SWI Swiss Welding Institute

The objectives of the SWI foundation are the promotion and development of the quality and safety of welded assemblies. To achieve these objectives, SWI provides training and certification, and conducts applied research & development projects for regional and national businesses. This includes:

International theoretical and practical trainings in welding and electronic soldering,
Welding, brazing and electronic soldering certifications,
R&D projects co-financed with public, industrial or public funds.
Services to companies (eg consulting and training) such as :
- Quality and standards linked to welding
- Expertise of the welded / brazed assemblies
- Expertise of the soldering and crimping of electronic components
- Welding parameters and integration of the manufacturing processes
Performing tests with its own equipment for :
- Manual brazing or welding (TIG, MAG/MIG, MMA, micro plasma, OAW)
- Automated welding on tilting bench or rotary positioner
- Submerged arc welding
- Spot welding (P max = 210 kVA)
- Laser welding metal / polymer (4 axes, pulsed fiber laser 1.5 kW)
- Glovebox welding under inert atmosphere (argon O₂ < 2 ppm)
- Induction brazing
- Diffusion bonding in high vacuum oven and vacuum brazing
- Heat treatment in vacuum oven (< 1240 °C)
- Corrosion tests in artificial atmospheres - Neutral Salt Spray tests

The Swiss Welding Institute is an independent organization. It is a nonprofit public interest foundation as defined by Articles 80 and following of the Swiss Civil Code. It is operated by welding professionals. Under the foundation’s bylaws, its Board includes representatives of the market, government and non-government bodies, and the academic community.

For professionals or non, SWI is a certification body which issues certificates in the field of welding, brazing and electronic assembly to individuals who request them and meet the requirements of the standards in force.
For the companies, SWI is a testing laboratory for the qualification of welding and brazing processes.

SWI is a member of:

IIW - International Institute of Welding
EWF - European Federation for Welding, Cutting and Joining
IPC Association Connecting Electronics Industries

Institut SWI - HEIG-VD

BOARD OF THE FOUNDATION

President : Prof. Nicolas WEBER

MORE information

Swiss Welding Institute
Rue du Nord 3
CH-1401 Yverdon-les-Bains

T : +41 24 557 73 90
F : +41 24 557 73 87

Areas of expertise

Theoretical training

The SWI is the undisputed leader in welding training in Western Switzerland. It is the only Swiss ATB, according the IIW , offering a training in French recognized by over 50 countries. The SWI delivers the following qualifications:

International Welding Engineer IWE
International Welding Technologist IWT
International Welding Specialist IWS
International Welding Practitioner IWP

IIW graduates are essential for certified companies according to ISO 3834, EN 15085, EN 1090 or EN 17660 standards, but also to companies subject to Federal Ordinances on containers of dangerous goods linked to the european ADR/RID agrement or linked to the pressure equipements under European Directives 2014/68/UE (PED) and 2014/29/UE (SPVD).

The SWI also provides short advanced courses on request.

Practical training & certification

Practical welding training is a top priority at SWI. Each year, the SWI’s training center in Yverdon-les-Bains provides over 10,000 hours of courses. The vast majority of participants finalizes the training with a welder’s or brazer's certificate.

Since 2013, SWI issues, on his behalf, certificates of Welder Performance Qualification (WPQ) or Welding Operator Performance Qualification (WOPQ) to professionals who demonstrate compliance with workmanship requirements according to the standards :

ISO 9606-1
ISO 9606-2
ISO 9606-4
ISO 9606-6
ISO 14732 (operator)
ISO 13585 (brazer)

SWI is accredited according to the ISO 17024 standard by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) under number SCESe 116 and is a Recognised Third-Party Organisation (RTPO) according to Art. 20 of the European Directive 2014/68/EU on Pressure Equipment PED as stated in the NANDO list of Europeans Notified Bodies.

Testing Laboratory

According to the ISO 17025 standard, SWI is a testing laboratory for destructive and non-destructive testing of base materials and welds as well as qualification of welding and brazing processes.

If the requiered tests are compliants, SWI issues Welding Procedure Qualification Record (WPQR) based on clients Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) or Brazing Procedure Qualification Record (BPQR) based on clients Brazing Procedure Specification (BPS) according ISO 15613, ISO 15614 or EN 13134.

SWI is accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) under number STS 0715.

ESA training & certification

The SWI training center at the Technopôle de Sainte-Croix is the 7th ESA-approved skills training school (ie accredited by the European Space Agency according ESA STR-258) and the only Swiss institution providing certified training in high-reliability soldering according to European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) standards:

ECSS-Q-ST-70-08 cat. 3 operator
Hand-soldering operator for through-hole technology
ECSS-Q-ST-70-26 cat. 2/3 operator/inspector
Crimping of high-reliability electrical connections
ECSS-Q-ST-70-28 cat. 3 operator
Repair and Modification of PCBs
ECSS-Q-ST-70-38 cat. 3 operator
High-reliability soldering for surface mount and mixed technology
ECSS-Q-ST-70-08 cat. 2 operator
Hand-soldering Operator for THT/SMT

IPC training & certification

SWI is educating, training and certifying, in French, professionals of the electronics industry according to a standard recognized by over 50 countries. It is the industry standard program for quality assurance and visual acceptance of electronic assemblies based on the world's most widely used electronics assembly acceptability standard.

As a member of the IPC Association, the SWI trains and certifies :

IPC-A-610 CIS - Certified IPC Application Specialist
Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies
IPC/WHMA-A-620 CIS - Certified IPC Application Specialist
Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies

SWI provides training with certification and recertification as well as challenge-test recertification.

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