Category: Pipe Welding

NCPWB Technical Bulletin Summarizes Changes to ASME Section IX, 2021 Edition

A Technical Bulletin just issued by the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau (NCPWB) addresses significant changes made in ASME Section IX, 2021 edition, that are of interest to mechanical contractors and piping fabricators. Opinions expressed in this article are Mr. Sperko’s, not the official opinion of ASME BPV Standards Committee IX. These changes become mandatory for new qualifications January 1, 2022. Find out more by clicking on the link below.

NCPWB Technical Bulletin

Resource Highlight: NCPWB’s Tools to Reduce the Cost and Risk Associated with Welding and Brazing

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on Tools to Reduce the Cost and Risk Associated with Welding and Brazing. This resource highlights the many ways that the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau (NCPWB) keeps contractors informed about welding and brazing technology, and simplifies welding and brazing qualification practices.

You will learn how the NCPWB can help your company:

  • Save time by using qualified welding and brazing procedures
  • Lower your cost of qualifying welding and brazing procedures
  • Reduce your risk of noncompliance
  • Access qualified welders nationwide
  • Access technical experts in welding and brazing
  • Access local and national educational programs

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Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Nick Nikpourfard.

Three NEW NCPWB Webinar Resources on Piping Codes, ASME Code Welding Requirements & Internal Oxidation with Walter Sperko

Piping Codes and Welding for Mechanical Contracting Managers

There are key aspects about pipe welding that Project Managers and supervisors must understand in order to be sure that welds their company makes are suitable for service and meet contract and Code requirements. Despite the idea that codes are difficult to meet, when properly understood and followed, they can protect a contractor from unreasonable demands by owners and their engineers. Knowing what codes cover allows managers to identify unusual and costly requirements in customer specifications. Understanding what goes on in assembling and welding pipe joints illustrates the importance of performing inspections at critical steps. Codes impose radiography or ultrasonic examinations and customers frequently add additional requirements and knowing how to manage those requirements on a project can make or break a job.

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Internal Oxidation for Piping Welds

When welding stainless steel and nickel alloy piping using an open root or consumable insert, the root side of the joint (i.e., the inside surface of the pipe at a weld) must be protected from the oxygen in the atmosphere, otherwise the liquid weld metal will oxidize badly creating a surface that is not only discolored but is also quite rough. This roughness and discoloration will reduce the corrosion resistance of the metal at the weld.  In this webinar you will learn what is acceptable level of discoloration of the root side of the stainless-steel pipe weld and provides general guidance on the level of root surface discoloration that can be tolerated for some service conditions

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The Easy Way to Meet ASME Code Welding Requirements

A contractor has liability when contracts specify meeting ASME B31 Codes. When it comes to welding procedures and welder qualification, meeting those requirements can be challenging. Those responsibilities can be met easily as members of the NCPWB by following a few simple rules that will be explained during this presentation.

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About the Presenter

Walter J. Sperko is president of Sperko Engineering Services, Inc. in Greensboro, N.C.  The firm provides engineering consulting services to customers in the metal fabrication industries in welding, metallurgy, manufacturing processes, piping and pressure vessel design, inspection and quality assurance. The firm also prepares and conducts training programs in ASME Section IX, piping, welding and metallurgy, as well as custom-tailored programs related to metal fabrication. Prior to his consulting business, Sperko was with RECO North Carolina, Inc. (Colfax, N.C.), ITT Grinnell Industrial Piping, Inc. (Kernersville, N.C.) and Ebasco Services, Inc. (New York, N.Y.).

Join NCPWB and Walter Sperko on April 19 for Three Free Webinars on Piping Codes, ASME Code Welding Requirements and Internal Oxidation

Piping Codes and Welding for Mechanical Contracting Managers

9:00 am – 10:00 am

There are key aspects about pipe welding that Project Managers and supervisors must understand in order to be sure that welds their company makes are suitable for service and meet contract and Code requirements.  Despite the idea that codes are difficult to meet, when properly understood and followed, they can protect a contractor from unreasonable demands by owners and their engineers.  Knowing what codes cover allows managers to identify unusual and costly requirements in customer specifications.  Understanding what goes on in assembling and welding pipe joints illustrates the importance of performing inspections at critical steps.  Codes impose radiography or ultrasonic examinations and customers frequently add additional requirements and knowing how to manage those requirements on a project can make or break a job.

