Laser cladding is an advanced additive manufacturing process that enhances or repairs the surface of a component by applying a high-powered laser to fuse a metallic coating onto a substrate.

This method improves wear resistance, corrosion protection, and overall performance by creating a metallurgically bonded layer with minimal dilution. Unlike traditional welding or thermal spray coatings, laser cladding delivers precision, reduced heat input, a metallurgically bonded layer that does not chip or peel and exhibit superior material properties.

Industries such as aerospace, energy, mining and heavy machinery rely on laser cladding to extend component life, reduce downtime, and optimize performance. Synergy leverages cutting-edge laser technology for high-quality, durable results.

The Laser Cladding process uses a laser beam to form a melt pool on a metallic substrate. Metal powder or metal wire is injected directly into the melt pool, and the deposited metal then cools in a controlled and consistent pattern, creating a full metallurgical bond with the substrate with minimal to no dilution. This process is also referred to as Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process.

The primary application of this technology is in two areas:

• Enhancing the component life – by hardfacing or corrosion resistant material deposition
• Repair and Remanufacturing components to extend the life of component

Our low-heat process enables the deposition of coatings with unique properties such as high hardness, high toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance on a variety of substrates causing minimal impact to metallurgical integrity of the substrate.

Synergy’s laser cladding service offers ultra-low dilution with the base material and ensures excellent retention of coating material properties.

• Minimal to no distortion– for example, in critical components such as motor shafts, high precision shafts and spindles, bearing journals and other heavy rotating equipment, secondary processing such as straightening can be avoided when laser cladding is used. Heat sensitive applications such as motors, shafts can be rebuilt without damaging windings or motor components
• Minimal post machining – For applications such as oil and gas tools, marine drive shafts where post machining or grinding is required, laser cladding minimizes the grinding required saving cost in overall process.Typical grinding requirements are around 0.010”-0.030” per side.
• Minimal dilution – Dilution is typically defined by the amount of intermixing that happens between the base material and laser clad material. Typical laser clad deposits exhibit a dilution of less than 1% with base material compared to 10-15% dilution commonly seen in PTA and other arc welding processes. Due to minimal mixing with base material, a laser clad deposit typically results in material properties in 1 layer compared to multiple layers in arc process. This is a substantial savings in material costs.

• Little to no porosity (>99.9% density) – High-quality and dense coatings are produced which contain increased strength, hardness and wear resistance compared to partially dense coatings like welding or thermal sprays.
• No delamination or debonding – Laser Cladding is a superior alternative to thermal spray or chrome coatings. In applications such as hydraulic cylinders where substantial and bending loads are seen, laser clad layers do not delaminate, chip or crack resulting in prolonged life of the components when compared to hard chrome.
• Complex profiles – These can be laser clad and hard faced without the need to mask the surfaces. Hot stamping dies, Hot forging dies, High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) tools and other complex components can be robotically programmed for repair. Synergy’s proprietary ID Cladding technology enables laser cladding inside IDs as small as 1.5” (38.1 mm).
• Minimal Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) – Compared to conventional techniques such as PTA and other arc processes, Laser Cladding exhibits substantially lower HAZ. HAZ is hard region of material under the weld. A lower HAZ often indicates better performance under stress and fatigue loading.