Effect of the scanning speed of laser cladding on microstructure and mechanical properties of WC/Ni composite coatings

Cold work dies (of Cr12MoV) surface of the WC/Ni composite coating prepared by laser cladding can be used to quickly repair worn areas of dies. The composition, hardness, fracture morphology, microstructure, and shear strength of the coating were characterized by microhardness tester, universal tensile testing machine, XRD, EDS, and SEM. The results show that the main phase of the coating is composed are M23C6, FeNi3, Cr7C3, WC, W2C, Cr2B, Fe2B, and W2B. The change of scanning speed only changes the diffraction peak, but has little effect on the internal structure and strengthening mechanism of the coating. With the decrease of scanning speed, the powder deposition density per unit time increases, and a large number of pores and unmelted particles are mixed in the coating, which weakens the bonding strength between the coating and the substrate, and the fracture mechanism of the coating changes from quasi-cleavage fracture to brittle fracture.