Prolonging lifetime of milling tools by laser cladding of wear resistant coatings

The tools used for milling and grinding can have a limited lifetime due to excessive wear. Their lifetime can be prolonged by application of suitable coatings. Highly wear resistant coatings can be easily applied by means of laser cladding. The goal of this study is to effectively prolong the lifetime of milling screw used in sawdust processing. The coating consisting of tungsten carbide spherical particles in NiCrBSi matrix excels with high hardness and excellent wear resistance. This coating is laser cladded to the areas of the tool, which degrade first due to rapid wear rate. The cladded milling screw is then tested in production. The treated part exhibit with significantly less wear rate than the untreated part of the tool. The lifetime of the whole milling screw is prolonged, however additional optimization of areas treated by cladding can bring further improvement