Laser surface melting: A suitable technique to repair damaged surfaces made in 14 Ni (200 grade) maraging steel

A high power solid Nd-YAG laser, operating in continuous mode, was used to re-melt the surface of a maraging steel, 14 Ni (200 grade), in different heat treatment conditions. Processing parameters were optimized for the employment of this technique as a repairing procedure of damaged surfaces to increase the useful life of tools made in maraging steels. Different zones can be found in laser-heated material. In addition, the absence of austenite reversion, consistent with the low nickel content of this steel, was found with the exception of a few very small pools of austenite found in a narrow layer in the heat-affected zone of samples corresponding to one of the studied heat treatment conditions of steel. Laser surface melting (LSM) combined with aging heat treatment causes a significant rise in the hardness (from 325 to more than 520 HV0.1) and in the wear resistance of the surface layer (with a decrease in the volume of lost material from 0.52 mm(3) in the steel in the laser surface melted condition to 0.28 mm(3) in the steel in laser surface melted and finally peak age hardening condition). (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.