The Morphology of Carbide and Nitride Coatings on Steels after Laser Irradiation

The results of experimental studies of the structure and properties of steels and alloys subjected to laser chemical-heat treatment of carbide and nitride coatings created by electro-spark alloying and ion-plasma sputtering are achieved. It is shown that laser processing of coatings allows to change purposefully the structural state and set properties of the surface layers of the product, and, therefore, modify the basic characteristics of process operation and control the most important output parameters – wear products, and the quality of the surface layers of the irradiated parts. It is established that a rational choice of chemical composition and method of applying coatings on the surface of metal products of various functionalities helps to improve the quality of the surface layers, to increase the hardness of the irradiated working areas by 30-50%, wear resistance-2-3 times, as compared to volumetric-hardened steels.