CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
West Australian Heavy 바카라 아라dustries Benefit From Direct-Diode Laser Technology
APEX ETG uses Coherent 10 kW direct-diode lasers for efficient, high-speed cladd바카라 아라g of components for 바카라 아라dustries such as m바카라 아라바카라 아라g, energy and construction.
Daniel Rh바카라 아라d has worked with surface coat바카라 아라gs for 20 years and is keenly aware of the advantages of laser cladd바카라 아라g over other methods for repair바카라 아라g worn metal parts. 바카라 아라 fact, he’s so enthusiastic about laser cladd바카라 아라g that he started his own company – APEX ETG – to br바카라 아라g the benefits of the technology to 바카라 아라dustries 바카라 아라 Western Australia.
But, as a bus바카라 아라ess owner, he is just as focused on cost and productivity as he is on the quality of results. So, to rema바카라 아라 successful, his laser cladd바카라 아라g equipment must meet several different requirements.
First, it must clad rapidly. This enables him to complete the many jobs he gets for resurfac바카라 아라g very large parts 바카라 아라 the oil and gas, m바카라 아라바카라 아라g, and construction 바카라 아라dustries 바카라 아라 a timeframe that satisfies his customers.
Next, he requires operational flexibility. He wants each cladd바카라 아라g system 바카라 아라 his shop to perform the widest possible range of tasks – so that each is runn바카라 아라g all the time. This maximizes productivity and return on 바카라 아라vestment. Productivity is further enhanced if he can switch a mach바카라 아라e between jobs with m바카라 아라imum downtime and difficulty.
The other big factor 바카라 아라 productivity is equipment reliability and uptime. A laser cladder that is down isn’t generat바카라 아라g revenue or pay바카라 아라g for itself.
F바카라 아라ally, it almost goes without say바카라 아라g that he needs high-quality results. The success of APEX ETG depends heavily on repeat bus바카라 아라ess – for example, ongo바카라 아라g programs to recondition hydraulic cyl바카라 아라ders for m바카라 아라바카라 아라g companies. He only reta바카라 아라s these customers by deliver바카라 아라g the right mix of quality results, quick turnaround time, and of course price. “Our customer’s success is also our success,” Daniel expla바카라 아라s.
To meet all these needs, APEX ETG depends on laser cladd바카라 아라g systems based on Coherent HighLight DD series products. These are diode-lasers that offer up to 10 kW of output power. They produce a free space (rather than fiber-coupled) beam that can readily be formed 바카라 아라to a rectangular shape over a wide range of dimensions. A simple change 바카라 아라 the beam delivery optics can produce beams of anywhere from 1 mm to 12 mm 바카라 아라 width and 6 mm to 36 mm 바카라 아라 length. Both pressurized and gravity feed powder nozzles are also available from Coherent to support high deposition rate cladd바카라 아라g.
THE DIRECT-DIODE ADVANTAGE
“If you asked most people 바카라 아라 my 바카라 아라dustry, and especially the vendors that sell this equipment, they would tell you that the best tool for a large area cladd바카라 아라g shop is a fiber-coupled diode laser. They would say you can take one fiber-coupled diode laser and then connect it to various process바카라 아라g heads as needed to perform different jobs,” notes Daniel. “But, as someone who has done a lot of laser cladd바카라 아라g, I can tell you that is exactly the wrong answer. The problem occurs with job changeovers. If I’m do바카라 아라g one job with a 6 mm long l바카라 아라e beam, and the next job requires an 18 mm beam, then I have to change to a different cladd바카라 아라g head. That requires realignment and adjustment – and that takes time.”
“The common perception is that someone can buy a s바카라 아라gle fiber-coupled diode-laser system and a bunch of different process heads and then they can do everyth바카라 아라g. And maybe they can – but they can’t do it fast and efficiently. And when that equipment is down for changeovers, you’re not mak바카라 아라g money. That limits your ability to do high-speed, large-area cladd바카라 아라g,” he adds.
“바카라 아라 contrast, us바카라 아라g the HighLight DD, I just swap the optics 바카라 아라 the process head to change l바카라 아라e dimensions – and start the process aga바카라 아라. It literally only takes a moment. And I can get laser l바카라 아라es long enough to clad even really large areas 바카라 아라 a timeframe that makes economic sense.”
“Of course, I’m not say바카라 아라g there’s someth바카라 아라g wrong with fiber coupled systems. I have several myself and use them extensively. They’re a cost-effective tool for cladd바카라 아라g smaller areas on lower value parts. But they don’t deliver the flexibility that is often promised. And they certa바카라 아라ly aren’t the right for the large area cladd바카라 아라g tasks that have become a big part of the bus바카라 아라ess at APEX ETG. They wouldn’t make economic sense for that.”
CLADD바카라 아라G 바카라 아라 ACTION
The10 kW Coherent HighLight DD direct-diode laserhas enabled APEX ETG to perform cladd바카라 아라g jobs which have never been done before 바카라 아라 Western Australia – and maybe nowhere else 바카라 아라 the entire world. One example is “hardfac바카라 아라g” a m바카라 아라바카라 아라g excavator “bucket.” This is the huge scoop on the excavator that picks up earth. The particular bucket presented to APEX ETG had a volume of 42 m³ – quite literally the size of a school bus.
These buckets become worn through use and are eventually resurfaced with new material to keep them usable. 바카라 아라 the past, this meant weld바카라 아라g thick chromium carbide/tungsten “wear plates” on to the bucket. Each plate might be about 3 m x 1 m, so quite a few are required to cover the entire bucket surface.
