Besides the technological control of the laser cladding process, industrial applications require the increase of knowledge about the relationship between powder composition, cladding process parameters, layer structure and mechanical properties.
This paper describes in the first part new results of materials investigations on the characterization of suitable compound powders and the clad layers. SEM and quantitative metallography give detailed information about the microstructure of the layers and the degree of partial dissolution of the WC hard particles dispersed within the solidified Ni- or Co- matrix. The second part demonstrates relations between material, layer structure and abrasive wear properties. The findings illustrate that a content of about 40 vol% WC is sufficient to reach wear properties similar to sintered hard metal.