Laser cladding is a method that can be applied to repair the crack and break on the mold and die surfaces, as well as generate new attributes on the surface to improve toughness, hardness, and corrosion resistance. It is used to extend the life of the mold. It also has the advantages of superior bonding strength and precision coating on a local area compared with the conventional thermal spraying technology. In this study, we investigated the effect of cladding on low carbon alloy steel using 18%Cr-2.5%Ni-Fe powder (Rockit404), which showed high hardness on the die surface. The process conditions were performed in an argon atmosphere using a diode laser source specialized for 900-1070 nm, and the output conditions were 5, 6, and 10 kW, respectively. After the cladding was completed, the surface coating layer’s shape, the hardness according to the cross-section’s thickness, and the microstructure were analyzed.

Residual stress has a great influence on the metal, but it is difficult to measure at small area using a general method. Residual stress calculations using the Vickers indentation can solve this problem. In this paper, a numerical simulation has been made for the residual stress measurement method of metal material deformed by high-speed impact. Then, the stress-strain curve at the high-speed deformation was confirmed through actual experiments, and the residual stresses generated thereafter were calculated by the Vickers indenter method. A Vickers indentation analysis under the same conditions was performed at the position where a residual stress of about 169.39 MPa was generated. Experiments were carried out and high speed impact was applied to the specimen to generate residual stress. The obtained results indicate that it is possible to identify residual stresses in various metals with various shapes through Vickers indentation measurements, and to use them for process and quality control.

The small artificial surface defects in the coarse-grain steel are studied. The size of the used defects is smaller than the most relevant microstructural unit of steel, i.e. the average grain size. The samples of coarse-grain steel are prepared using a welding thermal-cycle simulator and a laboratory furnace. The defects are made by indenting with a Vickers pyramid. One of the final results of the defect making is the existence of local residual stresses. The influence of residual stresses on the crack initiation from those artificial defects is discussed in the article.

In this study, we investigated the effect of cladding on structural carbon steel (S45C) using 5%Cr-1.5%Mo-Fe powder (SKD61), which is expected to show economically efficient production of die-casting parts. The process conditions were performed under argon atmosphere using a diode laser source with specialized wavelength of 900-1070 nm, and the output conditions were 3, 4, and 5 kW, respectively. After the cladding was completed, the surface coating layer’s shape and the microstructure were analyzed. The hardness test was carried out with Micro Vickers hardness tester under 500 gram-force along the normal line at the interval of 0.2 mm from the surface to core direction on the cross-sectional area. In addition, polarization curve test of the surface coating layer was performed to investigate the corrosion resistance characteristics.

This study investigated the effect of cladding on tool steel (SKD61) by using 5%Cr-1.5%Mo-Fe powder (SKD61), which is expected to be economically effective when used to manufacture and mend die-casting parts. The cladding conditions were as follows: the distance between the coaxial powder supply head and the substrate surface was 20 mm, and Ar was used as the supply gas. The laser outputs applied in the cladding procedure were 3, 4, and 5 kW. The microstructure of the heat-affected zone in the processed specimens was analyzed, and the macrostructure and morphology of the substrate material were studied. Specimen hardness measurements were performed at intervals of 0.1 mm from the substrate surface to the core. As the laser output increased from 3 to 4 and 5 kW, the dilution rate increased from 10.6% to 11.8 and 13.2%. It was confirmed that the fraction of carbides increased as the laser output increased from 3 kW to 5 kW.

Automotive industry is constantly interested in building cars made of light and high strength parts in order to reduce the emission levels, the fuel consumption and minimize the effects of a car crash. Some parts may be made of lighter materials, but the steel ones must compensate the strength needed for the car body. Research is made for finding new materials showing high strength combined with high ductility. Among them, transformation – induced – plasticity steels are of great interest, efforts being made to improve their characteristics. A new composition of such a steel is presented, its features being compared with those of three other steels of the same class and category. Optical microscopy at different magnifications is performed, together with Vickers hardness test. Structural particularities are found for each tested steel, justified by their own chemical compositions. The new steel reveals important characteristics: besides the mainly bainitic structure, it has both larger ferritic areas and amounts of retained austenite, making him proper for further study.