The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 37234

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK
Interests: laser welding, laser material processing in body-in-white and lithium-ion battery manufacturing; additive manufacturing; digital manufacturing; advanced material joining technologies
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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3FB, UK
Interests: additive manufacture of metal components; X-ray computed tomography; materials integrity; functionally graded materials
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Guest Editor
School of Materials Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
Interests: laser surface texturing; wire arc additive manufacturing; soldering welding; material characterization; mechanical properties; selective laser melting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, laser-based materials processing has received extensive interest in manufacturing industries due to its high efficiency, great flexibility and high productivity, with applications such as laser welding, cutting, drilling, forming, cladding, ablation, texturing and polishing for a wide range of materials (including metals, ceramics, polymers and natural materials). A large number of applications in laser processing are related to surface engineering which aims to achieve superior properties by either adding a thin coating of other materials, or partially removing or modifying the characteristics of the material surface. Recently, laser-based additive manufacturing (e.g. laser powder bed fusion and laser powder/wire direct deposition) has offered significant new opportunities in producing high-quality functional parts without geometric restrictions. It is now possible to directly manufacture complex components with the desired properties built in.

This Special Issue is devoted to publishing original research and high-quality review articles relevant to recent advances in laser-based processing and additive manufacturing. Potential topics for this Special Issue will include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Recent developments in laser processing related to surface engineering, such as cladding, ablation, texturing, polishing etc.
  • Novel laser processing technologies to improve the properties of the material surface.
  • Fundamental studies of laser–materials interaction.
  • Laser additive manufacturing of novel materials or functionally graded materials.

Dr. Yingtao Tian
Dr. Samuel Tammas-Williams
Prof. Dr. Peilei Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • laser materials processing
  • laser cladding
  • laser ablation
  • laser texturing
  • laser polishing
  • laser additive manufacturing

