Rebuilding of metal components with laser cladding forming

Laser cladding forming (LCF) is a novel powerful tool for the repairing of metal components. Rebuilding of V-grooves on medium carbon steel substrates has been carried out with laser cladding forming technique using stainless steel powder as the cladding material. Microstructure of the deposited layers has been characterized using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical properties of the rebuilt V-groove samples have been evaluated by tensile and impacting tests and microhardness measurement. Experimental results show that good fusion bonding between the rebuilt layers and the substrate has been formed, and the microstructure of the cladding layers is mainly composed of fine, dense and defect-free epitaxial columnar dendrites. Due to the effect of grain size refinement, the tensile strength, impacting toughness, elongation and microhardness of the rebuilt samples have been greatly enhanced compared to those of the substrate. Microhardness is also very uniform throughout the rebuilt regions. With the growth of the deposited layers, the microhardness increases gradually. The good ductility of the deposited regions is verified by the SEM fracture analysis.