Microstructural Tuning of a Laser-Cladding Layer by Means of a Mix of Commercial Inconel 625 and AISI H13 Powders

The aim of this work is to evaluate the microstructural evolutions developed by mixing a corrosion-resistant and high-performance material with a high-hardness material in a coating obtained by laser-cladding technology. In this paper, five different mixtures of Inconel 625 alloy and AISI H13 steel powders have been deposited on a plate of 42CrMo4 steel using a 2.2 kW diode pumped Nd:YAG laser. The effect of adding tool steel to a Ni-based superalloy has been analyzed by the characterization of each cladded sample using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The precipitates observed in the samples have been analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS X-ray). SEM micrographs and EDS analysis indicate the existence of Laves phase. It has been observed that the presence of these precipitates is stabilized in a certain range of AISI H13 addition.