Arc Machines 307 - Manual (Page 162)

Arc Machines, Inc. Model 307 Orbital Tube Welder Training
Document No. 740096 Chapter 17. Page 1.
Rev. A
C
hapter 17. Weld Criteria/QA-QC
A
s the use of Orbital Welding has advanced during the past decade or so,
so has the demand for improved weld quality. Industry standards writing
groups have produced several new standards based on the use of orbital
welding. The ASME Bioprocessing Equipment Standard (BPE-2002) now ap-
plies to the Personal Care industry as well as Bioprocessing and Pharmaceu-
tical applications. SEMI, the organization that writes standards for the
semiconductor industry has introduced two new standards in 2003 that ap-
ply to orbital welding. SEMI F79-0703 is a practice that offers guidelines for
proper welding procedures for installing gas distribution systems and SEMI
F81-1103 is a specification for visual inspection and acceptance of GTA
welds in semiconductor gas distribution systems. AWS published a new
standard in 1999, AWS D18.1:1999 Specification for Welding of Austenitic
Stainless Steel Tube and Pipe Systems in Sanitary (Hygienic) Applications,
to be used for sanitary food, dairy and beverage installations.
Both SEMI F79-0703, SEMI F81-1103, and BPE-2002 state that all welding
performed according to those standards must conform to ASME Sect. IX and
B31.3 including full documentation. SEMI permits qualification to AWS
D 10.9 as an alternative. AWS D18.1 requires a WPS according to ANSI/AWS
B2.1 and bend and tensile tests in accord with ANSI/AWS B4.0 Standard
Methods for Mechanical Testing of Welds.
A welding inspector from a third party QA company
inspects an orbital weld in a pharmaceutical plant
with a borescope. Photos courtesy of Purity
Systems, Inc.