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| LASER METAL CLADDING |
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A
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.
Advantages of Laser Surface Cladding are:
• Very low weld dilution
• Fusion bond
• Low heat input
• Minimal workpiece distortion
• Dense microstructure
• Chemically clean
• Thin or layered coating
• Minimal after machining
• Fast turnaround
• Wide material selection
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