Welding terminology in ten languages
Welding terms in ten languages, side by side.
The terms that appear in a WPS, on a drawing and in the workshop, in ten languages in one table. A drawing in English, a procedure in Polish and a colleague explaining the joint in Russian is an ordinary day on a European site, and the words do not map one to one.
Where the standard and the shop use different words, both are given — knowing that "gas metal arc welding" and "MIG" are the same thing saves an argument, and knowing that "imperfection" and "defect" are not the same thing in ISO 5817 saves a rejected joint.
Frequently asked questions
Which English term is the official one?
The one in the standard you are working to. ISO 4063 says "gas-shielded metal arc welding" and AWS "gas metal arc welding" where the shop says "MIG", and ISO 5817 says "imperfection" where everyone says "defect" — and there the difference is deliberate, because an imperfection only becomes a defect above the acceptance level.
Why ten languages?
Because that is the mix on a European site: a drawing in English, a procedure in Polish, a colleague explaining the joint in Russian or Ukrainian, and welders arriving from Romania, Portugal, Germany, France or the Arab countries. Ten separate dictionaries do not help when the question is what the same term is called in the other nine.