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Calculators

• Welding current by electrode diameter How many amps for a 2.5, 3.2 or 4 mm stick electrode: the calculator corrects for position and covering, with a ready current table next to it.
• Electrode consumption How many 2.5, 3.2 and 4 mm electrodes fit in a kilo and how many go into a metre of weld: the calculator gives pieces, kilos and stub loss.
• Cost per metre of weld What a metre of weld actually costs: deposited metal, wire and gas consumption, electricity, labour hours and the shop rate.
• Preheat temperature Whether to preheat and to what temperature: method B of EN 1011-2 with CET, combined thickness, hydrogen scale and heat input.
• Acceptance limits ISO 5817 Limits for undercut, porosity, excess weld metal and misalignment at quality levels B, C and D for a given wall thickness.
• pWPS generator Pick the process, material group and thickness — the generator drafts the pWPS to ISO 15609-1: edge preparation, filler, gas, current and thermal regime. Download and complete it.
• VT report Give the quality level, weld type and thickness — the generator builds the VT report: test conditions to ISO 17637 and the acceptance table to ISO 5817.
• Weld schedule Enter the welds of the item: type, size, length and quantity. The calculator gives the ISO 2553 designation, the section, the deposited metal and the filler, time and gas.
• Bill of materials List the catalogue sections and the items by dimensions: the calculator gives the mass of each, the total with a cutting allowance and the cost of the steel.
• Cutting plan Give the part lengths and quantities: the calculator lays them out on stock bars and returns the number of bars, the real offcut in millimetres and per cent, and a cutting card.
• WPQR range of qualification Enter the test piece data and the calculator returns the level 2 range of qualification to EN ISO 15614-1: thickness, diameter, positions, heat input, preheat and interpass.
• Qualification range EN ISO 9606 Enter your test details and the calculator shows the range to EN ISO 9606-1: thicknesses, diameters, positions, joint types and material groups.
• Wire feed speed Wire feed speed from the current, or current from the feed speed, for solid wire of 0.8 to 1.6 mm, with the deposition rate per hour.
• Duty cycle and fuse size How long the machine may weld before it trips on thermal overload, and what supply fuse or breaker its input current really needs.
• Tungsten electrode selection Which tungsten to use and at what diameter: current range by type and polarity, the colour code and the tip grind angle for the job.
• Shielding gas selection Which shielding gas mixture suits the material and the process: argon, CO2 and their blends for MIG/MAG, TIG and stainless steel.
• Fillet weld: throat and leg Converting throat thickness a into leg length z and back, with the deposited area and the mass of filler metal per metre of fillet.
• Welding unit converter Converts what welders actually meet: kJ/mm and kJ/cm, mm/min and m/min, bar and MPa, inches and millimetres, °C and °F.
• Shielding gas consumption How much gas a given flow rate uses and how long the cylinder lasts: volume from pressure, working time and the cost per weld.
• Steel weight calculator Mass of rolled metal by size: sheet, round and square bar, tube, angle and channel, for carbon steel, stainless and aluminium.
• Steel beam weight IPE 200 — 22.4 kg/m, IPE 300 — 42.2, HEB 200 — 61.3, HEA 300 — 88.3. Full EN 10365 and DIN 1025-1 tables and a calculator for length and quantity.
• Steel channel weight UPN 120 — 13.4 kg/m, UPN 160 — 18.8. Pick UPN or UPE, enter length and quantity: total mass from the DIN 1026 table, not a formula. Full size table.
• Steel angle weight L 50×50×5 — 3.77 kg/m, L 100×100×10 — 15.0. Every size to EN 10056-1 from 20×20×3 to 200×200×20, unequal legs included, with a calculator.
• Tube and hollow section Weight of round tube and hollow section from dimensions: diameter or sides plus wall thickness. Common commercial sizes to EN 10219 and the area formulas.
• Sheet metal weight Steel sheet 2 mm — 15.7 kg/m², 5 mm — 39.25, 10 mm — 78.5. Mass of a sheet, of a batch and of a square metre for steel, stainless and aluminium.
• Aluminium weight Weight of aluminium products: density of alloys 1050, 5083, 6060 and 6082, the ratio to steel, and a sheet mass table for the usual thicknesses.
• Aluminium sheet The weight of aluminium sheet from 1 to 10 mm thick: kilograms per square metre, cross-section and a calculator for any sheet size.
• Aluminium box section The weight of aluminium box section: twelve common sizes from 15×15×2 to 80×80×4 with the mass per metre and a calculator for any section.
• Aluminium tube The weight of round aluminium tube from 12×1 to 80×3: cross-section, kilograms per metre and a calculator for any diameter and wall.
• Aluminium angle The weight of aluminium angle from 15×15×2 to 80×80×6: cross-section, kilograms per metre and a calculator for any leg and thickness.
• Aluminium flat bar The weight of aluminium flat bar from 15×2 to 100×10: cross-section, kilograms per metre and a calculator for any width and thickness.
• Aluminium round bar The weight of aluminium round bar from 6 to 50 mm: cross-section, kilograms per metre and a calculator for any diameter.
• Carbon equivalent CE Carbon equivalent from the composition on the mill certificate: IIW CE and CET, and what they say about weldability and preheat.
• Shade number DIN Which shade number to set on the helmet for MMA, MIG/MAG, TIG or cutting at a given current, following EN 169 and EN 379.
• Heat input Heat input from current, voltage and travel speed, with the thermal efficiency of the process taken from ISO/TR 18491 and EN 1011-1.
• Cooling time t8/5 The cooling time from 800 to 500 °C from heat input, thickness and preheat. Two- and three-dimensional formulas to EN 1011-2, with the transition thickness.
• Hardness: HV, HB, HRC Convert Vickers, Brinell and Rockwell hardness both ways, with the approximate tensile strength and the hardness limits allowed in a weld HAZ.
• Deposited metal and passes Work out the groove cross-section, the deposit per metre, the consumable with losses, the number of passes and the arc time for V, X, square-edge and fillet welds.
• Groove preparation Give the thickness, the process and the access to the joint; the calculator proposes the preparation type, angle, root gap and root face from the usual ISO 9692-1 tables.
• Chromium and nickel equivalents Mix two parent metals and the filler by their shares: the calculator gives Cr-eq and Ni-eq and plots the weld on the Schaeffler diagram. Diagram as PNG/SVG.
• Wire length on a spool Wire length from the spool mass and the diameter, mass per metre, arc time at a given feed speed, and the length of weld one spool will cover.
• Cable voltage drop How many volts a lead loses at a given current, length and cross-section, how much of that turns into heat, and when a thicker conductor is needed.
• Generator for a welder What generator rating a welding machine needs: worked out from the rating plate, with a reserve that depends on the machine type.
• Welding cable size Which cable cross-section a given current and cable length need, and how much voltage a long run costs you at the arc.
• Project calculators Six calculators that work out a whole project rather than a single figure: cutting list, mass of steel, length of welds and current. Bench, gate, carport, canopy, fence, stairs.

