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Characterization of laser‐beam surface treated cold and hot working steels
Author(s) -
Kron Petra Britt,
Dahl Winfried,
Bleck Wolfgang
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
steel research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1869-344X
pISSN - 0177-4832
DOI - 10.1002/srin.199700561
Subject(s) - materials science , metallurgy , tempering , carbide , microstructure , hardening (computing) , surface layer , vanadium carbide , residual stress , laser , vanadium , layer (electronics) , composite material , optics , physics
In order to increase the wear resistance of metal forming tools, four different cold and hot working steels were laser‐beam surface melted and alloyed with titanium carbide and vanadium carbide. The layers were investigated concerning chemical composition, microstructure, hardness profiles, wear behaviour measured by pin‐on‐disk‐tests with different counterbodies and plastic behaviour of the surface by a new developed repeated impact testing machine. It turned out to be more useful to take a substrate which is already quenched and tempered prior to the laser‐beam surface treatment than to carry out the tool hardening heat treatment afterwards. A tempering step after the laser‐beam alloying offers the advantage of carbide precipitates in the layer connected with an increase in the hardness and a reduction of residual stresses. By means of laser‐beam surface alloying the wear protection of the layer can be increased while the alloying content of the substrate is reduced with respect to the core fracture toughness. The optimal alloying addition depends on the demands of the envisaged application.