Laser-Assisted coating techniques and surface modifications: a short review

A wide variety of coating methods and materials are available for different applications while the common purpose of all of them is protecting a part or structure exposed to mechanical or chemical damage. Decreased manufacturing cost is another important advantage of having a coating layer on substrate materials when there is a need for a high-performance and expensive material on the exposed surfaces of a part. In such cases, the part body may be manufactured out of less expensive materials and coated by the desired expensive material only at the exposed surfaces. Laser-assisted processes, such as laser cutting, laser welding, laser-assisted coating, etc. are a revolutionary set of processes in fabricating mechanical parts using a laser as the heat source. Laser-based processes have also been employed to create material deposition on selected areas to provide a protective layer. Depending on the deposited materials, these protective layers can serve to enhance corrosion and wear resistance, heat transfer, and mechanical behavior of substrates. To date, numerous laser-assisted processes have been introduced and investigated. Although each of these processes provides advantages, there are always drawbacks limiting their applications. In this article, laser-assisted coating methods are categorized, and a comparative study of these techniques is presented. It is likely to see higher qualities of protection by evolving more advanced techniques and materials in the future.