Welding Positions, a reference to the positional aspects of welding

Welding Positions are the positional relation between the welder and the production piece to be welded. In ISO 15614-1, ASME IX and AWS D1.1 (referring to AWS A3.0), the ideals are pretty similar, but have a different naming system.

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Below this is a diagram which you can use to define the horizontal positions (this means the weld progression is done horizontally). This whole article and the diagrams below will already be featuring the conversion between ISO standards to AWS / ASME standards naming system.

You’ll notice that you’ll essentially only need to pay attention to half of this diagram, as the other half is exactly the same (mirrored), which means the PC / 2G position is the same on either side of the plate or pipe.

Horizontal travel positions

PA / 1G / 1F: This is the flat position, in which the welder has the piece right below the torch, this is used for butt or groove welds, although it can be used for fillet welds.

PB / 2F: This is the horizontal position for fillet welds. The welder will be holding the torch at around 45º most of the times (although it depends on the plate or pipe position) with the piece right next to him:

PC / 2G: Commonly referred to as the horizontal position for butt welds. The piece will be directly parallel to the welders body and he’ll usually weld the piece while it is right in front of him:

PD / 4F: This is the overhead position for fillet welds. The welder will be holding the torch at around 45º most of the times (even if it depends on the plate or pipe position), this time while being below the piece.

PE / 4G: Overhead position for butt welds. The welder will be holding the torch from directly below the piece. It is quite hard as a position and requires proper weld parameter settings.

Uphill and Downhill travel positions

Okay so the previous part of this post with the respective diagram is essentially referring to the horizontal travel welding positions, in which the weld progression is perpendicular to the welder’s position. We shall now discuss the positions in which weld progression is parallel to the welder’s position.

PF / 3G Uphill: Vertical up for butt or fillet welds. The welder uses the metal from the lower parts of the test piece and some superficial tension to perform welding against the force of gravity, while aiming the torch at around 45º.

PG / 3G Downhill: Vertical down for butt or fillet welds. The welder will use the metal from the upper parts of the test piece and the electric arc’s own kinetic force (as well as some superficial tension) to maintain the weld puddle. This is a good position in terms of productivity, and there are already very competent systems to weld in this position on semi-automatic welding.

PH / 5G Uphill: Vertical up position for pipe butt welds. This is a very common way of welding pipes manually. The welder will be welding in three different positions, starting with the overhead position, then going through the horizontal position, and finishing on the flat position

PH / 5G Downhill: Vertical down position for pipe butt welds. This is a very productive way of welding pipes manually, but should be done only with specific equipment for pipe welding against the force of gravity. The welder will be welding in three different positions, starting with the flat position, then going through the horizontal position, and finishing on the overhead position.

H-L045 / 6G Uphill and J-L045 / 6G Downhill: The hardest positions for a welder to perform. Usually only performed on weld tests, in order to qualify a welder for all other positions. This is essentially the same as PH / PJ / 5G but with the pipe at a 45º angle.

H-L045 / 6G Uphill

J-L045 / 6G Downhill

So, to summarize, these are the comparisons between ISO standard positions and ASME / AWS nomenclature:

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Best regards,
Tiago Pereira
CEO at WeldNote, Welding Management Software