Laser cladding is a new technology regarding high-density laser beam as heat source to clad metal powders on the surface of spare parts in order to make out of quality protective coating, so that spare parts surface will be stiffer and more resistant to wear, corrosion, oxidation and high temperature.
With it, cladding layer is highly dense and uniform. Metallurgical bonding takes its shape along with substrate. Thickness of single cladding layer is usually 1-2mm, but users are allowed to enjoy other thicknesses as the case may be.
Nowadays, laser cladding technology has been widely applied in coal mining machinery, steel works equipment, automobile manufacturing, oil exploitation and other sectors and come a long way in terms of programmable manufacturing. In addition to surface remanufacturing, it is also suitable for metal 3D printing and rapid prototyping manufacturing (RPM). In a manner of speaking, a wealth of structures and forms can be set at will.
When it comes to powder feeding, laser cladding machine is compatible with preset and synchronized type. By comparison, the synchronized powder feeding features less consumables, better controllability, higher utilization of laser, more even cladding layer and smaller heat-affected zone of substrate. In practical application, this manner also creates the higher efficiency gains and stands for the future development of laser cladding.
As an emerging surface treatment craft, laser cladding is gradually developing through experiment research and practical application, including large-scale popularization across industries and ever-deeper research. Thanks to its low dilution rate and metallurgical bonding together with substrate, the technology has been widely applied in coal and oil mining machinery, which will have a vast prospect in mechanical parts repair and additive manufacturing because of emergence of ultra-high-speed laser cladding technology.
For the moment, laser cladding is moving towards: I. machine intellectualization; II. from low to high efficiency; III. change to pure ceramic coating from traditional iron-, nickel-, cobalt-based metals or metal ceramic composite coating in terms of coating materials; IV. give up thermal spraying powder and build its own powder system.
Its market scale increased from CNY 1.97 billion in 2016 to CNY 5.02 billion in 2022, with its compound annual growth rate of 16.9%. After years of development, small and low-power laser cladding machine has developed to maturation, therefore, its added value is on the decline amid the increasingly heated competition. Nevertheless, there is still more room for development when referring to large high-power machines, core spare parts, machining equipment special for advanced and sophisticated fields, as well as intelligent manufacturing lines.
Over the years, laser cladding industry is speeding up as laser technology makes great progress and upstream core spare parts are increasingly localized. China is a major equipment producer. During the fourteenth five-year period (2021-2025), domestic hi-end equipment manufacturing industry was, is and will maintain fast growth, such as, intelligent manufacturing, new energy vehicles, as well as ocean engineering, rail transit and aerospace equipment. Both shafts and rail tracks disabled by abrasion and corrosion can be superficially reinforced by laser cladding, as a result, their resistance to wear and corrosion is increased and overall service life is prolonged. It can be said that this craft is able to repair the ineffective spare parts without any pollution. Finally total costs, energy, materials and consumption are sharply saved.
Accompanied by the constantly developing science and technology, laser cladding will surely replace traditional metal surface treatment patterns, such as, electroplating, spraying and arc additive manufacturing, and get more market shares. In the short term, it is about to explore how to upgrade its machines, optimize its crafts and develop out the more preferable material system.