Talk:Welding

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Hi, I've done a few updates and will likely continue going through the article soon. As it's an FA, I'll try to make the refs more consistent. Was the original citation style (WP:CITEVAR) using short citations with separate full citations? If so, I'll try to shift towards that. Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 01:07, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

I cannot find any information on Wikipedia on weld sequencing or its history. This new video on YouTube claims weld sequencing was invented by Bessie Hamill, a night-shift welder at Richmond Shipyard No. 3 building Liberty ships — after tens of ships of ships were lost to hull cracks caused by brittle fractures. The video lists a dozen sources. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 14:03, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

This is the current text: "If the electrode is positively charged, the base metal will be hotter, increasing weld penetration and welding speed. Alternatively, a negatively charged electrode results in more shallow welds."

This seemed to be wrong so I checked a newer edition of the same source and this is what was said there:

"In straight polarity, also known as direct-current electrode negative (DCEN), the workpiece is positive (anode), and the electrode is negative (cathode). DCEN generally produces welds that are narrow and deep (Fig. 30.6a). In reverse polarity, also known as direct-current electrode positive (DCEP), the workpiece is negative and the electrode is positive. Weld penetration is less, and the weld zone is shallower and wider"

From Manufacturing Engineering and Technology 8th edition Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid

I am a bit of a noob with wikipedia so I dont feel comfortable correcting this error, also I really dont have time. It might even be better to have a separate section discussing polarity as it is a very important topic in arc welding. There is also a lot of confusion regarding DCEP and DCEN, so correcting this error could also clear some of those misconceptions. WarriorDopy (talk) 00:22, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

@WarriorDopy, thanks for catching the error. That section (Welding § Arc welding power supplies) is mostly content from 20 years ago. Do you mind if I ask what's got you feeling not comfortable to edit it? You seem to have the right idea. When you say "There is also a lot of confusion regarding DCEP and DCEN, so correcting this error could also clear some of those misconceptions." do you mean in this article or on Wikipedia or in general? As far as this article, I only see the polarity acronyms used in this one bit, "They can use alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). For DC welding, the electrode can be connected to the machine's positive terminal (DCEP) or negative terminal (DCEN), changing the current's direction. The process and type of electrode used will typically determine the current." Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 00:51, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Looking again at that section "Alternatively, a negatively charged electrode results in more shallow welds." is actually true for stick welding. A few sentences earlier it says "Consumable electrode processes such as shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding". That is still a little misleading because it's different for MIG and stick. MIG is almost always DCEP, whereas stick has rods for DCEP, DCEN, and AC. The section you quote above is true for TIG welding, where you have a non-consumable electrode. On this, the article says, "Non-consumable electrode processes, such as gas tungsten arc welding, can use either type of direct current, as well as alternating current. However, with direct current, because the electrode only creates the arc and does not provide filler material, a positively charged electrode causes shallow welds, while a negatively charged electrode makes deeper welds." This is technically true, but I have to imagine DCEP is not common for TIG.

This whole section is a bit messy and I guess I sort of take back my prompting to fix it yourself. I think part of the solution is to move the process-specific polarity information to the sections on each arc welding process. Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 04:45, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

@Boneless Pizza!: Thanks for checking out the article. I addressed some of the tags in recent edits. The section Welding § Plastic welding only has one citation, but it seems to be all cited to that one source? I'll have to check out some books before going through it. Just wanted to give an explanation so it didn't seem like I was arbitrarily removing any of the tags. Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 21:31, 19 April 2026 (UTC)