concavity (underfill), convexity (reinforcement), discoloration of the HAZ
and weld bead, tack welds, weld bead
width, and misalignment and refer-

ences Fig. 5. Part MJ identifies that

the weld shall not result in a surface
that will contribute to microbiological
growth and contamination of the
product. Each of these additional criteria has specific influences on the
cleanliness of the weld and potential
for hold-up of fluids on the inside of
the tube, which could lead to microbiological growth and contamination of
the product.
Discoloration of stainless steel
welds and HAZs are the visible evidence of various thicknesses and compositions of oxides, hydroxides, and
other surface contaminants formed
during welding. If these discoloration
levels are significant enough, they
could potentially contaminate the
drug product, reduce the corrosion resistance of the metal, and reduce the
life cycle of the piping system. The acceptable discoloration levels are different on the process contact and nonprocess contact surfaces.
The BPE Standard provides new
color photographs of welds on UNS
S31603 tube with both mechanically
polished and electropolished interior
surfaces, with purging of the tubes interior with various amounts of oxygen
in the argon purge gas.
The photographs of welds on mechanically polished UNS S31603 are

Campbell Feature Nov 2014_Layout 1 10/14/14 2:34 PM Page 49

shown in Fig. 6 (it is essential to utilize

the actual photographs in the ASME
BPE Standard or ASME BPE-EP-2012
and BPE-MP-2012 stand-alone versions). The acceptance criteria for discoloration levels in Part MJ are different on electropolished and mechanically
polished tube (these criteria are based
on corrosion tests that are identified in
Appendix M of the BPE Standard).

Polymeric Materials
The acceptance criteria for beadless
welds on polymer tube are provided in
text format along with Fig. 7 that
shows the acceptable and unacceptable
weld profiles. These criteria are necessarily different than those for metallic
materials because of the differences in
material properties and welding
processes.

Conclusions
High-purity welding includes welding in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries; biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries; and food, dairy, and
beverage industries. Most welding in
the biopharmaceutical industries is
performed in accordance with the
ASME BPE Standard that provides
specific weld acceptance criteria for
pressure vessels and tanks, pipe, tube,
and tube attachments.
Welding metallic tube is typically
performed with orbital GTAW equipment, and shielding and purging with
argon from dewars of liquid argon or
cylinders of high-purity argon. Welding polymeric tube is typically done
with beadless welding processes. Additional examination requirements are
included in the BPE Standard.
Acceptance criteria involve the normal requirements relating to cracks,
incomplete penetration, incomplete
fusion, overlap, and arc strikes, but additional criteria are provided such as
concavity, convexity, misalignment,
and discoloration levels to ensure that
the welds will not contaminate the
drug product. WJ
Acknowledgments

The primary authors of this article

would like to acknowledge the contributions of the other members of the
ASME BPE Subcommittee on Materials Joining. They are as follows:

Kadeem Bhaila, ITT Engineered

Valves; Neill Bickel, Genentech/Roche;
Jeffrey Bradley, Eli Lilly; William Burg,
DECCO; Todd Cook, T&C Stainless;
Randolph Cotter, Cotter Brothers;
James Fritz, TMR Stainless; Evelyn
Gayer, Holloway America; David Gillespie, BMWC Constructors; Reinhard
Hanselka, CRB; Barbara Henon, Magnatech; Michael Hohmann, Quality
Coalescence; William Huitt, W.M.
Huitt Co.; Ted Hutton, Arkema; Carl
Kettermann, RathGibson; Kenneth
Matheis, Sr., Complete Automation;
Nicholas McCauley, A&B Process Systems; Thomas OConnor, CSI Central
States Industrial; Herman Reinhold,
AM Technical Solutions; David Sisto,
Purity Systems; Michael Solamon,
Feldmeier Equipment; Lynn Sturgill,
SWCC; Glyn Tabor, Eli Lilly; Chris
Trumbull, former chair, Paul Mueller;
and Cullen Weeks, CRB.

RICHARD CAMPBELL (rdcampbe@bechtel.com) is a Bechtel Fellow and welding

technical specialist with Bechtel, Houston, Tex. He is chair of the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment Subcommittee on
Materials Joining (MJ) and AWS D1K
Stainless Steel Structural Welding Subcommittee. JAMES DVORSCEK is a principal consultant for vessels and welding
technologies with Abbott Laboratories,
Abbott Park, Ill. He is the 1st vice chair of
the ASME BPE MJ Subcommittee. CURTIS
ELKINS is in business development-high
purity with CSI Central States Industrial,
Springfield, Mo. He is the 2nd vice chair of
the ASME BPE MJ Subcommittee.
WILLIAM ROTH is a welding and materials
engineer with Procter & Gamble, West
Chester, Ohio. He is secretary of the ASME
Bioprocessing Equipment MJ Subcommittee, chair of the AWS D18 Committee, and
member of the AWS Technical Activities
Committee.

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