The article discusses the results of tests as well as quality assessments of test joints made of tubes having a nominal thickness of 1.5 mm, a rectangular cross-section and a width of 140 mm and a length of 240 mm, made of ferritic stainless steel grade 1.4509 with the addition of microagents and used in the production of catalyst housings and diesel particulate filters. Test joints were made using a prototype line equipped with a TruDisk 2002 disk laser (TRUMPF) at a ROCH production plant in Tarnowskie Góry. The tests involved the preparation of an experimental batch of tubes. The tubes used in the tests were subjected to various procedures, i.e. only to laser welding (5 specimens), to the rolling of the weld surface after laser welding (5 specimens) and to the additional heat treatment of the joint area after welding (5 specimens). Most of the test welded joints represented high quality level B and were characterised by tensile strength not lower than that of the base material as well as by high plasticity confirmed in the Erichsen cupping test. However, slight undercuts of the weld root revealed in the tests indicated the risk of the partial lack of penetration or the formation of excessive undercuts in the production process. The foregoing necessitates the strict application of the welding procedure and, in particular, the ensuring of the high precision of laser beam positioning and accuracy when preparing sheet edges before welding.

doi: 10.17729/ebis.2022.3/1