Welding Defects

Defects and flaws have the potential to compromise the quality of your final weld.

Even the simplest welds are subject to enough variables to demand thorough preparation and careful execution.

Your operating technique, the shielding gas you use, your choice of filler wire or electrodes and the equipment settings you select – each has an impact, good or bad, on the final result, and all play their part whether you’re highly experienced or a relative novice.

So here are some tips to avoid some of the more common welding defects to help you achieve a better weld.

Porosity

Porosity

Identified by small holes in your final weld, it’s caused by bubbles of gas forming in the weld pool as it solidifies
Spatter

Spatter

Droplets of metal propelled from the welding arc form spatter around the welded joint which is unsightly and timely to remove
Lack of fusion

Lack of fusion

Lack of fusion occurs when the weld metal fails to fuse with the side wall or joint, or when two weld beads fail to completely join together
Distortion

Distortion

Distortion occurs during the expansion and contraction of the welded metals during the heating and cooling cycle, and leads to mis-shapen angles and joints
Lack of Penetration & Root Fusion

Lack of Penetration & Root Fusion

Penetration defects, when both sides of the root fail to fuse to the weld, often result from following incorrect procedures, and can also be caused by poor preparation of the joint or operating conditions
Overfill, Underfill & Undercut

Overfill, Underfill & Undercut

Discover the difference between these three types of frequently faced welding defects and find out how can you prevent them from occurring in your weld
Don’t crack up: how to avoid welding’s common cracking problem

Cracking

We take a closer look at the most common types of cracking, and how to prevent this welding defect