Metal additive manufacturingService / Laser cladding
Use this route when the project starts from wear, corrosion, oxidation, sliding contact, hot wear or a defined surface zone that needs a better material response.
Cladding fit
Material selection by surface duty
Wear, corrosion, oxidation, sliding contact and impact duty place different demands on alloy, layer design and inspection. The observed failure mode is therefore the starting point.
Surface function
130 mm drill project
The 130 mm drill used LMD for both part build-up and a local functional coating. Geometry, surface function, finishing and inspection therefore have to be planned together.
Build and coat
Rotor-wedge project
Copper alloys pose different questions in absorption, temperature control, dilution and coating uniformity than many steels. The project shows what must be clarified before coating.
Copper substrate
Valve-seat ring project
For the valve-seat ring, preheating and LMD coating formed the process chain for a demanding functional surface. The exact coating material remains project-specific.
Hard functional surface
Forging-hammer project
Hardness alone is not enough for high-impact tooling surfaces. Local reinforcement, toughness, bond, finishing, crack condition, and repair and replacement costs must be considered together.
Impact tooling
Technical guides
These articles cover when laser cladding beats conventional coatings, how alloy selection works and how failure modes map to layer and inspection choices.
Article
Laser cladding is strongest when a component needs a dense metallurgical layer on a defined wear or corrosion zone.
Article
Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) coatings on copper or copper-alloy substrates need a different review than standard steel cladding.
Article
An LMD build-and-coat workflow is worth evaluating when a metal part needs both geometry creation and a functional surface layer. The route should be reviewed as one manufacturing chain:
Article
Exafuse has publicly shown a valve seat ring coating workflow using Laser Metal Deposition (LMD): preheating in an oven, controlled application in the LMD machine and a wear-resistant...
Article
Forging hammer repair with Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) is worth evaluating when damage is local, the base hammer is still usable, oxides and cracks can be handled, and the rebuilt working...
Article
Alloy selection for laser cladding should start with the failure mode, the base material, and the service environment, not with a powder brand name.
Article
Cladding materials for corrosion or high-temperature service should be selected from the actual exposure environment, not from hardness alone.
Article
The right cladding solution starts with the failure mode, not with a favorite alloy family. Abrasion, erosion, adhesive wear, corrosion, oxidation, thermal fatigue, and impact each point...
Article
Exafuse has publicly shown a rapid LMD project example: a functional drill, described publicly as a "Bombenbohrer," produced from metal powder with an antimagnetic coating in under 24 hours.
Article
Metallurgical validation for laser cladding should prove that the deposited layer is bonded correctly, that dilution is acceptable for the job, and that the resulting microstructure and...
Article
No single inspection method proves everything on a repaired part. Visual checks, dimensional inspection, penetrant or magnetic testing, ultrasonic methods, CT, hardness checks, and...
Projects and common questions
These examples clarify material logic, coating limits and inspection expectations before a coating review.
Published industrial project
Exafuse developed an LMD coating route for turbo generator rotor wedges where the coating challenge was not only wear and corrosion resistance.
Published industrial project
How Exafuse uses Laser Metal Deposition to rebuild and reinforce forging hammer working faces, including a 170 mm radius round-die coating example with 20 mm Inconel 625 and laser polishing.
Published industrial project
How Exafuse developed a laser-cladding route for a cylindrical rolling-die component using material screening, diameter build-up, crack and pore review, microscopy and HV1 hardness profiles.
Published industrial project
Exafuse applied LMD / laser cladding to valve-seat and wear-ring geometries, combining layer planning, thermal control, finishing allowance and dye-penetrant inspection.
Published industrial project
A visual case for LMD / laser cladding on a large cylindrical component, showing process access, rotation logic, surface planning and a short deposition video.
FAQ
Laser cladding is the LMD use case focused on coating, wear protection, corrosion protection, or local surface rebuild rather than full-part additive manufacture.
FAQ
Material selection in LMD and laser cladding should start with the job the surface or buildup has to do, not with a favorite alloy name.
FAQ
Quality in LMD and laser cladding is not one number and not one final inspection step. Buyers should think in terms of a full validation stack:
Coating recommendation
Exafuse can review the likely alloy and layer strategy. Final feasibility depends on substrate, geometry, finishing, inspection and service conditions.