Under the term “rapid prototyping” (RP), different production techniques dedicated to the speedy fabrication of sample parts for demonstrations, evaluation or testing can be included. The rapid prototyping based on laser cladding stands out from the other technical approaches because of nature of the pieces obtained which confer them not only the geometrical specifications for testing purposes but the mechanical and chemical properties required for the real application. This emerging RP technology tested by several researching institutions has provided the production of pieces built with different materials without additional treatment ensuring the mechanical response and the surface finish required. The successful application of this technology yields profits due to the shortening of the costs and manufacturing cycle times of the production.
An exploratory study about the implementation of the RP via laser surface cladding by pneumatic powder feeding to produce a continuous, homogeneous and dense electrodes employed for electrical discharge machining (EDM) without post-treatment has been collected in this work. The dimensional accuracy and the surface finish condition were methodically examined in order to tune the value of the processing parameters. The microstructure and the phase identification analysis completed the basic study.