Month: November 2022

Inspection and Testing of Thru-Deck Welding with NFS Fastening Systems

Posted on by norfas by norfas

Thru-deck stud welding is an important operation for the construction industry and is utilized in a wide range of composite building processes, including attaching metal deck sheeting to steel beams. Decking and steel beams have widespread use in the construction of many kinds of buildings, infrastructure, and other large structures. Because thru-deck welding is such a critical part of many fabrication projects, it’s important for welds to be performed correctly, and for testing and inspections to follow international standards for quality. If you’re working with thru-deck welding processes, we can help. Northland Fastening Systems (NFS) supplies a comprehensive range of tools for rent or purchase, studs, accessories, repairs for most welding models, and the guidance and knowledge of our own skilled technicians.

Thru-Deck Welding

With thru-deck welding, you’re likely operating on an active job site, which means safety is key. Check your cables, equipment, and power source for safety and to ensure you’re receiving enough power through extended cords; make sure your welding surfaces are grounded to a clean spot on a beam; and check your welding surface for dirt, water, and other contaminants.

Once you’ve made sure your conditions are appropriate for thru-deck weld fastening systems and you’ve performed your weld, you should also test and inspect the weld results before continuing on to complete a series of welds.

Testing

Ideally, you will perform tests on pre-production and production weld results. All testing should follow the American Welding Society Structural Welding Code D1.1. This means accounting for the material and design, fabrication, qualification, and inspection. Many details need to be taken into account with your testing, including not performing a test in cold weather unless the stud has cooled to be warm to the touch. If a stud is hot or cooled completely in temperatures below freezing, it will compromise the results. Learn more about AWS testing standards and more about basic testing of stud welds.

Visual Inspections

Visual inspections are just as important as following the AWS code for thru-deck welding specifications. In your visual inspection, you should be able to see the weld point completely around the stud. Any undercuts, spattering, or other abnormalities at the weld point is a sign of a poor weld. If you can’t see 360 degrees around the weld, you may need to use destructive testing methods. This can be done with a hammer hit or by bending the stud to a 15-degree angle. In most cases, bending will be a more effective test. If the weld fails with either test, you need to recalibrate your conditions and test and inspect a new result.

Thru-deck welding is one of many useful stud weld fastening systems for the construction industry. For more information about our supplies for thru-deck and other welding operations, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online

Best Portable Stud Welding Equipment for Job Site Work

Posted on by norfas by norfas

Stud welding has many applications in the construction industry. From composite building and thru-decking to insulation fasteners, drawn arc and capacitor discharge (CD) stud welding have critical roles in the construction of residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal projects. Because stud welding is so relied on in the construction industry, most welders are operating on an active job site. For job site welding, technicians need reliable, portable, and high-powered stud welding equipment they can trust on an active work site. If you’re in need of a quality stud welder for construction site welding, Northland Fastening Systems (NFS) can help. We supply a broad range of portable welding models for drawn arc, short cycle, and CD stud welding. Our tools are available for purchase or rent, and we also have a complete selection of welding studs, accessories, more.

Portable Equipment

The most effective features of portable stud welding equipment are weight, mobility, and ease of setup without compromise of quick, powerful welds. Portable welders should have the same capabilities of in-house welders and be able to fasten a stud with a connection point stronger than the stud and surface material together.

Stud Welding Equipment 

While many of our stud welders are suitable to welding in the field, our best job site welders for a variety of welding operations include:

  • HBS IT 2002: The HBS IT 2002 is a drawn arc welding unit capable of fastening studs with diameters up to 1″. It can fasten an average of 7 studs per minute depending on stud diameter, and it welds with a current of 2,000 A at maximum. For a full size unit, it’s on the lighter side with a weight of 210 lbs. This model comes with a temperature-controlled fan and wheels for ease of mobility. It is one of our easiest heavy-duty portable models to operate making even day-of training possible for workers.
  • MFI Sureshot: For portable CD welding operations, the MFI Sureshot is an ideal model. It can install studs and pins up to 14 gauge at a rate of 24 welds per minute. It also has a temperature-controlled fan for cooling and weighs only 18 lbs. The indicator lights, safety shutdowns, and seven-segment digital display make it an easy unit to learn and use.
  • TRUWELD ACE-P100: The ACE-P100 is a super lightweight pin welder for CD studs and pins. It has less than one second of recharge time so rapid welding of insulation fasteners and other pins can be achieved. It can handle welding pins up to 10 gauge in diameter, and it features a user-friendly touch screen with preset values. This welding unit also only weighs 10 lbs, so it can easily be moved between areas on a jobsite.

For job site drawn arc, short cycle, and capacitor discharge welding, these three models are excellent choices that will perform as reliable workhorses for any project. To learn more about our supply of portable models and other stud welding equipment, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online.

Selecting Ferrules to Pair with Your Stud Welding Products

Posted on by norfas by norfas

Three main kinds of stud welding operations are utilized in a range of industries. Capacitor discharge (CD) welding is useful for rapid, clean operations with thinner diameter studs and pins. Common applications of CD stud welding include insulation installment, electrical enclosures, and food service equipment. Another operation, drawn arc stud welding, can be used for larger diameter fasteners. Drawn arc studs are used in heavy-duty construction projects like bridges, roadways, and multistory buildings. Short cycle welding is the third type of stud welding operation used across industries. Essentially a drawn arc process, short cycle welding can be automated more easily, performed faster, and done on uneven or coated surfaces. No matter what kind of welding operations you use, you can find all the stud welding products you need at Northland Fastening Systems (NFS). We supply a comprehensive range of welding tools for rent or purchase, drawn arc and CD welding studs, welding accessories, repairs for most models, and the expert advice of our own technicians.

Ceramic Ferrule

In most cases, drawn arc stud welding will utilize a ceramic ferrule placed at the point of the weld. Ferrules help control the weld by containing molten metal and providing some temperature regulations. However, because drawn arc welding can be done on many kinds of surfaces—including at various angles, for different profiles, and with a broad range of dimensions—there is an equally diverse selection of ferrules you can choose from. Picking the right ferrule depends on the conditions of your weld.

 Stud Welding Products

There are 10 standard ceramic ferrule stud welding products you can choose from, including:

  1.  Flat and flat heavy-duty: These ferrules are used with down-hand operations and can be paired with headed studs, deformed bars, fully threaded studs, and in vertical applications with studs under ⅜” diameter.
  2. Collar: These are used with collar studs, studs with short applications, or low-profile studs.
  3. Reduced base: Studs with reduced bases, such as ones with unthreaded sections at the tip, work best with reduced base ferrules.
  4. Pitch: These are used with partially threaded studs to accommodate the pitch in diameter from the wider threaded portion to the slimmer unthreaded portion.
  5. Thru-deck: Thru-deck welding is a common construction operation, and it requires thru-deck ferrules. These are most useful in composite construction with steel and concrete.
  6. Thru-deck wired: Similar to thru-deck ferrules, these are used with ¾” stud diameters that can be installed in rapid operations.
  7. Angle: When studs need to be installed at an angle, these ferrules can be utilized with inside or outside angle positioning.
  8. Vertical: Studs can be installed on vertical surfaces, but the operation needs to use a vertical ferrule to contain the molten metal and prevent drips.
  9. Flat heavy-duty special: Special ferrules have finer teeth at their base, which helps with ½” vertical applications and the installation of deformed bar anchors.

To learn more about ferrules and other stud welding products, contact NFS at (651) 730-7770 or request a quote online.