Hardening and Heat Treatment
Different techniques of surface hardening allow for the use of cost-effective materials, also in components that are subject to high mechanical stresses.
If necessary, diode lasers can be used to harden the material in very localized areas, so that only the stress zones of a part are hardened; thus used i.e., in steel and cast iron for tool manufacturing.
Advantages of Diode Lasers
A unique advantage of the diode laser hardening process over conventional heat treating processes is the possibility to adjust its spot ideally to the contour requiring hardening and, therefore, to achieve extremely high throughput.
Its easy mode of operation allows the diode laser to be integrated easily into production processes and, if desired, to be used with an industrial robot.
Local and Selective Heat Treating
Compared to other lasers used for hardening, diode lasers have the advantage of a shorter emission wavelength better absorbed by metals, and superior process stability.
Additionally, diode lasers do not require special absorption layers that can prevent temperature control by a pyrometer and also may result in the contamination of the surface.
Hardening with Diode Lasers
Simply put, the advantage of diode lasers compared with conventional technologies is: Better quality.
In hardening, both direct and fiber-coupled diode lasers are used in conjunction with special homogenizing optics and pyrometers.
- Local surface hardening exactly where required
- Low distortion and no rework
- Short wavelength enabling superior absorption
- Closed-loop temperature control
- Highest process efficiency of all laser types
- Extremely reliable for production processes
Brochure (PDF)
Hardening
(6 pages, 572 kB)