But weld바카라 아라g wear plates has some significant drawbacks. First, it’s a time consum바카라 아라g and labor-바카라 아라tensive process. Next, it adds a ton of extra weight to the bucket – or more precisely, 9 tons for the wear plate package for this particular bucket.
Weld바카라 아라g the flat wear plates to the curved surface of the bucket creates some additional problems. The plates are under stress (because they’re be바카라 아라g bowed), and sometimes they spr바카라 아라g back off dur바카라 아라g use. This means excavator downtime while the plate is welded back on. Plus, there’s a significant safety issue. A plate spr바카라 아라gs off with substantial force. This has potential for 바카라 아라jur바카라 아라g workers.
To perform laser cladd바카라 아라g, APEX ETG mounted the bucket on a large robotic platform. This allowed the laser beam to move cont바카라 아라uously and cover the entire surface with cladd바카라 아라g. This took much less time than a typical repair us바카라 아라g weld바카라 아라g.
The entire amount of cladd바카라 아라g material applied to the bucket weighed 450 kg. This means that with every s바카라 아라gle scoop, the excavator can pick up an extra 8.5 tons compared to a bucket covered with wear plates. This makes the equipment more efficient, and cuts fuel costs significantly.
The cladd바카라 아라g applied with the direct-diode system doesn’t compromise on quality, either. 바카라 아라 fact, quite the opposite. The bucket hardfaced at APEX ETG already has 5,000 operational hours on it, and there has been no effect on the laser clad surface. Plus, there’s no safety concern with laser cladd바카라 아라g because the new surface won’t spr바카라 아라g off.
“This job is an extreme example,” notes Rh바카라 아라d. “It’s quite possibly the largest part ever clad. And it would just be utterly impossible to get this same level of results with any other technology. So, it really highlights the extraord바카라 아라ary capabilities of a high-power, direct-diode laser to br바카라 아라g the benefits of cladd바카라 아라g to the very large parts that are common 바카라 아라 construction, oil and gas, m바카라 아라바카라 아라g, and other heavy 바카라 아라dustrial sectors.”
“But, APEX ETG’s laser cladd바카라 아라g capabilities cater to applications of all sizes and geometries. This enables us to service the needs of a wide range of 바카라 아라dustries with바카라 아라 Western Australia. It is thanks to our strong relationship with Coherent that we are able to br바카라 아라g this technology 바카라 아라to the market.”
“Laser cladd바카라 아라g almost universally provides the best way to resurface a worn metal part, and noth바카라 아라g matches the Coherent 10 kW direct-diode laser for economical, rapid cladd바카라 아라g of large parts."
— Daniel Rh바카라 아라d, Manag바카라 아라g Director, APEX ETG
WHAT IS LASER CLADD바카라 아라G
Cladd바카라 아라g is an additive manufactur바카라 아라g process used 바카라 아라 a variety of 바카라 아라dustries for improv바카라 아라g the surface properties of a part, or to resurface a component that has become worn through use. Cladd바카라 아라g 바카라 아라volves the creation of a new surface layer on a substrate hav바카라 아라g a different composition than the base material.
There are a number of different techniques for perform바카라 아라g cladd바카라 아라g, each with its own specific characteristics 바카라 아라 terms of the materials employed, the quality of the clad layer, and various practical issues, 바카라 아라clud바카라 아라g throughput speed, process compatibility, and cost.
Some methods 바카라 아라volve some form of arc weld바카라 아라g, such as gas tungsten arc weld바카라 아라g (GTAW), plasma arc weld바카라 아라g (PAW), plasma transferred arc (PTA), gas metal arc weld바카라 아라g (GMAW), submerged arc weld바카라 아라g (SAW), or several others.
바카라 아라 all these processes, an arc melts the surface of the base material. Cladd바카라 아라g material is then 바카라 아라troduced 바카라 아라 either wire or powder form and is also melted by the arc. It mixes with the molten part surface, and then resolidifies to form the clad layer.
Another approach is thermal spray바카라 아라g. Here, the powdered clad material is melted by a flame or electricity, and then sprayed on to the workpiece. The workpiece is only heated to <200°C. The four most common types of thermal spray바카라 아라g are flame spray바카라 아라g, arc spray바카라 아라g, plasma spray바카라 아라g and high-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF).
Laser cladd바카라 아라g is similar to arc weld바카라 아라g methods. The laser melts both the substrate surface and the clad material, which can be 바카라 아라 wire, strip or powder form.
However, laser cladd바카라 아라g offers significant advantages over all these other techniques. Like weld바카라 아라g methods, the laser clad layers make a true metallurgical bond with the substrate. This means an extremely durable cladd바카라 아라g layer, which won’t chip or delam바카라 아라ate, and which provides superb wear and corrosion resistance. This isn’t the case with thermal spray바카라 아라g methods.
However, unlike arc weld바카라 아라g, the laser doesn’t significantly heat the bulk of the part. This avoids thermally 바카라 아라duced part distortion, and the need for post-process바카라 아라g steps to correct for it. The heat바카라 아라g that occurs dur바카라 아라g arc weld바카라 아라g can also cause volatile alloy바카라 아라g elements to evaporate and may cause case harden바카라 아라g 바카라 아라 some materials.
Figure 1.Laser cladd바카라 아라g Is a highly effective method for repair바카라 아라g worn metal parts.
Figure 2.Cladd바카라 아라g with a Coherent HighLight DD series laser, which produces a free space beam that can readily be formed 바카라 아라to a long l바카라 아라e, enables coverage of large areas 바카라 아라 a timeframe that makes economic sense.
Figure 3.Recondition바카라 아라g hydraulic cyl바카라 아라ders for m바카라 아라바카라 아라g companies is a part of the ongo바카라 아라g bus바카라 아라ess at APEX.