Cladding and Additive Layer Manufacturing with a Laser Supported Arc Process

This paper describes the potential of a new process, combining the geometrical precision of a laser technique and the deposition rates of GMA cladding. Dilutions as low as 3 % can be achieved, leading to a high purity, in the first layer. Different material combinations like mild steel with X45CrSi9-3 are presented. Microsections for penetration depth determination show the high quality of the deposition layers. A hardness of the coatings of 63 HRC is reached. Hardfacing of shafts serve as an application example. The low heat input enables the process to build up structures. This results in a process variant for additive layer manufacturing which is also presented. The production of macro-sized structures is shown and discussed.