The structure and properties of laser seam stepper system (LSS) welded the low alloy high strength steel DOCOL 1200M with martensitic structure

This paper will present the influence of joining process parameters on the structure and properties of overlapped welded joints of 1.8 mm DOCOL 1200M steel. The obtained welded joints were subjected to micro- and macroscopic metallographic examination and hardness measurement. The visual inspections and non-destructive testing made it possible to develop the field of welding parameters to allow obtaining full penetration joints (depending on requirements) or partial penetration joints. For present welding parameters, i.e. feed rate and weld length, which are constant, the actual length of weld is determined by welding frequency. In each case, the microscopic examinations revealed martensitic structure in the weld area, and with the increase in linear welding energy the size of martensite needles became larger, especially in relation to the base material. In HAZ, the martensitic structure is tempered. It has been shown that with appropriately selected parameters the Laser SEAM Stepper method is suitable for welding the DOCOL 1200M steel. With the increase in welding power, the penetration depth increases.