Weld-all-round symbol

A circle at the reference line's elbow, calling for a continuous weld.

Also known as: Circle weld symbol, Peripheral weld

Engineering & technicalStandard profile

Meanings

A circle where the arrow meets the reference line means weld all the way around the joint. It saves repeating the symbol on each face and is easily missed, which turns a continuous weld into four separate ones.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Requires the weld to continue completely around the joint rather than only on the face the arrow points at.
Contexts: Technical drawing
Officially standardisedVerified fact
Is a small mark carrying a large instruction, and missing it produces separate welds where a continuous one was specified.
Contexts: Technical drawing

Visual description

A small circle drawn at the bend where the arrow line joins the horizontal reference line.

Symmetry: radial
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

ISO 2553, Welding and allied processes — Symbolic representation on drawings
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs welding symbols, their arrow and reference line construction. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
ISO 1101, Geometrical product specifications — Geometrical tolerancing
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs the geometric tolerancing symbols and their frames. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
AWS A2.4, Standard Symbols for Welding, Brazing, and Nondestructive Examination
American Welding Society · retrieved 2026-08-23
The North American welding symbol standard, whose arrow-side convention is the mirror of the ISO 2553 practice used elsewhere — a difference that changes which side of a joint is welded. The full text is NOT REPRODUCED here and has NOT BEEN READ in full; records cite it for the existence, issuing body and defined form of a mark. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
Welding symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.

Last reviewed 2026-08-23

Part of

Engineering drawing notation

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Meanings

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Requires the weld to continue completely around the joint rather than only on the face the arrow points at.

Contexts: Technical drawing

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Is a small mark carrying a large instruction, and missing it produces separate welds where a continuous one was specified.

Contexts: Technical drawing

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

ISO 2553, Welding and allied processes — Symbolic representation on drawings
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs welding symbols, their arrow and reference line construction. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
ISO 1101, Geometrical product specifications — Geometrical tolerancing
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs the geometric tolerancing symbols and their frames. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
AWS A2.4, Standard Symbols for Welding, Brazing, and Nondestructive Examination
American Welding Society · retrieved 2026-08-23
The North American welding symbol standard, whose arrow-side convention is the mirror of the ISO 2553 practice used elsewhere — a difference that changes which side of a joint is welded. The full text is NOT REPRODUCED here and has NOT BEEN READ in full; records cite it for the existence, issuing body and defined form of a mark. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
Welding symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.

Last reviewed 2026-08-23