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 5342 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of Preheating Temperature on Molten Pool Dynamics in Laser Deep-Penetration Welding
by Jin Peng, Jigao Liu, Xiaohong Yang, Jianya Ge, Peng Han, Xingxing Wang, Shuai Li and Yongbiao Wang
Coatings 2022, 12(9), 1280; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12091280 - 1 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1561
Abstract
In this paper, a heat-flow coupling model of laser welding at preheating temperature was established by the FLUENT 19.0 software. The fluctuation of the keyhole wall and melt flow behavior in the molten pool under different preheating temperatures were analyzed, and the correlation [...] Read more.
In this paper, a heat-flow coupling model of laser welding at preheating temperature was established by the FLUENT 19.0 software. The fluctuation of the keyhole wall and melt flow behavior in the molten pool under different preheating temperatures were analyzed, and the correlation between keyhole wall fluctuation and molten pool flow with spatters and bubbles was obtained. The results indicate that when the outer wall in the middle of the rear keyhole wall is convex, the inner wall is concave, which causes spatter or the bottom of the keyhole to collapse. When the metal layer in the middle of the rear keyhole wall turns into obliquely upward flow, welding spatter is generated. In contrast, the metal layer in the middle of the rear keyhole wall changes to flow into the keyhole, and the bottom of the keyhole collapses. When the preheating temperature is 300 K (ambient temperature), 400 K, and 500 K, the inner wall in the middle of the rear keyhole wall is concave. With the increase in the preheating temperature, the area of the concave gradually increases, and the size of the liquid column behind the keyhole opening gradually decreases. When the preheating temperature is 300 K, there are more spatters above the molten pool. In comparison, when the preheating temperature is 400 K or 500 K, there are less spatters, and the bottom of the keyhole collapses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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16 pages, 5736 KiB  
Article
Impact of Remelting in the Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of the Ti6Al4V Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting
by Javier Bedmar, Jorge de la Pezuela, Ainhoa Riquelme, Belén Torres and Joaquín Rams
Coatings 2022, 12(2), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12020284 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3531
Abstract
The presence of defects like porosity and lack of fusion can negatively affect the properties of the materials manufactured by Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The optimization of the manufacturing conditions allows reducing the number of defects, but there is a limit for each [...] Read more.
The presence of defects like porosity and lack of fusion can negatively affect the properties of the materials manufactured by Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The optimization of the manufacturing conditions allows reducing the number of defects, but there is a limit for each manufacturing material and process. To expand the manufacturing envelope, a remelting after every layer of the SLM process has been used to manufacture Ti6Al4V alloy samples using an SLM with a CO2 laser. The effect of this processing method on the microstructure, defects, hardness, and, especially, the corrosion properties was studied. It was concluded that the laser remelting strategy causes an increment of the α and β phases from the dissolution of metastable α’. This technique also provokes a decrease in the number of defects and a reduction of the hardness, which are also reduced with lower scanning speeds. On the other hand, all the corrosion tests show that a low scanning speed and the laser remelting strategy improve the corrosion resistance of the Ti6Al4V alloy since parameters like the Open Circuit Potential (OCP) and the Polarization Resistance (Rp) are nobler and the mass gain is lower. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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22 pages, 5413 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Corrosion Wear Resistance of the NiCrBSi Laser-Clad Coatings Fabricated on Ti6Al4V
by Wanggen Li, Jun Li and Yinsi Xu
Coatings 2021, 11(8), 960; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11080960 - 13 Aug 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2295
Abstract
Ni-based alloy powder (NiCrBSi) was applied to prepare coatings on Ti6Al4V by laser cladding to improve the wear resistance of the latter under corrosion. The scanning speed was found to be an essential parameter that could adjust the microstructure of the coatings. Changes [...] Read more.
Ni-based alloy powder (NiCrBSi) was applied to prepare coatings on Ti6Al4V by laser cladding to improve the wear resistance of the latter under corrosion. The scanning speed was found to be an essential parameter that could adjust the microstructure of the coatings. Changes in the microstructures of the coatings with the scanning speed were highlighted, and the relationships between the microstructures and microhardness, fracture toughness, corrosion, and corrosion wear resistance of the coatings were established. Results indicated that the matrix changes from Ti2Ni + TiNi to primary γ(Ni) + eutectics (γ(Ni) + Ni3Ti) with increasing scanning speed. Moreover, reinforcement phases changed from TiB2 + TiC (5 mm∙s−1) to TiB2 + TiC + Cr7C3 (11 mm∙s−1) to TiB2 + TiC + Cr7C3 + CrB (17 mm∙s−1). The average microhardness of the coatings first increased and then decreased, and the corresponding fracture toughness showed the opposite trend. The optimum combination of these properties was observed in the coating prepared at 11 mm∙s−1. This coating demonstrated excellent wear resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, as well as a high corrosion potential, a low corrosion current density, and a low current density when the electrode initially entered a comparatively stable corrosion state. Moreover, compared with coatings prepared at other scanning speeds, this coating revealed a higher critical potential for oxidation film destruction. The results of this research collectively show that regulating the microstructures of laser-clad coatings by applying different scanning speeds is a feasible strategy to optimize the wear resistance of the coatings under corrosion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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21 pages, 2444 KiB  
Article
High-Speed Laser Cladding on Thin-Sheet-Substrates—Influence of Process Parameters on Clad Geometry and Dilution
by Niklas Sommer, Florian Stredak and Stefan Böhm
Coatings 2021, 11(8), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11080952 - 9 Aug 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4177
Abstract
Laser-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED-LB) represents a production method of growing importance for cladding and additive manufacturing through the use of metal powders. Yet, most studies utilize substrate materials with thicknesses of multiple millimeters, for which laser cladding of thin-sheet substrates with thicknesses [...] Read more.
Laser-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED-LB) represents a production method of growing importance for cladding and additive manufacturing through the use of metal powders. Yet, most studies utilize substrate materials with thicknesses of multiple millimeters, for which laser cladding of thin-sheet substrates with thicknesses less than 1 mm have only been scarcely studied in the literature. Most studies cover the use of pulsed laser sources, since sheet distortion due to excess energy input is a key problem in laser cladding of thin-sheet substrates. Hence, the authors of the present investigation seek to expand the boundaries of cladding thin-sheet substrates through the use of a high-speed laser cladding approach which utilizes a continuous-wave, ytterbium fiber laser and traverse speeds of 90 mms1 to clad stainless steel sheets with a thickness of 0.8mm. Furthermore, fundamental process–property relationships for the target values of clad width, clad height, and dilution depth are studied and thoroughly discussed. Additionally, process maps for the target values are established based on manifold experiments, and the significance of process parameters on target values is studied using analysis of variance. The results demonstrate that clad widths as high as 1413 μm and dilution depths as low as 144 μm can be obtained by high-speed laser cladding of thin-sheet substrates. Thus, pathways toward thin-sheet substrates with enhanced performance are opened. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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16 pages, 6165 KiB  
Article
Microstructure Analysis and Fatigue Behavior of Laser Beam Welding 2060-T8/2099-T83 Aluminum–Lithium Alloys
by Wenhao Cheng, Hongbing Liu, Jie Tan, Zhishui Yu and Qingrong Shu
Coatings 2021, 11(6), 693; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11060693 - 10 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2552
Abstract
In this paper, the microstructure analysis and performance research of dual laser beam welded 2060-T8/2099-T83 aluminum–lithium alloys were carried out. First, the macroscopic morphology and microstructure characteristics of T-joint aluminum–lithium alloys under different welding conditions were observed. Then the effect of welding parameters [...] Read more.
In this paper, the microstructure analysis and performance research of dual laser beam welded 2060-T8/2099-T83 aluminum–lithium alloys were carried out. First, the macroscopic morphology and microstructure characteristics of T-joint aluminum–lithium alloys under different welding conditions were observed. Then the effect of welding parameters and pore defects on tensile and fatigue properties of the weld were carried out and the experimental results were analyzed. It was found that the weld heat input has a significant influence on the penetration of the welded aluminum–lithium alloys joint. When the laser power is too high, the weld will absorb more laser energy and the increase in the evaporation of magnesium will further increase the weld penetration. When the penetration depth increases, the transverse tensile strength tends to decrease. There is no obvious rule for the effect of pore defects on the tensile strength of the weld. At the same time, the heat input of the weld is inversely proportional to the porosity. When the weld heat input increases from 19.41 to 23.33 kJ/m, the porosity decreases from 5.35% to 2.08%. During the fatigue test, it was confirmed that the existence of pore defects would reduce the fatigue life of the weld. In addition, from the analysis of the fatigue fracture morphology it can be found that when the porosity is low, the weld toe is the main source of fatigue cracks. The crack propagation zone shows a typical beach pattern and the final fracture of the base metal presents the characteristics of a brittle fracture. While, when the porosity is high, the crack source is mainly located at the pore defects. T-joint fractures from the inside of the weld and the fracture in the final fracture zone have obvious pore defects and dimples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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19 pages, 6304 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Wear Resistance and Corrosion Behavior of Laser Cladding Al/SiC Metal Matrix Composite Coatings on ZE41 Magnesium Alloy
by Ainhoa Riquelme, Pilar Rodrigo, María Dolores Escalera-Rodriguez and Joaquín Rams
Coatings 2021, 11(6), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11060639 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3915
Abstract
Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with SiC particles (SiCp) were deposited on ZE41 magnesium substrates by laser cladding in order to improve their tribological performance. Silicon and titanium were added to the matrix in order to avoid Al-SiC reactivity. The addition of these elements [...] Read more.
Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with SiC particles (SiCp) were deposited on ZE41 magnesium substrates by laser cladding in order to improve their tribological performance. Silicon and titanium were added to the matrix in order to avoid Al-SiC reactivity. The addition of these elements to avoid Al4C3 formation during the laser cladding fabrication was successfully explored in previous research, but the effect of these elements on the wear behavior and the corrosion resistance of these coatings has not been studied. During the fabrication process, there is dilution with the substrate that forms an Al-Mg matrix, which has an influence on the wear and corrosion behavior. Electrochemical polarization and impedance measurements in a 3.5% NaCl solution and the dry sliding conditions on a pin-on-disc tribometer were used to evaluate the different compositions of Al/SiCp coatings on the ZE41 magnesium alloy and uncoated ZE41. All of the composite coatings had lower wear rates than the substrate. However, the coatings showed worse corrosion behavior than the ZE41 substrate, although the addition of Si or Ti improves the corrosion behavior and the wear resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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13 pages, 4096 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Ti-Nb Coatings on NiTi Substrate Fabricated by Laser Cladding
by Jie Hu, Yaojia Ren, Qianli Huang, Hao He, Luxin Liang, Jingbo Liu, Ruidi Li and Hong Wu
Coatings 2021, 11(5), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11050597 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3178
Abstract
Ti-23Nb (at.%) coatings on an NiTi alloy with metallurgical bonding were prepared by laser cladding (LC) technology using Ti-Nb mixture powders. The effects of laser processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings were systematically investigated and the corrosion resistance [...] Read more.
Ti-23Nb (at.%) coatings on an NiTi alloy with metallurgical bonding were prepared by laser cladding (LC) technology using Ti-Nb mixture powders. The effects of laser processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings were systematically investigated and the corrosion resistance of the coatings was assessed. The coatings were composed of TiNb, (Ti, Nb)2Ni, and β-Nb phases. The coatings increased the hardness of the NiTi alloy by a combined strengthening effect of the eutectics and fine microstructure. The corrosion resistance of the coated part was improved. The coatings with great corrosion resistance could keep the coated parts inert in an aggressive environment, and effectively restrain the release of toxic Ni ions, which means that the Ti-Nb alloy coatings are likely to be used as a biomaterial for medical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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Review