Welding processes

• MMA — stick welding Manual metal arc welding from the inside: the arc, the coating, polarity, current selection, and where MMA still beats MIG/MAG.
• MIG/MAG welding MIG 131 or MAG 135: one machine, different gas. You set wire feed and voltage, not current — transfer modes, gas mixes and settings by plate thickness.
• Flux-cored welding 136 How flux-cored wire differs from solid, what the numbers 136, 138 and 114 mean, which gas to use, and why higher deposition costs you more fume.
• Gas welding 311 Where oxy-acetylene still beats the arc, how the flame is set, which nozzle suits which thickness, and what separates it from braze welding.
• TIG welding Gas tungsten arc welding step by step: polarity, tungsten choice, gas flow, filler wire, and what changes on thin stainless.

Welding parameters

• Joint preparation I, V, X, U and K preparations: the angle, root face and gap for each thickness, how the edge is cut and cleaned, and what too narrow a groove costs.
• The weld pool The weld pool is the metal molten under the arc at this moment. What its shape and size say about current, travel speed and angle — and what to change.
• Welding positions PA flat, PB horizontal fillet, PC horizontal, PD overhead fillet, PE overhead, PF vertical up, PG down: ISO 6947 vs 1G–6G, what each test covers, diagram.

Filler metals and gases

• Electrode catalogue A working catalogue of stick electrodes: coating type, EN ISO and AWS designation, current, welding position and typical use.
• Electrode coating types How rutile, basic, cellulosic and acid coatings differ in arc behaviour, hydrogen level and position — and what each one is for.

