Materials suitable for laser hardening
- Common structural steels (with a carbon content of min. 0.22 %)
- High alloy structural and tool steels
- Grey cast iron
- Cast iron with lamellar and ball graphite
Laser hardening process
When hardening tools, the surface is heated to the austenitizing temperature with a temperature rise rate of over1 000 K-s–¹. Modern laser systems allow the temperature to be measured up to the melting point without reaching this point.
Advantages of laser hardening
- Energy efficient increase in surface strength and hardness
- Local influence on functional areas without the need to harden the entire part
- Contactless and easy to control process
- No need to provide external cooling of the hardened part
For hardening purposes, several kW continuous diode or fibre lasers using larger footprint with evenly distributed power to affect a larger area at once. The process uses a pyrometer to measure the surface temperature and then control the laser in a feedback loop to achieve and maintain the optimum quench temperature.
Do you need to harden the surface of a material by laser hardening?
Contact us to arrange a consultation or testing in our application laboratory.
