Blanking punch life improvement by laser cladding

► Laser cladding of AISI D2 steel punches with the application of various pulse shapes, preheating and cryogenic treatment. ► Validation of claddings by sliding wear tests and real operation test in punch tool. ► The C-type claddings could all be employed for punch refurbishment with the advantage of preheating to mitigate the interpass HAZ cracking. ► The preheated and cryogenically treated cladding showed superior hardness, edge stability and ductile wear behavior. The AISI D2 tool steel samples and punches were laser cladded with the application of various laser pulse shapes, preheating and cryogenic treatment. The samples were subjected to metallographic observations and sliding wear test and the punches were inserted into the stamping tool and subjected to real operation. The results suggest that the laboratory tests by themselves are not decisive for the prediction of refurbishment wear behavior or failure. The claddings made by A and B pulses exhibited solidification cracking and failed in a punch application test, although their wear results were comparable with the others or even better. The C-type claddings could all be employed for punch refurbishment with the advantage of preheating to mitigate the interpass HAZ cracking. The preheated and cryogenically treated cladding has shown superior edge stability, smooth and ductile wear behavior and moderate interpass cracking.