Visual Testing (VT) Practice Exam

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What is a common cause of undercut during the welding process?

Excessive voltage or current.
Slow travel speed.
Excessive travel speed.
Both excessive voltage or current and excessive travel speed.

The correct answer is: Both excessive voltage or current and excessive travel speed.

A common cause of undercut during the welding process is linked to the combination of excessive voltage or current along with excessive travel speed. When the voltage or current is too high, it can lead to deeper penetration of the weld, but if this is paired with excessive travel speed, the weld pool does not have sufficient time to fill the gap properly. This combination can create a situation where the base metal adjacent to the weld is melted away more than the actual weld bead, resulting in an undesired groove or undercut on the base material. Additionally, this phenomenon illustrates the importance of balance in welding parameters. If either voltage or travel speed is not optimized, it can lead to defects such as undercut, negatively affecting the structural integrity of the weld. Understanding these interactions is crucial for ensuring a quality weld and avoiding common defects.