Infrared Camera Analysis of Laser Hardening

The improvement of surface properties such as laser hardening becomes very important in present manufacturing. Resulting laser hardening depth and surface hardness can be affected by changes in optical properties of material surface, that is, by absorptivity that gives the ratio between absorbed energy and incident laser energy. The surface changes on tested sample of steel block were made by engraving laser with different scanning velocity and repetition frequency. During the laser hardening the process was observed by infrared (IR) camera system that measures infrared radiation from the heated sample and depicts it in a form of temperature field. The images from the IR camera of the sample are shown, and maximal temperatures of all engraved areas are evaluated and compared. The surface hardness was measured, and the hardening depth was estimated from the measured hardness profile in the sample cross-section. The correlation between reached temperature, surface hardness, and hardening depth is shown. The highest and the lowest temperatures correspond to the lowest/highest hardness and the highest/lowest hardening depth.