Laser cladding

Laser cladding uses a laser beam to melt the coating material and a thin layer of the substrate to form a low dilution, pore- and crack-free coating, bonded perfectly to the substrate. The process may be used for large area coverage by overlapping individual tracks, but it is its ability to protect smaller, localized areas that makes it unique. This, together with the wide range of materials that can be deposited, makes laser cladding particularly suitable for tailoring surface properties to local service requirements and opens up new horizons for surface engineered materials. Powder injection laser cladding is superior to alternative processes and has found relatively widespread use for the protection of materials against wear, corrosion and oxidation, for the deposition of thermal barriers, and for the refurbishing of components and tools. Other applications with considerable potential are non-equilibrium synthesis of advanced materials, alloy development and free-form near-net shape manufacturing.