Recently, the 4000W robot laser intelligent additive manufacturing system independently developed by Huirui has been successfully delivered to a customer in the mold industry. The company uses many years of professional experience in metal additive manufacturing technology to provide customers with engineering machinery, aerospace, energy and electricity, and petroleum through continuous innovation. Provide services to customers in the chemical industry, mold manufacturing, rail transit, and other industries. The company insists on being customer-centric and market-focused, providing customers with professional, high-quality products and services to meet customers’ higher demands for advanced manufacturing technology.

Application background

Glass molds are the main molding tools for glass products. Cast iron is widely used to make glass molds because of its excellent casting performance, easy processability, and hot and non-stick properties. However, cast iron materials have poor wear resistance and high-temperature oxidation resistance. During use, the glass mold frequently comes into contact with high-temperature glass melt at about 1100°C, causing the mold to suddenly cool and heat up. At the same time, the joint surfaces rub and impact each other during the opening and closing of the mold. High temperature and wear damage make the glass mold still workable in the cavity, and the seam line is prematurely damaged, leading to failure and scrapping.

The conventional repair method uses plasma surfacing technology to weld a layer of alloy strengthening layer on the vulnerable parts of the mold (mainly the seam line). However, with the development of laser cladding technology, its high-temperature preheating, molten pool depth, and thermal impact Shortcomings such as large areas, low processing efficiency, and low powder utilization are gradually exposed. Using laser cladding technology instead of plasma surfacing to repair the seam line of the glass mold has great advantages in terms of efficiency, cost, and technical effects.

Common glass molds are mainly functionally divided into preliminary mold, forming mold, and mouth mold. The main materials include vermicular graphite cast iron, gray cast iron, copper alloy, etc.

In the glass mold industry, the laser cladding process has the following advantages

• Improve service life
  Laser cladding technology is used to prepare an advanced high-temperature wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant nickel-based alloy coating on the surface of the mold. The coating has excellent wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high-temperature oxidation resistance, and high-temperature fatigue properties, and can greatly increase the service life of the mold.
• Repair damaged mold
  Traditional repair methods often cannot fully restore the use effect of glass molds, and it is difficult to guarantee the accuracy and quality of the molds. Laser cladding repair technology can re-grow new coatings on damaged areas and ensure a strong bond between the coating and the base material, thus improving the quality of repairs.
• reduce manufacturing cost
  Laser cladding technology can quickly repair and manufacture glass molds. During the cladding process, the coating thickness can be precisely controlled, eliminating waste, making the mold more durable, and reducing the cost of replacing the mold, thereby reducing production costs.

Joint surface repair case

Glass molds often rub and collide with each other during the opening and closing process, causing premature damage to the seam line, resulting in mold wear, corrosion, thermal fatigue cracks, oxidation, etc., and eventually failure and scrapping. In order to enhance the service life of the mold, laser cladding technology is currently used to prepare a new type of nickel-based alloy coating with outstanding high-temperature wear resistance, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, and high-temperature fatigue performance on the surface of the mold. Tests and experiments have shown that the nickel-based alloy coating has excellent anti-wear, corrosion resistance, and high-temperature oxidation properties, which can greatly extend the service life of the mold.

Material selection: Nickel-based high-temperature alloy
Cladding equipment: mobile laser cladding equipment
Laser: semiconductor laser four-point nozzle

Process testing

By optimizing process parameters such as laser power, powder feeding speed, and scanning speed, the cladding layer has a low dilution rate, forms a good metallurgical bond with the substrate, and has no defects such as cracks, slag inclusions, and pores. Penetration testing was performed after the mold was cooled, and there were no defects such as cracks or slag inclusions in the welding layer and base material.