Mechanical Properties of White Metal on SCM440 Alloy Steel by Laser Cladding Treatment

The bearing is a machine element that plays an important role in rotating the shaft of a machine while supporting its weight and load. Numerous bearings have been developed to improve durability and life, depending on the functions and operating conditions in which they are desired. White metal is one of method to improve durability that is soft and bonded to the inner surface of the bearing to protect the bearing shaft. Currently, the centrifugal casting process is used as a white metal lamination method, but it involves problems such as long processing times, high defect rates and harmful health effects. In this paper, a laser cladding treatment is applied to bond powdered white metal to SCM440 alloy steel, which is used as bearing material in terms of replacing the risks of a centrifugal process. In order to understand whether laser cladding is a suitable process, this paper compares the mechanical properties of white metal produced on SCM440 alloy steel by centrifugal casting and the laser cladding process. The laser power, powder feed rate and laser head speed factors are varied to understand the mechanical properties and measure the hardness using micro Vickers and conduct field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and friction testing to understand the mechanical properties and surface characteristics. Based on the results, the hardness values of the cladding (white metal) layer ranged between 24 and 26 HV in both the centrifugal casting and laser cladding methods. However, the hardness of the white metal produced by laser cladding at about a depth of 0.1 mm rose rapidly in the cladding process, forming a heat-affected zone (HAZ) with an average hardness value of 200 HV at a laser power of 1.1 kW, 325 HV at 1.3 kW and 430 HV at 1.5 kW. The surface friction testing results revealed no significant differences in the friction coefficient between the centrifugal casting and laser cladding methods, which allows the assumption that the processing method does not significantly influence the friction coefficient.