Investigation of coatings with in-situ TiX reinforcements fabricated by additive-subtractive manufacturing: Hardness, microstructure and machinability

Wear resistance is essential for the long lifespan of critical components such as turbine blades in aircraft engines. Coatings reinforced by hard particles provide a highly effective means to enhance the anti-friction characteristics of these vital parts. Additive manufacturing presents a promising alternative for the fabrication of particle reinforced coatings. Nonetheless, it remains crucial to employ finishing processes on additively-manufactured parts to meet stringent quality and dimensional precision requirements before assembly. In this study, new findings on the additive-subtractive manufacturing of the coatings reinforced by in-situ TiC, TiB and TiB2 was comprehensively analyzed. The coupled influence of the fraction of WC and the laser power on the quality and properties of the coatings were explored, and the machinability of the coatings were evaluated via the finish milling. It was found that the fraction of WC was dominant on the morphology, phases, hardness, and microstructure of the laser-clad coatings; the difference in the properties of the coatings caused variance on the cutting force, surface quality and work hardening of the machined surface.