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30 pages, 8398 KiB  
Review
A Review on Additive Manufacturing of Pure Copper
by Qi Jiang, Peilei Zhang, Zhishui Yu, Haichuan Shi, Di Wu, Hua Yan, Xin Ye, Qinghua Lu and Yingtao Tian
Coatings 2021, 11(6), 740; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11060740 - 21 Jun 2021
Cited by 107 | Viewed by 14220
Abstract
With the development of the aerospace and automotive industries, high heat exchange efficiency is a challenge facing the development of various industries. Pure copper has excellent mechanical and physical properties, especially high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. These excellent properties make pure copper [...] Read more.
With the development of the aerospace and automotive industries, high heat exchange efficiency is a challenge facing the development of various industries. Pure copper has excellent mechanical and physical properties, especially high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. These excellent properties make pure copper the material of choice for the manufacture of heat exchangers and other electrical components. However, the traditional processing method is difficult to achieve the production of pure copper complex parts, so the production of pure copper parts through additive manufacturing has become a problem that must be overcome in industrial development. In this article, we not only reviewed the current status of research on the structural design and preparation of complex pure copper parts by researchers using selective laser melting (SLM), selective electron beam melting (SEBM) and binder jetting (BJ) in recent years, but also reviewed the forming, physical properties and mechanical aspects of pure copper parts prepared by different additive manufacturing methods. Finally, the development trend of additive manufacturing of pure copper parts is also prospected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Applications of Laser Processing and Additive Manufacturing)
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