Laser cladding of plastic injection screw

The research investigated the application of continuous coaxial laser cladding as a coating process to improve the mechanical properties of a plastic injection screw. The investigation aimed to find the relationship between a change in the main laser cladding process parameters and the geometry and characteristics of clad layer formed on substrate material using a fiber laser. The main process variables considered were: laser power, laser scanning speed, standoff distance, gases and the powder feed rate. The variation in the process response with a change in the main laser cladding process variables. At the first step the relationship between a change in the main laser cladding process variables and the geometry and characteristics of the clad layer was established by statistically analyzing, The clad geometry which is mainly defined by: the clad height, width and depth of alloy penetration. In addition to the clad geometry several clad characteristics were investigated such as the dilution of the clad layer in the substrate material, the vickers microhardness and SEM analysis of the microstructure of the cross section the clad. The study successfully established the relationship between the main laser cladding process variables and the clad geometry and characteristics. The secondary objective of establishing a suitable processing condition to clad the prototype by considering the mentioned relationship.