“Part A is closed book. There’s nothing on the table but what you brought in your head.”
Welding Quality Fundamentals is built for three people: the CWI candidate preparing for Part A of the AWS examination, the engineer who specifies and signs off on welded assemblies, and the procurement professional managing welding suppliers. It covers welding processes and their variables, joint geometry and weld symbols, metallurgy and heat effects, discontinuities and their causes, destructive and nondestructive test methods, terminology, inspection duties and documentation, and safety.
For the CWI candidate, that breadth is the point. Part A is closed book — no code, no specimens, and no credit for the depth you have in your own shop's processes. Most candidates who fail it know welding; they know one corner deeply and everything else thinly. This course covers the full range in the terminology the exam uses, with practice questions written from the underlying technical requirements, not from any published question bank. Online, self-paced, start any time.
Welding Quality Fundamentals · $599
Welding fundamentals for CWI Part A candidates, engineers, and supply-chain professionals. Covers welding processes and their variables, joint geometry and weld symbols, metallurgy and heat effects, weld discontinuities and their causes, destructive and nondestructive test methods, welding terminology, inspection duties and documentation, and safety. Online, self-paced, start any time. Includes topic quizzes, a practice exam, and a dated record of training hours.
For CWI candidates, this is the closed-book Part A fundamentals section — the part with no code book, no specimens, and no credit for depth in your own shop's processes. The course covers the full range in the terminology the exam uses, with practice questions written from the underlying technical requirements.
CWI ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Certification is issued by the American Welding Society, not by a school. AWS QC1 sets the education, work experience, and vision requirements to sit for the examination.
Candidates must also pass a near-vision acuity examination at Jaeger J2 at 12 inches or greater, with or without corrective lenses. The examination has three parts — A (fundamentals, closed book), B (practical), and C (code book, open book) — and each part must be passed at 72% or higher.
AMS Level 3 prepares you for Part A. AWS certifies you. This course covers the fundamentals section only. Parts B and C are separate sections of the CWI examination and are not covered here. AMS Level 3 does not administer the CWI exam or issue CWI certification.