Abstract:
To address the defects such as pores and cracks in laser-clad Ni-based WC wear-resistant coating on H13 steel surface, a novel hybrid process of laser cladding and remelting was proposed to prepare WC wear-resistant coating on H13 steel. First, the influence of WC addition on the forming quality of pre-coating subjected to laser remelting was investigated. The results indicate that with the increase of WC addition, the grain size of the pre-coating decreases, and the crack sensitivity increases. Among them, the pre-coating prepared with 30% WC addition exhibits the best performance, with few cracks. Secondly, the laser remelting treatment was applied to the pre-coating by using the controlled variable method, and the influence of different process parameters on the microstructure and properties of the remelted layer was studied. The results indicate that when the heat input of laser remelting is small, remelting only occurs in small areas, which is insufficient to achieve the purpose of eliminating pores and healing cracks; when the heat input of laser remelting is large, the molten pool produces solid-state shrinkage during solidification, and large thermal stress is generated in the microstructure after solidification, leading to secondary cracks and pores inside the remelted layer; the grain size inside the remelted layer is directly proportional to the laser current and inversely proportional to the defocus distance and scanning speed. Finally, the obtained optimal parameters are a laser current of 110 A, defocus distance of 7 mm, and scanning speed of 90 mm/min. Under these conditions, there are no obvious pores or crack defects in the remelted layer; the element distribution is uniform; the microhardness value is stable, and the average microhardness reaches 735.5 HV. This provides a new process method for the laser repair and remanufacturing of the mold surface.