A systematic research on the capability of the laser surface cladding by a fibre laser assisted by pneumatic powder injection in order to coat stainless steel by a stellite layer was carried out.
The high beam quality of the fibre laser allowed us to produce coatings with reduced width and thickness, assuring a minimum dilution of the substrate keeping a strong fusion bond.
The high quality of the coatings obtained will face up to the production of large area coating with a low thermal loading that is adequate to the repairing applications of high value damaged pieces. Also, the applications of the rapid fabrication of pieces with a high dimensional accuracy requirement and low dimensions could be dealt with the fibre microcladding technique.
The aspect ratio, geometrical dilution and the superficial roughness of the coatings were examined for different combinations of the processing parameters. An evaluation of the microstructure, composition and the cross-section evolution of the mechanical properties was revealed by SEM, EDX analysis and nanoidentation tests.