Effect of Laser Preheating AISI 4140 Specimens for Micro-Forging

Many high performance and permanent service parts require suitable material characteristics-high fatigue strength is one of the most important characteristics. For this reason, surface treatment processes are essential to increase the material performance and avoid the use of costly ineffective material. There exist various surface treatment processes for various applications. Each process has advantages and disadvantages and hybridization can solve various problems. The micro-forging process delivers a controlled and uniform surface hardness, but the depth of the forged surface is limited. On the other hand, laser heat treatment can increase the hardness drastically, but the surface may become brittle, which reduces the fatigue life. Laser-assisted micro-forging is a novel hybrid process of laser heat treatment and micro-forging that has the potential to increase the forging depth and relax the stress caused by the high temperature of the forging process.