Realization of laser cladding and crack-free ceramic-metal composite coatings

The conventional technique for the laser cladding ceramic-metal composite coating mainly has two disadvantages. Firstly, the efficiency of its powder deposition is low and it limits the cladding rate, makes the process rather expensive for cladding on large areas. Secondly, due to some inherent characteristics in laser cladding technique, such as rapid heating and rapid solidification, the residual stress induced during laser cladding could lead to the crack formation in the composite coatings. The status quo of the domestic and foreign research on laser cladding ceramic-metal composite coating technique is reviewed. The existing problems are pointed out and a new solution for laser induction hybrid rapid cladding (LIHRC) is put forward, which preheats the substrate before the laser cladding. The efficiency of this new solution is higher than that of the conventional laser cladding and crack-free ceramic-metal composite coatings prepared by LIHRC.