The American Welding Society (www.aws.org) recently issued standards for nickel flux cored wires (A-5.34) that allow fabricators to choose from a variety of nickel alloys.

This standard is the first worldwide specification developed for the classification of nickel flux cored wires, according to Stoody Co. (www.thermadyne.com) a U.S. manufacturer of the wire.

Stoody said nickel flux cored wires have an advantage over traditional stick electrodes because they eliminate needless starting and stopping and the associated stub loss waste, making them more efficient.

The flux cored wires also provide higher deposition rates than solid wire, and allows welders to transition from shielded metal arc and gas metal arc processes to flux-cored welding and reap the benefits, Dr. Ravi Menon, vice president of technology for Stoody, said. Stoody is a Thermadyne Holdings Corp. company.

The AWS specification is expected to make nickel flux-cored wire products more accessible, and will define a broader range of applications for them, Menon said.

With the standards in place, welders will have confidence that the nickel flux - cored wires they use are made to the specification.

“This enables users to specify to manufacturers the exact classification, and the product must meet the requirements of the standard. They (users) can order the product by classification, which makes life easier for the user, and which also enables a broader range of applications because the procedures are written around the classification,” Menon said.

The new specification gives Stoody a broader number of applications for its nickel flux-cored wire product.

It also is expected to open up competition among consumable manufacturers.

However, the intangible is the weldability, Menon pointed out. “The product may meet all the classification requirements, but the user still might not like the performance,” he said.

Stoody said it has seen steady growth in its sales of nickel fluxcored wires, especially for applications on offshore drilling rigs, tanks used for liquefied natural gas (LNG), and to fabricate scrubbers used in power generating plants, Joe Hirscher, Stoody’s director of sales, said.

“The new AWS specification now will generate a wider acceptance of the wires and assure the industry of higher quality and productivity when welding in the vertical up position,” Hirscher said.

Menon added that customers have asked Stoody to specify on the product labels and in the company’s product literature that their nickel flux-cored wires meet this specification, because the AWS specification gives new credibility to the product’s performance.

“The addition of nickel fluxcored wires to the AWS specifications adds a level of legitimacy to the product. The client now can utilize the specification in lieu of lengthy welding qualifications. This saves the fabricator time and money while putting the end users mind at ease,” Hirscher said.