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Claddings are used to protect areas of components that are exposed to particular chemical, physical or tribological stresses. The aim when developing a cladding process is to achieve a cladding with low waviness in order to reduce the amount of machining required. Computational models and FEA simulations can be used to determine process parameters for claddings with low rework including a prediction of the height and width of a single weld seam aswell as the development of welding strategies. In this paper empirical models describing the geometry of single weld seams on a substrate manufactured with a coaxial laser hot-wire cladding process are investigated for three steel wire materials and different welding parameters. The coordinates of surface points of the weld seams were detected using a laser scanning microscope and post-processed by a self-created script. In order to describe the cross sectional shape of the weld seams, the parameters of parabolic, cosinusiodal or circular arc model functions are derived from the surface data using a fitting algorithm. For the tested wire materials, an effect of the wire material on the shape of the weld seam was not observed. The investigations also show that regardless of the varied welding parameter set or wire material, a circular model function appears to be the most suitable model shape for describing the cross sectional weld seam geometry in coaxial laser metal deposition with hot-wire. The regression residua using a circular arc model function ranged from 18.9 $$\upmu$$ μ m to 34.6 $$\upmu$$ μ m, which indicates a good approximation.

The demand for raw materials is growing and deep-sea mining is becoming increasingly important. It is of great interest to be able to analyze materials directly in the deep sea for mining or research applications. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a laser-based, non-contact method for analyzing material in terms of its elemental composition. This paper presents the design of a LIBS system to be operated in a water depth of up to 6000 meters. A compact double pulse laser with adaptable pulse interval was developed to address different water depths. The complete LIBS setup was tested in a pressure chamber and shows emission lines from zinc up to a water pressure of 600 bar. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first LIBS measurement at 600 bar water pressure.

In laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) the presence of oxygen is known to encourage embrittlement and impair the wetting properties of the substrate and solidified material. Conventionally, inert gases like argon are used to reduce the residual oxygen content within the processing atmosphere. However, especially in terms of reactive materials like titanium the remaining oxygen still causes critical oxidations.In this publication, a new approach for obtaining an oxygen-free processing atmosphere is presented. Thereby the argon shielding gas is doped with reactive monosilane to reduce the residual oxygen content to a range comparable to XHV (Extreme High Vacuum, thermodynamic oxygen activity

As an energy-preserving variant of laser hybrid welding, laser-assisted arc welding uses laser powers of less than 1 kW. Recent studies have shown that the electrical conductivity of a TIG welding arc changes within the arc in case of a resonant interaction between laser radiation and argon atoms. This paper presents investigations on how to control the position of the arc root on the workpiece by means of the resonant interaction. Furthermore, the influence on the welding result is demonstrated. The welding tests were carried out on a cooled copper plate and steel samples with resonant and non-resonant laser radiation. Moreover, an analysis of the weld seam is presented.