Materials and weldability

• Welding stainless steel Which filler and gas to pick for austenitic stainless, how to avoid sensitisation, and what to do about distortion and oxide colour.
• Welding aluminium Why aluminium behaves differently: the oxide film, heat conduction, AC balance in TIG and the wire feeding problems in MIG.
• Welding cast iron Why cast iron cracks when welded, when to preheat and when to weld cold, and which electrodes actually hold a repair together.
• Welding dissimilar steels Joining stainless to carbon steel and other mismatched pairs: filler choice, dilution and the Schaeffler diagram used in practice.

Products and structures

• Carports What a carport is made of: the posts, how they meet the ground, the truss, the roof shape and the reinforcements — six options for each joint.
• Gates and wickets A sliding gate in section, six types of gate, posts and foundations, what closes the leaf, and sizing the operator by the weight it has to move.
• Fences A whole fence bay with its foundation in section, six kinds of infill, and six ways of setting a post in ground that freezes and heaves.
• Stairs and railings A flight in section with the step dimensions, six types of staircase, six fixing details, and six ways of closing the gap in a railing.
• Door canopies How a canopy holds on to the wall, how much the snow on it weighs, what projection covers the door and the top step, and how six types differ.
• Garages and sheds The frame of a garage taken apart, six types from profiled sheet to sandwich panel, and why steel sweats inside without vents under the eaves.
• Halls and frames A hangar frame in section with its purlins and bracing, six ways of covering a span, and what happens when bracing is struck off the quotation.
• Platforms and walkways How an access platform is built, six kinds of platform, what closes the gap between beams, guardrails to the standard and industrial stairs.
• Frames and jigs How a pump bedplate is built, six jobs on frames and jigs and six versions of a machine guard — what decides alignment and access.
• Storage and handling How a pallet racking bay is built, six ways of storing and six things on the move — trolleys, stillages, pallets and ramps; what the forklift dictates.
• Grilles, doors and hatches A window grille and a hinged one, a boiler room door, a floor hatch, a light-well grating and an air conditioner cage — how each one is built.
• Yard and garden How a gazebo is built and how it differs from a carport, six greenhouse frames, garden furniture and yard oddments — from a swing to a bin shelter.
• Barbecues and stoves How a firebox is built and why the wall thickness decides it, six kinds of barbecue and six layouts of a set, the flue and the draught.
• Furniture and interior How a table on a steel frame is built, six frame joints, six kinds of top, and what else gets welded for an interior: shelving, racks, coat stands.
• Brackets and fixings How a bracket for an outdoor unit is built, six common brackets and six household oddments — why overturning is what gets calculated, not weight.
• Stainless equipment How a work table is built, six stainless items and six details the job is accepted on: the corner radius, the weld, the gap under the foot.
• Tanks and pipework How a rectangular tank is built, six jobs on vessels, six kinds of pipework joint and six ventilation parts — what gets welded and what gets bought.
• Repairs and rebuilding Six repair techniques and the work that comes with machinery: a stop-drilled crack, an insert, hardfacing a worn surface, cast iron and aluminium.
• How ordering works What the price is made of, how the order runs week by week, how to choose a coating and the fixings, and what insulation actually buys you.

Build it yourself

• Workbench Enter length, width and height: the calculator returns the cutting list, the mass of steel, the length of welds and the current. The drawing redraws as you type.
• Pedestrian gate Enter the width and height of the leaf: you get the cutting list for frame, ribs and brace, the mass of steel and sheet, and the welding settings.
• Carport and canopy Mono-pitch canopy: enter length, projection and height to get the number of posts, rafters and battens, the mass of the frame and the covered area.
• Door canopy Enter width, projection and rise: the calculator gives the number of brackets, the cutting list, the mass and the covered area. The drawing follows the numbers.
• Fence Enter length, height and post spacing: the calculator counts posts, rails, bays, the mass of steel and the area of profiled sheet.
• Steel stairs Enter the rise and the going: the calculator gives the number of steps, the actual riser, the stringer length and the whole cutting list.

