Low-Energy Welding Methods Used for Semi-Automatic Thin-Walled Automotive Steels

The paper deals with the issues of welding modern car-body steels (including dual phase (DP), high strength low alloy (HSLA) and deep-drawing (DC) grades) using low-energy methods. In view of small thickness of elements to be joined, welding them with conventional arc methods has becoming more and more rare and has been replaced with methods which, while ensuring required strength properties of joints, deliver substantially less heat to the weld, thus limiting its effect on the structure being welded. Examinations (visual inspections, strength tests, hardness measurements) allowed an objective evaluation of selected low-energy methods with respect to MAG welding with CO2 shielding.