Is Your Cladding System Wearing You Down?

Laser cladding offers fundamental advantages over every other alternative cladding technology including thermal spray, plasma coating and arc welding. With its low heat input, high solidification rates and precise process control, laser cladding is the time and labour saving, cost-effective alternative.

2 to 3 Times Increased Product Life

Wear resistance is the primary benefit of laser cladding. The process increases product life by 2-3 times on average. A laser clad provides a full metallurgical bond to the base material so it will not flake or peel as plasma or thermal spray coatings often do.

The low heat input greatly reduces thermal distortion – laser cladding uses less than 20% of the heat used in arc cladding the same part. This cuts follow-up operations such as machining and straightening dramatically. Low heat also has the benefit of decreasing clad dilution; a purer clad layer delivers better metallurgical properties and higher corrosion and wear resistance.

A Superior, Single-step Process

Laser cladding offers better control of layer thickness so that thinner clad layers can be applied, saving material costs and providing better surface finishes. The shape of the coating is neater, reducing the amount of excess material and associated finishing processes. Multiple clad layers can be applied to achieve any thickness, offering nearly unlimited design options. With automated control of the laser cladding process, high repeatability and process stability are ensured.

The Complete Solution

Many potential users of laser cladding have been put off by the difficulty in sourcing a complete solution for their specific needs. Many laser equipment distributors offer the cladding head but not the part manipulation equipment. With TLM’s wide portfolio of laser machines and associated products, materials and services, we can offer bespoke solutions that are made to meet specific customer needs. For example, where the components to be clad are particularly heavy or unwieldy, as Alpha-Laser’s UK product partners, we can supply the AL-ROCK. Supplied with a cladding head and with its self-driving caterpillar track, this laser can be moved to exactly where it’s required on site without the need to remove the component that requires necessary renovation or repair.

For full details of TLM’s bespoke laser cladding services and/or further information on the Alpha-Laser AL-ROCK mobile cladding and hardening system, please contact us at sales@tlm-laser.com