The present study concerns the generation of a wear resistant Stellite 6 CO2 laser
clad layer on the surface of an EN19 steel substrate by means of laser surface cladding. Laser surface cladding
was carried out by melting the Stellite powder (particle size 10 to 40 μm) supplied through a
pneumatically driven powder delivery system (using a 4 MP powder unit) with a 9 kW continuous wave (CW)
CO2 laser with the wavelength 10.6 µm. The microstructure of the clad layer was found
to consist of three zones: a clad layer comprised of dendrites of Stellite 6; an alloyed zone comprised of a
cellular microstructure, which was a mixture of Fe and Co; and the heat affected zone (HAZ), which was a
mixture of pearlite and martensite. Compared to the EN19 steel substrate, the micro-hardness of the clad layer
represented a significant improvement, increasing to 1200 VHN
