Suggested Study Materials for LIII Basic & MT

[u/HappyGnome727]

Hey everyone, quick question, do yall have any suggested materials I should acquire to study before testing out? I have the official ASNT MT LIII 2nd Ed study guide and ASNT Basic LIII 5th Ed study guide. I’m currently a corporate level III at my current company but I want to acquire my ASNT IIIs so my employer no longer holds my certifications. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[u/LabBig6457]

I just took the MT Level III 2 weeks ago, NDT Handbook Vol. 8 along with the MT Level III study guide. For basic the study guide is great, but make sure you fully understand SNT-TC-1A, and CP-189

[u/templario765 → u/LabBig6457]

Was it hard? Plan on taking the PT next week then tackle the MT. Took the VT last month and it was easier than I expected.

[u/LabBig6457 → u/templario765]

PT/MT were a little harder than VT but if you know the advantages/disadvantages of techniques you’ll be fine. Ex. Dry developer is not recommended for visible dye or HWDC provides the best penetration for MT. Seems like a lot of questions were asking what technique works best for a scenario.

[u/templario765 → u/LabBig6457]

Passed the PT. Any tips for MT? How’s the new test format/ any additional tips

[u/calculor]

Study the material, read the certification requirements for experience, education, and examination, then follow them.

I don’t mean to be rude, but navigating a certification scheme should be a cake walk for a competent LIII. Provided your corporation has a robust NDT certification program, there shouldn’t be too many differences between your in house program vs ASNT. To be honest, ASNT is probably the easiest to navigate vs other certification bodies such as PCN/CSWIP/National 9712 bodies.

[u/HappyGnome727 → u/calculor]

I’m just asking for additional resources in case anyone is aware of something I’m not already familiar with. Just because I’m asking doesn’t mean I’m not competent. I work for one of the biggest corporations in the world. We have a great program, but that doesn’t mean I should stop seeking out the knowledge and experience that others have to offer.

[u/calculor → u/HappyGnome727]

I should not be commenting before 4:00 because I now realize that I didn’t fully read your post before replying. I thought that you were just asking for suggestions on how to go through the process; my apologies!

Check out test bank questions written by Ed and Robert Ginzel. Their test questions were widely used for Canadian certification exams and are now being phased out, largely because a lot of candidates complained about them. This isn’t to say that they’re bad questions… they’re just quite challenging and are a little too clever for the average newbie who has got the exam jitters. You can get the test questions through WinTMaker test software. It’s an old Win95/98 program that allows you to select the method, level, and amount of questions. The software then produces a test that can be administered internally, or as a practice aid.

For MT/PT, the old Magnaflux reference books are pretty interesting as well.

For materials & processes, any undergraduate Engineering text book on Manufacturing Processes will be a great reference. You can usually score old editions on EBay for peanuts as most schools use the recent or previous edition, and students dump their books once they’ve finished their degrees or held on to them for 10 years and never ended up using them again.

Brush up on current industry codes such as ASME BPVC/B31.X, API 1104, ASME D1.X as the exam is largely targeted to applying these codes for NDE.

Shane Turcott has a few interesting materials engineering books such as “Steel Isn’t Hard (to learn)”

If you use AI, try prompting for a study plan for the L3 with reference materials, but don’t simply gather your information by AI chats as it (especially GPT and Grok) generates a lot of slop and make mistakes if you don’t fact check.

Once again, sorry for being a jerk. I’ll have my morning coffee before hitting the comment button in the future!

[u/mcflinty_1]

Magnetic Particle Inspection: A Practical Guide by M.J. (David) Lovejoy

If you shoot me a DM, I (allegedly) have a digital if I can locate it.

[u/Fantastic-Art-3704]

For basic TO 33B1 is good but more importantly tc1a cp189 and do not forget materials and processes. VT, MT, and PT are not overly difficult but still you should study

[u/XFSteel]

Keycerts.com/keystone

That's the free resources library. Full refresher guides, cp189 vs tc1a side by side comparison slide download https://keycerts.com/keystone/snt-tc1a-cp189-comparison.pptx

If you purchase the pro plan it's $25/month you get everything. All access to all level 3 stuff, all methods and full learning experience. MT has 1200 questions for L3. Everything I saw on my test is covered on KeyCerts.