Welding equipment

• Choosing a welding machine Which parameters matter when buying an inverter: duty cycle, current range, mains supply and cable length — and where cheap models fail.
• Welding helmet How auto-darkening helmets work, what the four EN 379 numbers mean, and which shade to set for each process and current.
• MIG/MAG torch consumables Which torch parts wear out and how fast: contact tip, liner, nozzle and gas diffuser, with the symptom each worn part produces.
• Servicing and typical faults What to clean and how often, plus the faults that come up most: overheating, unstable arc, no arc strike and a tripping supply.

Weld defects and inspection

• Quality levels ISO 5817 B stringent, C intermediate, D moderate: the ISO 5817 limits for each imperfection, which EN 1090-2 class sets the level, and what no level allows.
• Undercut Why the toe of the weld gets eaten away, what ISO 5817 allows at each quality level, and which change in technique fixes it.
• Lack of fusion Lack of fusion (401) is metal that never melted into its neighbour; lack of penetration (402) is a root never reached. How to tell them apart and what to change.
• Lack of penetration Nine causes of incomplete penetration, the sign that tells each apart, and what to change: root gap, root face, current, speed, bevel angle. With ISO 5817 limits.
• Weld cracks How hot and cold cracks differ, why hydrogen and restraint cause them, and what preheat and post-weld heat treatment prevent.
• Knowledge test: defects and symbols Fourteen questions: imperfection numbers to ISO 6520-1, their causes, ISO 5817 quality levels and the parts of a welding symbol. Checked in your browser.
• Weld defect catalogue The main groups of weld imperfections with causes and remedies: cracks, cavities, inclusions, lack of fusion and shape defects.
• Porosity in welds Why a weld comes out porous: gas flow, draught, damp electrodes, rust and paint — and how to tell the causes apart on the bench.

Drawings and symbols

• How to read welding symbols The arrow, the reference line, the symbol and the dimensions: reading an ISO 2553 weld symbol without guessing what it means.
• Welding symbol builder Assemble a weld symbol from the joint type and its dimensions and see exactly how it should look on the drawing.
• ISO 2553 vs AWS A2.4 AWS A2.4: below the line is the arrow side. ISO 2553: the dashed line decides. Which side, leg or throat for fillets, and the symbols that differ — with a diagram.
• GOST 2.312 vs ISO 2553 How the Soviet and European symbol systems differ, and how to read an old drawing without misreading the weld it asks for.

Standards and qualification

• WPS — procedure specification What a WPS to EN ISO 15609-1 contains, how to read it at the bench, who signs it, and what welding outside its qualified range means.
• pWPS — preliminary WPS How a pWPS differs from a WPS, where its numbers come from, who signs it, and why production must not be welded to it.
• WPQR — procedure qualification How a procedure is qualified, which tests the coupon goes through, what range the record covers and how long it stays valid.
• Knowledge test: documents and standards Thirteen questions on the welding documents, ISO 6947 positions, current and process numbers. Checked in your browser, with a link to the page that answers each one.
• Test to EN ISO 9606 A 10 mm plate test covers 3–20 mm; the certificate lasts three years with a confirmation every six months. Test pieces, positions and examinations to ISO 9606-1.
• Qualifications in Poland Who issues welder certificates in Poland, what a course costs and how long it takes, and how certificates from abroad are recognised.

Welding safety

• Personal protective equipment Helmet, gloves, jacket, boots and respirator: the standards they must meet, and the mistakes that cause most burns and eye flash.
• Welding fume and ventilation What welding fume contains, why stainless and galvanised steel are worse, the exposure limits and how to extract at the arc.
• Gloves and clothing Class 1 or 2, the A–F codes, the EN 388 and EN 407 glove markings: what the digits on the label mean and what must never be worn to weld.
• Respiratory protection When a half mask is enough, when a powered hood is needed, what on-torch extraction buys you, and why the order of measures never changes.
• Stainless fume: chromium VI Why stainless fume is carcinogenic, which process produces the most of it, and what limit for chromium VI applies across the European Union.
• Hot work and fire safety Why sparks start fires hours later, what a hot work permit covers, and how to leave a site with nothing left smouldering.
• Electrical safety in welding Why open-circuit voltage matters, where the return clamp belongs, and what makes damp and confined spaces genuinely dangerous.

