Experimental Research on Laser Powder Micro-deposition of Thin Walls in Stellite F
Y.Z. Zhang, C. Meacock and R. Vilar
Laser powder micro-deposition (LPMD) uses a finely focused laser beam to generate a microscopic molten-pool on the surface of a metallic substrate into which metallic powder is blown. The laser/powder interaction zone is scanned over the substrate and the molten material solidifies leaving micro-scale tracks of deposited material. The ability to deposit material on this scale opens up the possibility of a modification of the surface properties of small metallic components, the repair of fine damage such as hairline fractures and the fabrication of small components, which require high dimensional accuracy such as dental implants and maxillofacial prostheses. In this paper, the influence of various processing parameters on the laser micro-deposition of thin walls of Stellite F alloy is systematically investigated, with regard to the control of part geometry and stability of the process. The results indicated that a change of heat dissipation during deposition influences the evenness of the width of the thin wall. With reasonable processing parameters, the surface roughness (Ra) of the thin wall can be as low as 10 mm and the wall width as thin as 400 mm with a metallurgically sound structure.