Laser cladding of iron-based alloys to prepare cladding layers of varying hardness

Laser cladding is a process that involves adding a cladding material (usually through pre-laying or powder feeding) to the surface of a substrate, then using a high-energy-density laser beam to fuse it together with the substrate surface, forming a metallurgical bond.

Because laser cladding involves faster heating and cooling rates than other spraying processes, the stress between the weld layer and the substrate is greater, leading to a higher likelihood of weld layer cracking.

Currently, our factory has developed five types of iron-based alloy powders suitable for laser cladding, with hardness ranging from HRC20 to 62. After testing, the weld layer achieved a 2mm thickness on one side without cracking on an 8cm diameter roller.

This is a laser cladding layer applied to a 15cm diameter shaft, using three low-hardness laser cladding powders: stainless steel 316, Fe7, and Fe6. The image shows the result after simple polishing. The hardnesses of the cladding layers prepared from these three materials are 41, 56, and 49 HRC, respectively.