How to weld

• Welding thin sheet Settings and technique for 0.8 to 2 mm sheet: stitch welding, backing bars, torch angle, and why the fit-up gap ruins everything.
• Pipe welding positions How 5G differs from 6G, how the circumference is split into quarters, why 6G gives the widest qualification range, and what EN ISO 9606-1 says about a pipe test.
• Horizontal welding How to weld in the horizontal position: electrode 5–15° up, narrow beads, runs stacked from the bottom, what causes undercut and position PC to EN ISO 6947.
• Fillet weld PB The commonest shop position: electrode at 45° tilted towards the vertical leg, current 5 % below flat, a throat up to 8 mm in one run. Where overlap and undercut come from.
• Flat position PA The base every position is measured from: current at the top of the range, a 10–12 mm leg per run in the boat, twice the output. A test in PA covers PA only.
• Overhead fillet PD The T-joint above your head: current 15–20 % lower, a basic electrode, up to 6 mm per run. Where the sagging bead comes from, and why PD covers PA, PB and PD.
• Overhead welding How to weld above your head without the pool dripping: current 10–15 % lower, narrow beads, basic electrodes, neck protection and position PE to EN ISO 6947.
• Welding vertical down When a vertical-down weld is allowed and when it is not: current 10–15 % higher, electrode angle, cellulosic electrodes, overlap defects and position PG to EN ISO 6947.
• Welding a vertical weld Current, electrode angle and travel technique on a vertical: when to run uphill, when downhill, how to stop the pool sagging and which weave to use.
• Welding square tube Welding hollow section: the tacking order that controls distortion, welding the corner, and settings for 1.5 to 3 mm walls.

Troubleshooting

• The electrode keeps sticking Seven reasons a stick electrode freezes on strike: too little current, damp covering, a poor earth clamp, wrong striking technique, and the cure for each.
• Wire feeding problems Why the wire jams, slips or birdnests: the liner, drive roll pressure, the contact tip, the spool brake and how the cable is routed.
• The welder trips the breaker Tell the cause by when it trips: at switch-on (inrush — a type C breaker fixes it), at the first strike, after a few minutes or only on long runs.

Reference tables

• Steel grade equivalents S235JR = A283 Gr. C = Ст3сп, 1.4301 = AISI 304, 1.4404 = 316L: 39 grades in six families across EN, GOST, AISI/ASTM and PN, with weldability notes.
• Current vs electrode diameter Current ranges for 2.0 to 5.0 mm electrodes by position and coating type, in one printable table for the workshop wall.
• MIG/MAG and TIG settings 5–6 mm plate, MAG: 1.0–1.2 mm wire, 160–220 A, 22–25 V. Chart from 0.8 to 12 mm: wire, amps, volts, wire feed speed and gas, plus TIG, thin sheet and box section.
• Tungsten electrode colour codes What each tungsten colour band means: oxide content, the EN ISO 6848 designation, polarity, current range and where it is used.
• Welding process numbers What 111, 135, 141 and the rest mean on a WPS and on a welder certificate: the full ISO 4063 table with names and the MMA, MIG, MAG and TIG abbreviations.
• Electrode and wire designations What E7018, E6013, ER70S-6 or E 42 5 B 42 H5 mean: type the designation and have it pulled apart. Full code tables to EN ISO 2560, 14341 and AWS.
• Weld imperfection numbers What 401, 5011 and 2011 mean on an inspection report: the full ISO 6520-1 table of weld imperfections in six groups, with the name behind every number.
• Steel section weights IPE, HEA, HEB, UPN and angles: kg per metre for every size, the common ones also for 6 m and 12 m lengths — ready for an order list. Printable wall sheet.

Training and work

• What welders earn What welders are paid in Poland, Germany and Scandinavia, and which certificates and processes actually raise the hourly rate.
• Welding course: cost and length How long a course for each process takes, what it costs, what is included in the price and what the certificate you get is worth.
• How to become a welder From the first course to a paid qualification: which process to start with, how much practice it takes and what employers ask for.
• Work for foreign welders A non-EU welding certificate is not accepted: the EN ISO 9606 test is sat again, usually without a full course. Plus a medical, induction and WPS language.
• Welding work in the EU Which countries and sectors hire welders, which certificates travel across borders, and what a posting abroad actually involves.

Glossary

• Welding glossary Welding terms side by side in nine languages with the EN ISO designation — for reading a WPS or a certificate issued abroad.

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