Microstructure and wear resistance of Fe-based WC coating by multi-track overlapping laser induction hybrid rapid cladding

The carck-free Fe-based +20 wt% WC coating with large area was produced by mutli-track overlapping laser induction hybrid rapid cladding. The results showed that the maximum laser scanning speed and the maximum feeding rate of powder can be increased to 3500 mm/min and 120 g/min, respectively. The cast WC particles were dissolved almost completely and had a worse wettability with Fe-based metal matrix. The precipitated carbides such as M 12C and M 23C 6 (M=Fe, W, Cr) formed an intergranular network around the primary Fe-based phase enriched with tungsten. The microhardness of coating decreased first, and then increased slightly with an increase in the track. The first track had the highest microhardness (i.e. 870HV 0.2). Moreover, the wear weight of coating approximately had a linear relationship with the sliding distance, and increased with an increase in the sliding speed. The wear rate approximately remained constant with an increase in the sliding distance and was two times lower than that of the hardened steel AISI 1045 with a hardness of 60HRC. The wear mechanism during the dry sliding wear was a combination of oxidation wear and abrasion wear. ► The laser scanning speed can be increased to 3500 mm/min. ► The maximum feeding of powder can be increased to 120 g/min. ► WC had a relatively worse wettability with Fe-based metal matrix. ► The microhardness of coating decreased first, then increased with the track. ► The wear mechanism of coating was a combination of oxidation wear and abrasion wear.