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limited number of Australian companies have commercialised laser-applied
coatings, as this is a relatively new and expensive technology.
In July 1999, we commissioned two high-powered CNC industrial laser
systems, to compliment hydraulic cylinder manufacturing and general
maintenance services to the mining industry. Laser surface engineering can be used to technically advance new designs or recover used components. Coating or modifying sections of the material surface can tailor component design to cope with a mixture of specific working environments, whilst maintaining the original bulk material properties. As there is extremely low heat input, the process is suited to the resurfacing of high cost, closely toleranced, alloy steel components, that are prone to distort, have their bulk properties compromised, or crack when welded. The metallurgical bond contributes to the mechanical strength of the component, and where low or medium hardness materials are selected, the coating can be srewcut, milled, drilled or otherwise machined or formed using conventional tooling. Laser cladding may be used for large area coverage by overlapping individual tracks, as in conventional welding, or to cover smaller localised areas tailored to individual applications. The maximum thickness of a single pass is 2mm and layers can be built up to any thickness. Dilution is routinely controlled to less than 3%, producing coatings that are metallurgically superior to those produced by arc welding processes. |
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The larger of the two machines was designed to handle a variety
of workpieces up to 1 metre diameter, 6 metres long and 10 tonne
weight. Materials available for laser cladding include stainless
steels, high nickel alloys, cobalt based alloys, iron chrome alloys,
aluminium bronze and tungsten carbide, prepared as atomised powder
and deposited through a co-axial laser cladding head. |
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