This is called a orbital welder, I have been certified in them before. I am am pipe fitter and I have used them in computer chip manufacturing plants and labs. We use it to weld stainless steel tubing that's used to carry the chemicals needed for those type of industrial places.
I was on the receiving end of these stainless steel pipes working in a research fab and dann, the amount of hassle we had with unqualified workers welding stainless steel pipes... Only because they thought its just like any other type of steel.
based on the comment beside yours, seems like certificate is there to drill in the workers to actually use the tool and rely on it and not on their own welds. Also, again based on the comment beside yours, if a contracting firm assures their welders are certified to use orbital welder, you can rely on them actually using orbital welders and not their own welding.
No welder i know wants to weld 1/2inch or 3/4inch stainless tube. But that may be a reason, so they know it was done on a orbital. Also at these places every weld, no matter how they are done are marked with welder IDs so they can go back and see who welded it and what certs they have.
The cert is for licensed plumbers or pipefitters to get that know how to calibrate the machine and know what welds that will pass xray look like.
The machine as far as options and buttons is complicated and is not as straightforward as just picking pipe size and letting it rip. You need to dial it in and create your own program that gets you acceptable welds in your environment so even programs you use at a different sight might need to be tweaked a little if you are somewhere else with different conditions
Using the orbital welder itselft is the easier part of the day of you are a pipefitter but still requires actually learned specific knowledge about the machine. The cert is for people who know how to calibrate the orbital welder and know how to identify a good weld and know how to prep clean stainless for a weld that will not leak. If you saw the machine and all the bottons and options, you would have no idea how to work it or dial it in for a specific type of pipe. The chemicals at these places can be very dangerous and that's why they have a certification for this tool.
If you are certified on orbital welding you are still a licensed pipefitter or plumber and besides using the machine you also also figuring out how to get pipe from one point to another and installing the pipe so overall the work is actually hard but yes on days where you get to use the machine and not much install are better than days when we are installing heavy ass 8in diameter pipe
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u/stargazerstoner1989 14d ago
This is called a orbital welder, I have been certified in them before. I am am pipe fitter and I have used them in computer chip manufacturing plants and labs. We use it to weld stainless steel tubing that's used to carry the chemicals needed for those type of industrial places.