Influence of shielding gas coverage during laser hot-wire cladding with high carbon steel

Abstract

In contrast to conventional components made from a single material, hybrid multi-material components allow the production of load-adapted parts with different materials in different structural and functional areas. Hardenable and forgeable steels with a high carbon content are suitable for increasing fatigue and wear resistance and thus an extension of component life. However, materials with an equivalent carbon content of more than 0.6 are considered difficult to weld due to their tendency to crack. This study investigates the influence of the shielding gas coverage on the laser hot-wire cladding process with high carbon cladding material AISI 52100. For this reason, welding tests were carried out with different parameter combinations in a process chamber flooded with argon. The oxygen content in the chamber was less than 500 ppm during the welding process. The claddings welded in the process chamber are compared to the claddings welded in a previous investigation with a commercial shielding gas nozzle for laser deposition welding with wire. The tests conducted showed reduced pore formation and very little sparking. By using a process chamber, the average degree of dilution was reduced from 16.9% to 8.5% and burn-off of alloying elements was reduced. In most cases, high hardness values of 700 HV0.1 to 850 HV0.1 were achieved. The use of the process chamber demonstrates that the shielding gas coverage and therefore the remaining oxygen content have a high influence on the process stability and seam quality when welding high carbon steel. Such a considerable effect has not yet been observed with other commercially available cladding steels.