Red Seal Metal Fabricator key terms

A documented procedure for isolating and de-energizing equipment, then applying personal locks and tags, so a machine cannot be started while someone is working on or near it.

A systematic review of a task, workplace, or job site to identify hazards, judge their risk, and record the controls that will reduce that risk before work begins.

Wearable gear such as eye protection, welding helmet, respirator, hearing protection, gloves, and metatarsal boots that shields the wearer from specific hazards that cannot be engineered out.

A controlled procedure for entering a tank, pit, or vessel with limited access and poor ventilation, requiring atmospheric testing, an attendant, a rescue plan, and authorization before entry.

A written authorization confirming that fire watches, combustible clearance, and extinguishing equipment are in place before welding, cutting, grinding, or other spark-producing work starts.

Local exhaust ventilation, such as a portable weld fume extractor or a fixed hood, that captures airborne metal fume and gases at the arc before they reach the welder's breathing zone.

Secondary containment, absorbent materials, and barriers used to keep oils, coolants, solvents, and hydraulic fluid from reaching drains, soil, or waterways when a leak occurs.

Separating waste streams at the source, such as scrap steel, aluminum, oily rags, spent solvent, and used coolant, so each can be recycled or disposed of legally and safely.

A supplier document listing a product's hazards, safe handling, required protective equipment, first-aid measures, and disposal requirements; it must be accessible to every worker who uses the product.

Physical barriers, interlocks, light curtains, or two-hand controls that prevent a worker's hands or body from reaching the point of operation on shears, presses, rolls, and saws.

Any location where two machine parts or a part and a machine move together closely enough to catch, crush, or shear a body part, such as the nip of plate rolls.

A machine that forms sheet and plate by pressing a punch into a die, producing bends such as air bends, bottom bends, and coin bends to a specified angle and inside radius.

A machine with three or four rolls that curves plate into cylinders, cones, or arcs by passing the material between driven rolls, often in multiple passes with re-positioning.

A multi-station machine that punches, shears, notches, and copes structural shapes and plate using dedicated stations, with capacities rated by material thickness and tensile strength.

The number of teeth per inch on a saw blade; coarse pitch suits thick solid sections and fine pitch suits thin-wall tube, pipe, and sheet to avoid tooth stripping and chatter.

The rate at which a cutting edge moves through material and the rate at which it advances into the work; both are selected from material, tool, and coolant conditions.

A drawing method that shows a part in two or more views projected at right angles onto separate planes, with first-angle and third-angle layouts placing the views differently.

A projected view taken from a direction perpendicular to an inclined surface, used to show that surface's true shape and size when it appears foreshortened in the principal views.

A theoretically exact point, axis, or plane from which dimensions and tolerances are measured, establishing a common reference so parts fit and inspections agree.

A symbolic language of feature control frames that specifies form, orientation, location, and profile tolerances relative to datums, defining allowable variation more precisely than plus/minus dimensions alone.

Marking reference lines and centerlines on a part or plate from a common edge or axis so that all subsequent measurements, hole locations, and cuts are taken from one consistent origin.

Unfolding a three-dimensional shape, such as a cone, transition, or cylinder, into a flat pattern whose true lengths are found by projection so it can be cut and formed.

The actual, undistorted length of a line on a surface, found by projection or revolution when the line appears foreshortened in the drawing views.

A standard notation on a drawing, built around a reference line and arrow, that specifies weld type, size, length, spacing, groove preparation, and whether the weld is on the arrow or other side.

A document from the material producer certifying a heat or lot's chemical composition and mechanical properties, used to verify that supplied metal meets the specification called for on the drawing.

An identifier assigned to a single melt of metal, allowing traceability from mill certificate through fabrication so that composition and properties can be confirmed for the finished part.

The ease with which a metal can be joined by welding to produce sound joints under a given process, largely governed by composition, especially carbon equivalent in steels.

A calculated value combining carbon with other alloying elements to estimate a steel's hardenability and cracking risk, guiding preheat, interpass, and heat-input decisions.

Heating a base metal before welding to slow cooling, reduce hydrogen cracking risk, and improve fusion in thick, high-carbon, or highly restrained joints.

The temperature of the weld and surrounding base metal just before the next pass is deposited; it is capped in many procedures to preserve toughness and mechanical properties.

The width of material removed by a cutting process, such as a saw blade, abrasive wheel, or plasma arc; it must be allowed for when cutting parts to finished length.

Severing metal with oxy-fuel flame, plasma arc, or laser energy; cut quality is judged by squareness, kerf width, dross, and heat-affected zone.

The length of the neutral axis arc through a bend, added to flat-pattern dimensions so that a formed part reaches its required outside dimensions after bending.

The difference between the sum of the outside flange lengths and the flat blank length, calculated from bend radius, angle, and material thickness to lay out a correct flat pattern.

The elastic recovery of metal after a forming force is removed, which makes the part open slightly past the tool angle and must be compensated for in the setup.

Progressive bending of sheet or strip through a series of contoured rolls to produce long, constant cross-section shapes such as channels, angles, and panels.

The alignment and temporary positioning of parts before welding, controlling root gap, mismatch, joint angle, and tack placement so the finished assembly meets dimensional requirements.

A short temporary weld used to hold parts in position during fit-up and assembly; it must be of sound quality and suitable size so it does not become a defect in the final weld.

Unwanted change in shape or dimensions caused by non-uniform heating and cooling during welding; controlled through sequence, balancing, restraint, presetting, and heat input.

Bringing components into correct relative position, checked with levels, squares, straightedges, laser alignment, or plumb lines, so tolerances and interfaces are satisfied.

A written, qualified document giving the variables for a weld, including process, filler, current, voltage, travel speed, preheat, and joint preparation, that the welder must follow.

The record of the test weld made to qualify a welding procedure, documenting actual variables and destructive test results that support the corresponding WPS.

Testing a welder's ability to produce sound welds to a given standard, with the resulting certificate listing the processes, positions, thicknesses, and joint types the welder may perform.

The energy delivered per unit length of weld, calculated from current, voltage, and travel speed; it affects cooling rate, hardness, toughness, and distortion in the heat-affected zone.

Joining metals by melting a filler that flows into the joint by capillary action at a temperature above 450 °C but below the melting point of the base metals.

Inspection methods such as visual, liquid penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonic, and radiographic testing that reveal surface or internal discontinuities without damaging the part.

The specified limits on discontinuity type, size, and frequency that determine whether a weld or part passes inspection under the applicable code or project specification.

Examination of a weld against acceptance criteria, beginning with visual checks of profile, undercut, overlap, and craters, followed by NDT where the specification requires it.

The intentional difference between a nominal dimension and the permitted mating dimension, providing the clearance or interference needed for parts to assemble and function.

Selecting, inspecting, and using slings, shackles, hoists, and hardware to attach and support a load safely, including determining its weight, center of gravity, and required capacity.

The angle between a sling leg and the horizontal; as it decreases, tension in each leg rises sharply, so rated capacity must be reduced using the appropriate factor.

A manufacturer's table giving a crane's or hoist's rated capacity at specified radii, boom lengths, and configurations, which must not be exceeded under any lifting condition.

The point where a load's weight is considered concentrated; rigging attachments must be arranged so the hook is above it, keeping the load level and controlled during the lift.