Parameters Development for Optimum Deposition Rate in Laser DMD of Stainless Steel EN X3CrNiMo13-4

Laser Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) has been developed as a manufacturing process to deposit coatings on existing materials and proves advantageous in Additive Manufacturing (AM) of complex and precise components. However, it is necessary to carefully determine the proper process parameter combinations to make this method economically viable for industries. The intent of this study is to address enhancement in productivity of laser DMD of stainless steel EN X3CrNiMo13-4. Accordingly, the effects of the main laser process parameters of laser power P, scan speed v, powder flow rate $$\dot{\mathrm{m}}$$ m ˙ , and spot diameter s on track geometries and build-up rate are discussed. The regression analysis is conducted to derive correlations between the combined set of main parameters and deposition rate. The results show a good linear regression correlation of R2 >0.9 for the geometrical characteristic of aspect ratio, dilution, and deposition rate. The constructed processing map, using linear regression equations, presents proper process parameters selection in connection with deposition rate, aspect ratio, and dilution rate.

Study on Preparation of Aluminum Ash Coating Based on Plasma Spray

Ultimate aluminum ash (UAA) was used as the key raw material to prepare ultimate spray powder (USP) via water hydrolysis and ball milling, after which the coating was prepared by atmospheric plasma spray. The flowability of the USP was evaluated by the angle of repose; the process parameters of the coating were determined by orthogonal experiment, and the microstructure and properties of the coating were characterized. The results show that the ultimate spray powder after granulation has an angle of repose less than 40°, which meets the requirements of plasma spray. When the spray current is 600 A, the spray voltage is 55 V, the powder flow rate is 22 g/min, and the main air flow is 33 lspm, the prepared ultimate coating has the best comprehensive performance. The microhardness of the coating is 512 HV, which is about 1.5 times the hardness of the substrate; the abrasion rate is 18.53 × 10–3 g/min; the porosity is 0.17% and the average adhesive strength is 8.78 Mpa, which confirms the feasibility of using aluminum ash as a spray powder to prepare a coating.

A contribution to laser cladding of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

A wear resistant coating was successfully made on an annealed Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy by laser surface cladding using 60 wt.% WC + wt.% 40 NiCrBSi powder blends. Coaxial laser cladding was performed by means of Yb:YAG disk laser with a 3-KW continuous wave. Different laser interaction times were attempted to get the optimal conditions for promising mechanical properties. The new contribution was to accomplish larger clad layer thickness with applying the shortest possible laser interaction time that can achieve superior clad layer properties. This will decrease energy consumption with an expected money saving which is an essential factor for successful engineering solutions. A high powder flow rate of 20 g.min−1 was intended in order to obtain a thick, nonporous and crack free clad layer. The clad samples were subjected to thorough microstructure investigations, in addition to microhardness and wear evaluation. The coating so produced exhibits multiple hardness values and exceptional wear resistance under adhesive/sliding wear conditions. The obtained results expose clad layer with superior quality that was achieved at a laser interaction time of 0.3 s. An enhancement in the microhardness values of the clad layers by more than fourfold was attained and the wear resistance was thus significantly improved.