The Effectiveness of the Continuous Clamping (Strongback) Method in Controlling Distortion during Welding Practical Work at the Welding Technology Workshop, Sungai Buloh Vocational College

Abstract

Welding distortion is a persistent obstacle in vocational welding training, where students must simultaneously manage arc control, electrode angle, travel speed and workpiece stability. This action research evaluated the use of a continuous clamp (strongback) as a mechanical restraint during Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) butt-joint practicals on 6 mm carbon steel plate. Twenty-eight Malaysian Vocational Diploma students in the Welding Technology programme at Sungai Buloh Vocational College took part, selected by purposive sampling. The study followed one Kemmis and McTaggart cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection. Data were gathered through direct distortion measurement in millimetres, a structured observation checklist, a post-intervention questionnaire, photographic documentation and assessment of finished joints, and were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Mean measured distortion fell from 5.2 mm before the intervention to 1.9 mm after it, a reduction of approximately 63.5 per cent, while the proportion of students in the high-distortion category fell from 57.1 to 10.7 per cent. Observation further indicated more consistent compliance with the recommended welding procedure, particularly in maintaining restraint until the workpiece had cooled. Because the design used a single intact group with no control group and no inferential testing, these results describe change within one cohort rather than establishing a causal effect. The findings nonetheless suggest that a low-cost mechanical aid can support dimensional accuracy and procedural discipline in vocational welding workshops, and they provide a defensible basis for a larger controlled study.

Abstrak: Herotan kimpalan merupakan halangan berterusan dalam latihan kimpalan vokasional, memandangkan pelajar perlu mengawal arka, sudut elektrod, kelajuan gerakan dan kestabilan bahan kerja secara serentak. Kajian tindakan ini menilai penggunaan pengapit berterusan (strongback) sebagai kaedah sekatan mekanikal semasa amali kimpalan sambungan temu proses Kimpalan Arka Logam Berperisai (SMAW) ke atas plat keluli karbon 6 mm. Seramai 28 orang pelajar Diploma Vokasional Malaysia dalam Program Teknologi Kimpalan di Kolej Vokasional Sungai Buloh terlibat, dipilih menerusi persampelan bertujuan. Kajian ini mengikuti satu kitaran Model Kemmis dan McTaggart yang merangkumi fasa perancangan, tindakan, pemerhatian dan refleksi. Data dikumpulkan menerusi pengukuran herotan secara langsung dalam unit milimeter, senarai semak pemerhatian berstruktur, soal selidik selepas intervensi, dokumentasi fotografi serta penilaian hasil kerja, dan dianalisis menggunakan statistik deskriptif dan analisis tematik. Purata herotan yang diukur menurun daripada 5.2 mm sebelum intervensi kepada 1.9 mm selepas intervensi, iaitu pengurangan kira-kira 63.5 peratus, manakala peratusan pelajar dalam kategori herotan tinggi menurun daripada 57.1 peratus kepada 10.7 peratus. Pemerhatian turut menunjukkan pematuhan yang lebih konsisten terhadap prosedur kimpalan yang disyorkan, terutamanya dalam mengekalkan sekatan sehingga bahan kerja sejuk. Memandangkan reka bentuk kajian menggunakan satu kumpulan utuh tanpa kumpulan kawalan dan tanpa ujian inferensi, dapatan ini memerihalkan perubahan dalam satu kohort dan bukan membuktikan hubungan sebab akibat. Walau bagaimanapun, dapatan menunjukkan bahawa alat bantu mekanikal berkos rendah berpotensi menyokong ketepatan dimensi dan disiplin prosedur di bengkel kimpalan vokasional.