SURFACE TREATMENT
of powder into the laser beam; the nozzle had to generate a dense powder gas jet to maximise powder efficiency; consistent powder gas jet quality to give flow rates exceeding 500kg; and the nozzle components had to be replaced easily. EHLA is already being used by certain
companies, such as Dutch firm IHC Vremac Cylinders, which uses it to coat hydraulic cylinders 50cm in diameter and up to 10 metres in length for off-shore applications. Additionally, in close cooperation with Acunity from Aachen, a spin-off of Fraunhofer ILT, Hornet Laser Cladding, another Dutch company, delivered the first EHLA system to China for use in both research and industrial applications at the Advanced Manufacture Technology Center of CAMTC in Beijing. Te augmented capability of the new feed nozzle has also generated interest at UK organisation
www.lasersystemseurope.com | @lasersystemsmag
TWI, which wants to develop it further. ‘EHLA’s application potential is enormous,’
concluded Schopphoven. ‘In 2015, the worldwide market for hard chrome plating was estimated at $13.64 billion, while the market for thermal spraying amounted to $7.56 billion. If EHLA could capture a 10 per cent share of the surface refining market this new process could account for an annual market volume of €2 billion.’ EHLA also has the potential to ensure that coating jobs remain in Europe, according to Fraunhofer ILT, countering the trend of such jobs being outsourced to low-wage countries.
Competitive cladding Te types of laser used in cladding have evolved in recent years, according to Carl Hauser, an additive manufacturing consultant at TWI, making the transition from CO2
to
fibre lasers, then to disk lasers, which are currently favoured by TWI, and now to diode lasers, which are increasingly being adopted in cladding because of their low cost and flexibility. ‘Te beam quality [of a diode laser],
however, hasn’t traditionally been as good as a fibre laser, but it has been improving,’ said Hauser, who would like to see a full study on the advantages of diode lasers for laser metal deposition. ‘Tere hasn’t been a solid systematic study on the merits or the difference between a fibre and a diode laser. At the moment their particular benefits are unclear, as some lasers are better for processing certain materials than others.’ While there is some competition between
laser technologies in the cladding market, Frank Gaebler, director of marketing at Coherent, observed that the real battle taking
ISSUE 37 • WINTER 2017 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 13
Fraunhofer ILT
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