How does a welder get certified for motorsports welding?
Good question. As I write this, there is no welding certification test code book written for the motor-sports industry.
When will the American Welding Society (AWS) create one? Word on the street is that it is in the works. But welding codes are written by welding committees. And committees are slow.
In other words, don’t hold your breath.
If you weld for the motorsports industry and are hearing terms thrown around like “due diligence” or “product liability”, you may want to consider this:
AWS welding codes are all very similar in that they use common test welds to test welders to a specific acceptance criteria. The welding procedure must also be qualified.
The twenty thousand foot view looks like this:
A preliminary welding procedure specification (wps) is drafted with approximate essential variables recorded that will likely yield acceptable results.
Test welds are made using the WPS and the weld is visually inspected and also tested by x ray and other destructive tests like bend, tensile, penetrant inspection etc.
If results are acceptable, a welding procedure qualification report (WPQR) is recorded and used to produce an official WPS for further tests as well as production welds.
So what acceptance criteria is available for motor– sports applications?
In the absence of a specific welding code for the racing industry, the code that most closely resembles motorsports for material types, thicknesses, and processes, (along with similar issues like cyclic loading and fatigue failures) is the AWS D17.1 —Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace applications.
AWS D17.1 is a relatively short document that allows the Engineering Authority of a company to tailor welding tests to the task.
The code specifically addresses materials like 4130 chromoly, 17-4 ph stainless, inconels, 6061 t6 aluminum, ez33 magnesium, 6AL4V titanium, and any other alloy it takes to build a race vehicle.
Using AWS D17.1 to certify welders for motor-sports applications in the absence of a motor sports welding code is a smart decision, would hold water under scrutiny from regulatory agencies like OSHA, and would be considered practicing due diligence if the question ever came up under audit.