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WELDERS, CUTTERS, SOLDERERS, AND BRAZERS
Occupation Description
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Career Video
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Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers are grouped into the following occupations for which the most important knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are listed.
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Solderers and Brazers
Knowledge:
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Skills:
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Abilities:
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Source: Occupational Information Network: Solderers and Brazers.
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Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters
Knowledge:
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Skills:
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Abilities:
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Source: Occupational Information Network: Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters.
Tasks and Activities
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers are grouped into the following occupations for which occupation specific tasks, the most important generalized work activities, and detailed work activities are listed.
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Solderers and Brazers
Occupation Specific Tasks:
- Adjust electric current and timing cycles of resistance welding machines to heat metals to bonding temperature.
- Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.
- Brush flux onto joints of workpieces or dip braze rods into flux, to prevent oxidation of metal.
- Clean equipment parts, such as tips of soldering irons, using chemical solutions or cleaning compounds.
- Clean joints of workpieces with wire brushes or by dipping them into cleaning solutions.
- Clean workpieces to remove dirt and excess acid, using chemical solutions, files, wire brushes, or grinders.
- Connect hoses from torches to regulator valves and cylinders of oxygen and specified gas fuels.
- Cut carbon electrodes to specified sizes and shapes, using cutoff saws.
- Dip workpieces into molten solder, or place solder strips between seams and heat seams with irons, to bond items together.
- Examine seams for defects, and rework defective joints or broken parts.
- Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
- Guide torches and rods along joints of workpieces to heat them to brazing temperature, melt braze alloys, and bond workpieces together.
- Heat soldering irons or workpieces to specified temperatures for soldering, using gas flames or electric current.
- Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.
- Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, and seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
- Melt and separate brazed or soldered joints to remove and straighten damaged or misaligned components, using hand torches, irons or furnaces.
- Place solder bars into containers, and turn knobs to specified positions to melt solder and regulate its temperature.
- Remove workpieces from fixtures, using tongs, and cool workpieces, using air or water.
- Remove workpieces from molten solder and hold parts together until color indicates that solder has set.
- Select torch tips, flux, and brazing alloys from data charts or work orders.
- Smooth soldered areas with alternate strokes of paddles and torches, leaving soldered sections slightly higher than surrounding areas for later filing.
- Sweat together workpieces coated with solder.
- Turn dials to set intensity and duration of ultrasonic impulses, according to work order specifications.
- Turn valves to start flow of gases, and light flames and adjust valves to obtain desired colors and sizes of flames.
Generalized Work Activities:
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Detailed Work Activities:
- adjust welding equipment
- apply cleaning solvents
- apply flux to workpiece before soldering or brazing
- braze metal parts or components together
- clean or degrease weld, or parts to be welded or soldered
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
- file, sand, grind, or polish metal or plastic objects
- identify properties of metals for repair or fabrication activities
- load or unload material or workpiece into machinery
- monitor the quantity of assembly output
- move or fit heavy objects
- perform safety inspections in industrial, manufacturing or repair setting
- position, clamp or assemble workpiece prior to welding
- preheat metal before welding, brazing, or soldering
- read blueprints
- read production layouts
- read technical drawings
- read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
- sharpen metal objects
- solder metal parts or components together
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- use acetylene welding/cutting torch
- use braze-welding equipment
- use hand or power tools
- use soldering equipment
Source: Occupational Information Network: Solderers and Brazers.
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Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters
Occupation Specific Tasks:
- Analyze engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, sketches, work orders, and material safety data sheets to plan layout, assembly, and welding operations.
- Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.
- Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
- Clamp, hold, tack-weld, heat-bend, grind or bolt component parts to obtain required configurations and positions for welding.
- Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.
- Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.
- Cut, contour, and bevel metal plates and structural shapes to dimensions as specified by blueprints, layouts, work orders, and templates, using powered saws, hand shears, or chipping knives.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
- Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.
- Dismantle metal assemblies or cut scrap metal, using thermal-cutting equipment such as flame-cutting torches or plasma-arc equipment.
- Estimate materials needed for production and manufacturing and maintain required stocks of materials.
- Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
- Fill holes, and increase the size of metal parts.
- Gouge metals, using the air-arc gouging process.
- Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.
- Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces.
- Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
- Join parts such as beams and steel reinforcing rods in buildings, bridges, and highways, bolting and riveting as necessary.
- Lay out, position, align, and secure parts and assemblies prior to assembly, using straightedges, combination squares, calipers, and rulers.
- Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.
- Melt lead bars, wire, or scrap to add lead to joints or to extrude melted scrap into reusable form.
- Mix and apply protective coatings to products.
- Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material.
- Operate brazing and soldering equipment.
- Operate manual or semi-automatic welding equipment to fuse metal segments, using processes such as gas tungsten arc, gas metal arc, flux-cored arc, plasma arc, shielded metal arc, resistance welding, and submerged arc welding.
- Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears.
- Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.
- Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.
- Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
- Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.
- Remove rough spots from workpieces, using portable grinders, hand files, or scrapers.
- Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
- Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
- Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work.
- Signal crane operators to move large workpieces.
- Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.
- Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.
Generalized Work Activities:
- Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
- Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
- Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Detailed Work Activities:
- adjust welding equipment
- analyze technical data, designs, or preliminary specifications
- analyze test data
- apply cleaning solvents
- apply protective coating to products
- attach or mark identification onto products or containers
- braze metal parts or components together
- burn (cut), trim, or scarf metal objects
- clean or degrease weld, or parts to be welded or soldered
- climb ladders, scaffolding, or utility or telephone poles
- compute production, construction, or installation specifications
- construct patterns or templates for welding projects
- determine equipment requirements
- erect scaffold
- estimate materials or labor requirements
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- explain work orders, specifications, or work techniques to workers
- fabricate beams
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
- file, sand, grind, or polish metal or plastic objects
- identify base metals for welding
- identify properties of metals for repair or fabrication activities
- lay out machining, welding or precision assembly projects
- maintain records, reports, or files
- maintain safe work environment
- maintain welding machines or equipment
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- mix paint, ingredients, or chemicals, according to specifications
- monitor production machinery/equipment operation to detect problems
- monitor the quantity of assembly output
- monitor worker performance
- move or fit heavy objects
- operate hoist, winch, or hydraulic boom
- operate metal or plastic fabricating equipment/machinery
- perform detailed welding techniques
- perform safety inspections in industrial, manufacturing or repair setting
- perform welding techniques over lengthy time span
- plan or organize work
- position, clamp or assemble workpiece prior to welding
- preheat metal before welding, brazing, or soldering
- read blueprints
- read production layouts
- read specifications
- read technical drawings
- read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
- recognize characteristics of alloys
- recognize characteristics of metals
- recognize welding symbols
- requisition stock, materials, supplies or equipment
- setup welding equipment
- sharpen metal objects
- signal directions or warnings to coworkers
- solder metal parts or components together
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- use acetylene welding/cutting torch
- use arc welding equipment
- use braze-welding equipment
- use combination welding procedures
- use fire suppression equipment
- use gas welding equipment
- use hand or power tools
- use knowledge of welding filler rod types
- use non-destructive test equipment
- use precision measuring tools or equipment
- use soldering equipment
- use spot or tack welding techniques
- use thermal-cutting equipment
- weld in flat, horizontal, vertical, or overhead position
- weld together metal parts, components, or structures
Source: Occupational Information Network: Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters.
Tools and Technology
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers are grouped into the following occupations for which Tools and Technology information is available.
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Solderers and Brazers View Detailed Report
Tools:
- Blow torches - Oxyacetylene torches, Propane torches
- Positioning jig - Jigs, Soldering jigs
- Power saws - Cutoff saws, Reciprocating saws
- Soldering irons or guns - Soldering irons, Ultrasonic soldering equipment
- Workshop cranes - Jibs, Workshop cranes
Technology:
- Analytical or scientific software - Fred's Tip Cartridge Picker, Value Analysis
Source: Occupational Information Network: Solderers and Brazers.
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Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters View Detailed Report
Tools:
- Blow torches - Motorized cutting torches, Pattern cutting torches, Welding torches
- Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus - Brazing equipment, Heliarc welding equipment, Oxyacetylene welding equipment, Portable gas operated arc welders
- Welders - Arc welders, Mobile welding units, Resistance welding equipment, Semi-automatic flame-cutting equipment, Underwater welding equipment
- Welding masks - Hand shields, Welding masks, Welding shields
- Workshop presses - Brakes, Drill presses, Portable magnetic drill presses, Punch presses
Technology:
- Analytical or scientific software - Scientific Software Group Filter Drain FD
- Calendar and scheduling software - OmniFleet Equipment Maintenance Management
- Computer aided design CAD software - EZ Pipe software
- Project management software - Recordkeeping software
Source: Occupational Information Network: Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters.
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Web Resources
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