Localized laser dispersing of titanium-di-boride with pulsed fiber laser

In this paper, titanium-di-boride is dispersed on a cold-working tool steel by use of a pulsed fiber laser with high beam quality to produce separated and elevated surface features. The potential to adjust the geometry as well as the mechanical properties of the produced structures in dependence on the process parameters (pulse power, pulse duration) is described by means of metallographic and topographical investigations. It can be ascertained that very hard (hardness > 1000 HV1) surface features of different shape (spots and short lines) can be produced. They are characterized by a fine-grained microstructure resulting from a rapid solidification and finely dispersed TiB₂ particles. Finally, the paper proposes different applications for this structuring technique.