Internal Oxidation for Piping Welds

10:30 am – 11:00 am

When welding stainless steel and nickel alloy piping using an open root or consumable insert, the root side of the joint (i.e., the inside surface of the pipe at a weld) must be protected from the oxygen in the atmosphere, otherwise the liquid weld metal will oxidize badly creating a surface that is not only discolored but is also quite rough. This roughness and discoloration will reduce the corrosion resistance of the metal at the weld.  In this webinar you will learn what is acceptable level of discoloration of the root side of the stainless-steel pipe weld and provides general guidance on the level of root surface discoloration that can be tolerated for some service conditions

The Easy Way to Meet ASME Code Welding Requirements

1:30 pm – 2:15 pm

A contractor has liability when contracts specify meeting ASME B31 Codes.  When it comes to welding procedures and welder qualification, meeting those requirements can be challenging.  Those responsibilities can be met easily as members of the NCPWB by following a few simple rules that will be explained during this presentation.

About the Presenter

Walter J. Sperko is president of Sperko Engineering Services, Inc. in Greensboro, N.C.  The firm provides engineering consulting services to customers in the metal fabrication industries in welding, metallurgy, manufacturing processes, piping and pressure vessel design, inspection and quality assurance. The firm also prepares and conducts training programs in ASME Section IX, piping, welding and metallurgy, as well as custom-tailored programs related to metal fabrication. Prior to his consulting business, Sperko was with RECO North Carolina, Inc. (Colfax, N.C.), ITT Grinnell Industrial Piping, Inc. (Kernersville, N.C.) and Ebasco Services, Inc. (New York, N.Y.).

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Soldering Lead-Free Valves? Beware!

Are you planning to solder in a couple of dozen 1-1/2 inch brass control valves in that heating system you are installing in that high-rise building? Brass valves, of course, are castings and all the castings you buy today are lead-free. Does your journeyman who can solder a wrought 1-1/2 inch copper coupling with ease make the same quality joint when one side is a heavy-wall cast valve body? How about if the castings you bought are alloyed with silicon for machinability improvement rather than with bismuth?

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Team Industries Decreases Training Time, Increases Efficiency with Miller PipeWorx Welding System

Since they started using the Miller® PipeWorx 400 welding system, Team Industries has reduced rework—saving time and money—because of the system’s ease of use and consistent arc quality. “We have seen a decrease in X-ray failure. The consistency of the arc definitely plays a role in that,” said Jim VanZeeland, shop superintendent. “It’s just been a great machine for us.”

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Looking for More Ideas to Help You Save Time and Money?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website to see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with cost-saving and productivity-enhancing applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

This section of our website also features tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

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Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Welder Qualification Tests?

Welder Performance Qualification Tests (WPQTs) were developed to standardize welder qualification practices and to ensure that NCPWB welder qualification records were correct and accurate.  While the current collection of WPQTs is technically correct and accurate, initial thinking was that NCPWB would have a half-dozen or so standard tests, but demands of contractors and owners has resulted in dozens of WPQTs.  This article will assist contractors and NCPWB Chapter Secretaries in selection of appropriate WPQTs.

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NCPWB Technical Bulletin Focuses on Failures in Seamless Carbon Steel Pipe, Fittings, Flanges

A Technical Bulletin just issued by the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau (NCPWB) concerns failures in seamless carbon steel pipe, fittings and flanges during hydrostatic testing due to changes in steelmaking practices by certain mills over the last five years. The Bulletin recommends that, except when the piping system hydrostatic test pressure is less than 20% of the code maximum allowable pressure, contractors should include a requirement in their purchase orders that seamless carbon steel pipe, fittings and flanges have a manganese-to-carbon ratio of 5:1 or greater and a grain size of 7 or finer to avoid such failures. Find out more by clicking on the link below.

NCPWB Technical Bulletin