Shanghai, China--Along with Höganäs (China) Co. and ABB, Coherent (Santa Clara, CA) has opened a laser applications center at the Höganäs facility in Shanghai. ABB makes robots, while Höganäs specializes in metal powders.
The new center contains a Coherent HighLight 4000L 4 kW direct-diode laser system mounted on a ABB IRB 2600 robot. Users will be able to optimize the laser application of metal claddings; the facility will also help those developing new cladding techniques to understand the suitability of laser technology.
"Höganäs has developed a range of powders that are particularly well-suited to the needs of high-tech surface coating methods, such as laser cladding," said Per Engdahl, president of Höganäs Asia. "The expertise that our applications engineers offer in utilizing these materials will facilitate effective implementation of laser cladding and shorten the process-development time scale for our customers."
Avoids heat distortion
"Direct-diode laser cladding offers several practical advantages over traditional arc welding and thermal spraying methods," noted Frank Gaebler, Coherent's director of marketing. "For example, the laser technique avoids heat distortion of the part, thus eliminating the need for post processing. It also delivers a clad having extremely low dilution, reduced porosity, and good surface uniformity. The direct-diode laser delivers lower cost of ownership and beam characteristics better suited to cladding when compared to other laser types."
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