What is EN ISO 9606-1

The world of welding has taken another step along it’s evolving path of European qualifications.

The previous welding qualification of BS EN 287-1 has now been replaced by the latest offering, EN ISO 9606-1.
This new qualification is very similar to the older 287-1 but has evolved to take care of a few loose ends that came about as a result of the EN 1090 rules governing the welding and erecting of structural stuff  (see separate article ). When the 1090 rules became law in July 2014 there were a few loose ends that needed qualifying.
One example was that under the older 287-1 qualification a MIG proceedure wasn’t specific enough. In other words the were no specifics in the MIG test to say what type of MIG welder was used.
In the new 9606-1 qualification the type of MIG welder is crucial to which type of machine the operator can use in the future.

There are now lots of very technical MIG welding machines around that can offer the operator “talent enhancing” options such as the arc process controlled by software. Don’t get me wrong as these  machines help to keep the weld process under a tighter control and so ultimately the weld is more consistent.

The “Old fashioned ” type of MIG machine very often had just a power control knob and a wire speed knob. It was up to the operator to select the optimum settings for the machine and the weld needed for the job in hand.

The new EN ISO 9606-1 proceedure defines which type of MIG welding machine was used in the test and then limits the operator to use only that type of machine. ie, Pulse MIG as opposed to an old fashoined “short circuit arc process” type.

Be careful when taking your test as the old fashioned short circuit type machine will cover the operator to use the modern Pulse MIG type machines but if you take your test on a modern Pulse set with added software controls, you will be limited to use that type if machine and NOT any type!
There are other parts that have been tightened up on but they are too numerous to go into them all here.
Suffice to say the new EN ISO 9606-1 is different to the older BS EN 287-1 but not much.

Disclaimer

These articles represent my own personal opinion and are not meant to be taken as offering advice.

More Articles: