WEST AUSTRALIAN HEAVY INDUSTRIES BENEFIT FROM DIRECT-DIODE LASER TECHNOLOGY

APEX ETG uses Coherent 10 kW direct-diode lasers for ecient, high-speed cladding of components for industries such as mining, energy and construction.

Daniel Rhind has worked with surface coatings for 20 years and is keenly aware of the advantages of laser cladding over other methods for repairing worn metal parts In fact, he’s so enthusiastic about laser cladding that he started his own company – APEX ETG – to bring the benets of the technology to industries in Western Australia

But, as a business owner, he is just as focused on cost and productivity as he is on the quality of results So, to remain successful, his laser cladding equipment must meet several dierent requirements

First, it must clad rapidly This enables him to complete the many jobs he gets for resurfacing very large parts in the oil and gas, mining, and construction industries in a timeframe that satises his customers

Next, he requires operational exibility He wants each cladding system in his shop to perform the widest possible range of tasks – so that each is running all the time This maximizes productivity and return on investment Productivity is further enhanced if he can switch a machine between jobs with minimum downtime and diculty

The other big factor in productivity is equipment reliability and uptime A laser cladder that is down isn’t generating revenue or paying for itself

Finally, it almost goes without saying that he needs highquality results The success of APEX ETG depends heavily on repeat business – for example, ongoing programs to recondition hydraulic cylinders for mining companies He only retains these customers by delivering the right mix of quality results, quick turnaround time, and of course price “Our customer’s success is also our success,” Daniel explains

To meet all these needs, APEX ETG depends on laser cladding systems based on Coherent HighLight DD series products These are diode-lasers that oer up to 10 kW of output power They produce a free space (rather than bercoupled) beam that can readily be formed into a rectangular shape over a wide range of dimensions A simple change in the beam delivery optics can produce

Daniel Rhind, Managing Director, APEX ETG

What Is Laser Cladding

Cladding is an additive manufacturing process used in a variety of industries for improving the surface properties of a part, or to resurface a component that has become worn through use Cladding involves the creation of a new surface layer on a substrate having a dierent composition than the base material

There are a number of dierent techniques for performing cladding, each with its own specic characteristics in terms of the materials employed, the quality of the clad layer, and various practical issues, including throughput speed, process compatibility, and cost

Some methods involve some form of arc welding, such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), plasma arc welding (PAW), plasma transferred arc (PTA), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), or several others beams of anywhere from 1 mm to 12 mm in width and 6 mm to 36 mm in length Both pressurized and gravity feed powder nozzles are also available from Coherent to support high deposition rate cladding