This specification provides requirements for the design and manufacture of welded joints of hydraulic cylinders. When specified in the contract documents, compliance with all the requirements shall be required. This specification does not apply to the manufacture of welded tubing used for hydraulic cylinders which is covered under ASTM and other recognized specifications. This specification does not specify load determination, design assumptions, safety factors, or calculation methods for non-weld related areas of the hydraulic cylinder.

Responsibilities

The Manufacturer’s adherence to this specification shall include responsibility for the following:

(1) welding, as defined in 1.1, in accordance with this specification;

(2) producing welds as designated on drawings by appropriate symbols and notes, with sufficient detail to show joint preparation compatible with applied processes;

(3) providing written welding procedure specifications (WPSs);

(4) recording and maintaining results of all welding procedure and welder performance qualification tests;

(5) controlling use of designated base metals and welding consumables;

(6) inspecting the welds to the requirements of this specification;

(7) having a welding quality program in place. The requirements of AWS B5.17, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Fabricators may be used as a guide in establishing this welding quality program. Accreditation of quality systems of welding fabricators may be obtained through the AWS Certified Welding Fabricator (CWF) or equivalent programs.

(8) determining the responsible technical authority when the term “Engineer” is used. If the Owner wants to assume engineering responsibility, it shall be specified in the contract documents.

The ‘Engineer’ in this document shall have specific technical expertise, such as, but not limited to, welding engineering or design engineering.

Welding Engineer.

The Manufacturer’s technical authority typically responsible for developing welding procedure specifications (WPS), procedure qualification records (PQR) and performance qualification test record (PQTR). The Welding Engineer may also have expertise in welding process selection; weld metallurgy and weld filler metal selection; weld joint design and weld sizing; weld fixture design and weld robot programing; weld inspection and weld defect/failure root cause analysis. Qualifications for a welding engineer shall meet one of the following criteria:

(1) An AWS Certified Welding Engineer in conformance with the provisions of AWS B5.16, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Engineers,

(2) IIW International Welding Engineer (IWE),

(3) Professional Engineer – Welding, or

(4) An individual who by degree, training, or experience is qualified in welding engineering disciplines.

Design Engineer.

The technical authority typically responsible for developing equipment configuration; analyzing stress levels (such as but not limited to finite element analysis (FEA) and strain gage data); choosing material type and thickness; determining weld joint type and weld size; and evaluating cyclic loading and fatigue life. The Design Engineer may also provide judgments on weld defect criticality and weld inspection requirements. See AWS D14.4/D14.4M, Specification for the Design of Welded Joints in Machinery and Equipment for design criteria for allowable stresses for the base and weld metal and the fatigue analysis for welded joints. Qualification for a Design Engineer shall meet one of the following criteria:

(1) Professional or Chartered Engineer—Mechanical, Civil, Structural, Agricultural, or

(2) An individual who by degree, training, or experience is qualified in design of structures.