Laser Hardening
- Ends the Valve stems and push rods
- Wearing Surface of cams and levers
- Steam turbine blades
- Cutting tool edges
- Crank Shafts
LASER Hardening
Advantages
Laser Beam Hardening is a process to increase the wear resistance of the parts and provide longer life. The surface of the work piece is heated to a temperature below the melting point at the rate of approx 1000° per second. Due to the high heating rates, the bulk of the material remains cold. The heat on the surface is transferred to the bulk and surroundings, and the surface microstructure changes, resulting in approx 2 to 3 times harder surface than the basic material hardness. The depth of hardness can be controlled, depending on the size and geometry of the work piece. It is generally in the range of 1 to 2mm depth.
Because of the localised heat input of laser, Only international areas can be hardened without affecting the surrounding areas. This helps in hardening functional areas only. The advantages of laser transformation hardening are as give below.
- Time and cost savings due to selectivehardening
- Large reduction of heat input in the work piece
- Minimal thermal distortions
- Cost & time reduction by elimination of post processing
- Economical also for small volume & complicated geometries
- Better process control