Boriding of Laser-Clad Inconel 718 Coatings for Enhanced Wear Resistance

Nickel-based superalloys are particularly suitable for applications under corrosive conditions. Economic advantages can be achieved by limiting the use of materials to the surface region. Furthermore, the tribological property profile can be significantly improved by surface hardening. In the present study, the possibility of a process combination comprising a coating and a surface hardening technology was investigated. For this purpose, Inconel 718 coatings were applied to austenitic stainless steel by laser cladding. Subsequently, a thermochemical surface hardening by boriding was carried out. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examinations were performed to evaluate the microstructure. The phase composition was determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the different states of the coating system. The influence of thermochemical hardening was investigated for different wear conditions. The increase in microhardness and wear resistance clearly demonstrates the utilization potential of the presented process combination.

Process design of a novel combination of peel grinding and deep rolling

Grinding is mostly considered as a finishing operation by which a high surface quality is achieved. An increase in productivity is therefore limited by maintained surface properties such as the roughness or tensile residual stresses. Thus, a roughing operation is inevitable followed by a finishing operation, while both operations are separated, leading to larger cycle times and process costs. In this paper, a novel process combination is investigated in which the roughing is done by grinding and the finishing operation by deep rolling within one tool setup. In this way, both processes are conducted parallel within the primary processing time. The objective of this study is the knowledge of the characteristics of this process combination with regard to the workpiece surface integrity. Therefore, shafts are ground in peel grinding with varying grinding wheel types and process parameters and subsequently machined with deep rolling. The process combination is evaluated with regard to the process forces and the resulting surface properties. In addition, experiments using the process combination were conducted in order to investigate the transferability of the results towards the process combination. By this approach, it was found that the surface roughness was reduced up to 80% by deep rolling showing the potential of the process combination.

Deacidification through calcium carbonate dosing in combination with ultrafiltration

Soft acidic waters are often treated for drinking water purposes by using limestone filters to attain chemical equilibrium. The present study investigated the process parameters of a relatively new process combination in which powdered calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was added prior to an ultrafiltration (UF). In order to reach the targeted pH value (≥7.8), dosing concentration, type of material and retention time were evaluated in pilot-scale experiments. The deacidification followed the same kinetics as for limestone filtration and yielded similar filtrate characteristics with dosing concentrations of 20 and 40 g/L CaCO3. No significant increase in transmembrane pressure was observed during the operation of a pilot-scale UF module at low flux (34 L m−2 h−1). Critical flux was determined in a lab scale to evaluate the potential impact of CaCO3 particles on the UF operation. Stepping-flux experiments revealed the presence of fouling only at high-dosing concentrations, resulting in a critical flux of 55 L m−2 h−1. At a higher flux, a CaCO3-fouling layer was formed, which decreased the membrane's permeability by 20% over 5 h. Considering that effective air-enhanced backwash and acidic chemical cleanings will be implemented in large-scale applications, the investigated process combination promises to be an appropriate treatment technology for turbid and soft acidic waters.

Efficient Finishing of Laser Beam Melting Additive Manufactured Parts

In many cases, the functional performance of additively manufactured components can only be ensured by finishing the functional surfaces. Various methods are available for this purpose. This paper presents a procedure for selecting suitable processes for finishing laser beam melting additive–manufactured parts which is ultimately based on technological knowledge. It was experimentally proven that the use of several consecutive finishing processes is beneficial to achieve better surface quality. One finishing process chain was particularly effective (namely particle blasting/vibratory grinding/plasma electrolytic polishing) and the technological limits of this method were investigated in this study. The optimal parameters for this process combination ensured a surface roughness Sa < 1 µm.

Speeding up Additive Manufacturing by Means of Forming for Sheet Components with Core Structures

A new process combination route consisting of additive manufacturing (AM) with a subsequent forming operation is proposed. The process route has the opportunity to increase the efficiency of the AM process route up to 360%. Stainless steel 316L sheets with different core structures (similar to sandwich sheets) are produced by AM, characterized, and formed in a die bending operation. The bending characteristics of this novel semi-finished product can be accurately predicted in a numerical simulation. The new process route is discussed in detail and compared to conventional AM parts in terms of the production efficiency.

In situ curing and bonding of epoxy prepregs in epoxy thermoset injection molding

In this study, epoxy molding compounds are combined with fast-curing epoxy prepregs in thermoset injection molding using a new integrative process. The combination is carried out under the varied parameters of mold temperatures and curing times, which are dominant factors in thermoset processing. The focus of the investigations is the bond strength in the interface resulting from these parameters, as the interface is known as the weak point of hybrid components. To identify causes for possible increases and decreases of the bond strength, additional rheological and thermoanalytical analyses are done under near-process conditions. The influence of prepreg pre-crosslinking, a function of the mold temperature, is also described by means of additional tests in which specific pre-crosslinking of the prepreg is adjusted by the temperature storage and then functionalized in integrative process combination. The aim of the study is to identify and understand initial process limits for the integrative process combination for a potential process window.

Process- and material-induced heterogeneities in recycled thermoplastic composites

A novel recycling solution for thermoplastic composites (TPCs) was recently implemented. The processing steps comprise shredding of TPC offcuts to flakes of a few centimetres, melting and blending of the flakes in a low-shear mixer, extrusion of a molten mixed dough and subsequent compression moulding in a press. This material and process are similar to the compression moulding of long-fibre thermoplastics (LFTs) that have been in the market for decades, such as glass mat thermoplastics (GMT) or direct-LFT. However, the input material in this recycling route consists of multi-layered woven flakes, which is very different from the pellets or chopped rovings of other LFTs. Process- and material-induced heterogeneities such as fibre orientation, percolation, variation of fibre fraction, or fibre attrition may be different for this new material. The development of this recycling technology and future industrial applications require more confidence in the material and process. The objective of this study is to characterise these heterogeneities for this recycling solution, and compare them to those generated in regular LFTs. It was found that the process- and material-induced heterogeneities of the recycled TPCs are similar to other LFTs, for the aspects listed here: fibre orientation, percolation, variation of fibre fraction and fibre attrition. In comparison to GMT, the effect of the mixing step is particularly noticeable on the local variation of fibre fraction within the panels. Industrial applications of this recycling route will benefit from this similarity, as it improves the confidence in the material and process combination.