A Contest Between Traditional and Ultra-High-Speed Laser Cladding Remanufacturing Technology
Laser cladding remanufacturing technology has always pursued high processing efficiency, and at present, two processing modes have been formed: high-power (traditional) laser cladding and ultra-high-speed laser cladding. This technology is like a "regeneration technique" for industrial equipment, which can bring worn and scrapped parts back to life, creating great value while saving resources. Traditional laser cladding is widely used nowadays, while ultra-high-speed laser cladding, with many advantages, is becoming a new direction of technological development, leading the innovation in the field of surface engineering.
Traditional Laser Cladding: The Mainstream Processing Choice
Traditional laser cladding mostly uses a rectangular large light spot and high-power laser as the heat source, with a large single-pass cladding width and a cladding layer thickness of up to 2.5 mm. After decades of technological iteration, it has gained a firm foothold in heavy industrial fields such as iron and steel and mining, and has become a "standard technology" for equipment overhaul. This technology can efficiently produce large-thickness and large-area coatings on flat, arc and vertical surfaces, and is currently the main technical means of laser processing. In practical applications, it has successfully remanufactured steel rolling rolls. By cladding iron-based alloy powder instead of the traditional surfacing welding Ni60, considerable economic income has been created. At the same time, it has also realized the remanufacturing and strengthening of the middle groove and the bottom plate, extending the service life of these vulnerable parts by more than 3 times.
Ultra-High-Speed Laser Cladding: A Leap in Efficiency
Compared with traditional laser cladding, the processing efficiency of ultra-high-speed laser cladding is extremely prominent. If traditional technology is "exquisite work and slow production", then ultra-high-speed technology is "lightning manufacturing", which can reduce the processing time of the same workload by more than half. Relying on high-precision CNC machine tools, its cladding linear speed can reach 100 - 500mm/s, and the cladding area per unit time can reach 0.5 - 1m², which greatly exceeds the efficiency level of traditional cladding. This efficiency advantage is particularly obvious in batch repair production lines. For example, in the batch repair of automobile engine blocks, a task that originally took 3 days can now be completed in just 1 day, providing strong support for the rapid completion of processing tasks.
Ultra-High-Speed Laser Cladding: Dual Advantages of Precision and Economy
Ultra-high-speed laser cladding has excellent forming accuracy. The thickness of the single-layer cladding layer is between 0.2mm and 10mm and can be precisely controlled, so that high - precision forming can be obtained on the surface of parts. This means that even the repair of the tooth surface of precision gears can achieve almost original dimensional accuracy, eliminating the need for complex secondary grinding. At the same time, the cladding overlap is flat, and the surface roughness of the cladding area is small, which greatly reduces the removal amount of subsequent processing and simplifies the processing procedures. In addition, the specially designed and optimized high - speed laser cladding nozzle makes the powder utilization rate greater than 90%. Compared with the 50% - 60% utilization rate of traditional technology, it can save dozens of tons of expensive alloy powder for large enterprises every year, reducing material consumption.
Ultra-High-Speed Laser Cladding: Small Deformation and Strong Material Adaptability
The laser beam of ultra-high-speed laser cladding is highly concentrated. A part of the energy is used to melt the alloy powder, and the alloy powder is melted before entering the molten pool, which has little impact on the processed workpiece, effectively optimizing the problem of cladding deformation. This is crucial for the repair of thin - walled parts. For example, for the thin-walled blades of aero-engines, traditional cladding is prone to deformation of more than 0.5mm, while ultra-high-speed technology can control the deformation within 0.05mm. Moreover, relying on the advantages of high energy density and low dilution rate (controlled within 3%), it has realized the surface laser processing of materials that are difficult to process by traditional laser cladding, such as titanium, aluminum and copper, allowing these "delicate" materials to be covered with a hard "protective coat".
Technical Summary and Development Prospects
As the current mainstream technology, traditional laser cladding plays an important role in the preparation of large-thickness and large - area coatings and remains an indispensable "main force" in the heavy industry field. Ultra-high-speed laser cladding, on the other hand, shows significant advantages in processing efficiency, forming accuracy, deformation control and material adaptability, and is a new and superior technology that breaks through the limitations of traditional cladding technology. Since its advent, due to its outstanding advantages, it has set off a research and development upsurge at home and abroad, promoting laser cladding technology to continuously reach new heights. In the future, with the integration of intelligent control systems, these two technologies may achieve a "strong alliance", shine in more industrial scenarios, and inject more powerful impetus into green manufacturing and circular economy.