Laser Cladding of Ni-WC Layers with Graded WC Content

Coating techniques using powder as added material can be adapted for the manufacture of composition gradients if a mixing unit is included in the powder feed system. As for the laser cladding technology, FGM can be obtained if mixing parameters are changed along the process. This work deals with the development of NiCrBSi layers with WC graded composition. The purpose is to obtain longitudinal compositional gradients within distances of millimeters along a laser scan. To accomplish this task, the capabilities and time delays in the feeding system are identified and analyzed. Preliminar tests on single cladding beads show results in reasonable agreement with expectations.