| In conventional rotary cutting-die manufacturing process, the cost of materials is high, the process is time-consuming, production efficiency is very low, and therefore production costs are extremely high. Also, the life of rotary cutting dies is rather short due to the segregation and flake morphology of carbides in D2 alloy, commonly used for die making. For this reason, it is necessary to seek a new tool material, with a hard surface, a tough core, and with wear-resistant properties, to form patterned cutting blades to prolong the life of rotary cutting dies. Alternatively, we can investigate an alternative manufacturing process to produce such cutting dies at a significantly reduced production cost. Laser cladding appears to be such a process.; In our present research, a new powder feeding system is designed for laser cladding. It can provide a stable, continuous, and accurate powder feeding rate, and deliver the powder stream coaxially into the molten pool under the laser beam. The experimental results showed that this powder feeding system is suitable for depositing high quality cladding tracks, along complicated geometric paths, on flat or curved surfaces. A simple but realistic model relating the clad thickness and processing parameters is also developed, and the various relationships between the clad thickness and process parameters are discussed in detail. The calculated results of this model are in good agreement with the experimental ones. Finally, a novel process is successfully developed for directly depositing hard-facing tracks, along complicated geometric paths, on AISI 1045 steel substrates for manufacturing plate or rotary cutting dies. Fully functional prototype of industrial rotary cutting dies, for pilot testing, has been successfully produced by this process. This new technique is being implemented in die-making industry. |
