High precision surface protection of Al-based alloy parts using laser micro cladding

Laser cladding is a well-known technique for wear protection coating tasks. Modern equipment for laser cladding enables material to be deposited with a lateral resolution of about 100 μm and to produce high precision surface coating on small size parts. In this paper laser micro cladding process was investigated to produce wear protective coatings on Al-based alloy surface. Al-matrix composite (AlSi30) surface layers with thickness in the range 15–600 μm were formed on AlMgSi0,5 alloy surface by laser micro cladding. The influence of laser cladding parameters (powder mass flow, vertical increment etc.) and layers number on quality of the deposited coatings was investigated. The homogeneous and free of pores and cracks coating microstructure was produced. The influence of the laser cladding parameters and layers number on functional characteristics of the deposited coatings (e.g. hardness, abrasive wear resistance and electrical conductivity) was investigated. It was found that hardness and wear resistance of the coatings increased with the decrease of powder mass flow. The technological possibility of AlSi30 wear protective layers production on surface of AlMgSi0,5 alloy with roughness up to Ra 1,2 μm and microhardness up to 300 HV0,05 using laser micro cladding technology was demonstrated.