Properties of Curved Parts Laser Cladding Based on Controlling Spot Size

Abstract

In this study, a method based on controlling the laser spot size was proposed in the process of curved parts laser cladding, and the coatings obtained by this method were analysed through investigation of the microstructure, microhardness, adhesion property and wear resistance properties. The nonuniform rational B-spline surface (NURBS) reconstruction method was used to obtain the workpiece geometrical characteristics of laser cladding, and through the establishment of a mathematical model, the process of the laser beam working on the curved surface was simplified as the intersection of the cylinder and curvature sphere. Then, the spot size was transformed into the area of a cylinder intersecting with a sphere, and by adjusting the laser head, the size of the laser spot was controlled in the threshold and interpolation points were obtained. The laser cladding trajectory was ensured by these interpolation points, and the experiment was carried out to study the properties of the coating. The results showed that the average coating thickness was about 1.07 mm, and the fluctuation of coating thickness did not exceed 0.05 mm; also, there were no cracks or pores in the layer after penetrant flaw detection. The SEM showed that the grains passed through the transition of plane crystal, cellular crystal, dendrite and equiaxed crystal from the bottom to the top of the layer. After 30 cycles of thermal shock tests, the cladding layer was still well bonded with the substrate and the microhardness and wear resistance were 2 times and 1.4 times higher than that of substrate, respectively.