Laser Metal Deposition trends in technology, materials and applications

EVENT DETAILS

Video recording of this webinar presentation.

Laser Metal deposition, also known as Laser Cladding is one of the rapidly developing technologies on the market of surface treatments and protective coatings. Laser surface processing can offer a various amount of benefits like metallurgical bonding with the substrate, low heat input, combined with high precision of the process, and the possibility to build 3D structures. Laser Metal Deposition can be applied in different industrial fields, and the usage of powders or wires as a filler material helps to improve the properties of the surface in terms of corrosion and/or wear resistance. The technology is also widely used in the components repair segment. It can help to reconstruct even complex geometries or build 3D shapes on the surface of the parts, which is also known as an additive manufacturing process by directed deposition.

In the last decade, many industrial companies have made the step into the “laser world” and invested in the technology or into the products made by laser cladding. This step has also accelerated the progress in technology. The developments take place in all three directions – equipment, materials, and the process itself. Modern trends and developments in laser cladding technology can be divided into three main groups: high-speed, high-power, and DED – directed energy deposition, which corresponds to the additive process. For example, with high-power laser cladding, thick coatings can be applied, covering significant surface areas per path.

One of the main novelties is related to high-speed laser cladding, which allows the treatment of rotation-symmetrical bodies with deposition velocities over 100m/min. With the help of deposition speed increase, protective coatings with thickness 100-400µm per path can be achieved under very attractive economic conditions. That opens new additional horizons for application of laser cladding, for example, in hard chrome replacement segments.

Dr Zikin presented an overview of the latest trends in Laser Metal Deposition and introduced some recent developments from the technology, materials and application perspectives.

Dr Arkadi Zikin completed his master’s degree at Tallinn University of Technology. Research work subsequently led him to AC2T Research, the Austrian Excellence Center for Tribology, where he earned his doctorate in the context of a collaboration between the technical universities of Tallinn, Vienna, and AC2T. He has his background in Surface Engineering, with a main focus on wear of materials, PTA, Laser Cladding & Additive technologies. Dr Zikin has over 12 years of industrial experience in surface engineering. He pushes the Laser Cladding Technology and is one of the technical influencers in that field. Since September 2015, Arkadi has been working at Oerlikon Metco in various positions related to Laser Surface Engineering. Since 2019 he has been in charge of Laser Centre of Competence – modern application and industrialization technical department for laser cladding and additive manufacturing technologies.