A glossary of terms and definitions developed by the American Welding Society (AWS) to standardize the oral and written communication of the details of welding, brazing, soldering, thermal spraying, and thermal cutting processes and applications.
Standard terms and definitions are identified in this edition of the Welding Encyclopedia. All standard terms are referenced to STANDARD WELDING TERMS.
The standard definitions are in italics. Nonstandard terms are identified as such.
The American Welding Society publishes this glossary of the technical terms used in the welding industry in the document, ANSZ/AWS A3.0, Standard Welding Terms and Definitions. This document, in dictionary form, was prepared by the AWS Committee on Definitions and Symbols, and is a comprehensive compilation of welding terminology. The document establishes each term as standard or non-standard to reflect the accuracy of the term. Nonstandard terms are also included because of common usage. The document is an American National Standard, developed in accordance with the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
There are 1253 terms and definitions in A3.0-94, with 53 illustrations to support and clarify the definitions, as well as classification charts and corollary information for the welding processes. To preserve an understanding of old documents and literature, welding terms believed to be no longer significant in the welding industry are included in A3.0. Obsolete or seldom used processes are listed separately.
The first AWS document containing welding definitions was published January 18, 1940. The latest publication, ANSUAWS 3.0-94, was published May 23, 1994.