Laser processing of molybdenum coatings applied by electro-spark deposition

The study focuses on determining the effect of laser remelting on the performance properties of electro-spark deposited coatings. The evaluation of the performance properties of the coatings before and after laser irradiation was carried out based on abrasive wear resistance and adhesion tests. The research was conducted using Mo as the coating material (anodes) applied by electro-spark deposition onto carbon steel samples (cathodes), which were then remelted with a laser beam. An ELFA-541 device of Bulgarian manufacture was used for the electro-spark deposition of the coatings. Laser processing of the applied electro-spark coatings was performed using an Nd:YAG laser, model BLS 720.One of the inexpensive and well-known methods for shaping a technological surface layer (TSL) is electro-spark processing. This method was developed in the 1940s in the USSR, almost simultaneously with subtractive electro-discharge machining.
The creators of both methods were B. R. Lazarenko and N. I. Lazarenko[1]. It began to be intensively developed in the 1960s, and in the 1970s, it was quite commonly used for depositing refractory materials onto metals and their alloys, mainly steels. This method was used to apply hard alloy coatings, e.g., WC, TiC, etc. (…)

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