Minimalinvasives Laserauftragschweißen und Funktionalisieren der Nickelbasis-Superlegierung Alloy 718 ; 1. Auflage

Despite high quality requirements for the complex manufacturing processes in mechanical engineering, tool making, or aeroengine technology, manufacturing deviations in the production of new parts cannot be avoided. Likewise, the often high-priced components are subject to wear and tear over the course of their life cycle, which means that they can no longer be used as intended. This has a negative impact on the life cycle costs of the affected products, as in addition to the high costs of the components themselves, follow-up costs due to new procurement, loss of production and contractually agreed availability must be considered. Due to long product life cycles, components and spare parts must be available on the market decades after they have been put into service. The resulting need for repair procedures for every phase of the product life cycle represents a challenge for manufacturing and service companies. One possible method to address manufacturing deviations and wear is laser deposition welding (directed energy deposition with a laser beam on metallic materials, DEDLB/M). So far, DED-LB/M has been used as a repair process only for areas of components that are accessible with the available system technology, and where the material properties are not significantly deteriorated by the DED-LB/M process, thereby ensuring the component’s functionality. Manufacturing deviations and wear often occur in areas of components that are inaccessible with the available DED-LB/M system technology, requiring access to be created for repair. This approach can be compared to the surgical techniques prior to the introduction of minimally invasive surgery, which led to the widespread use of endoscopes and the miniaturization of surgical instruments. Therefore, the aim of this work is to investigate how a minimally invasive application of crack-free coatings within Alloy 718 components, with access openings (height ≤ 50 mm, width ≤ 10 mm), and the minimally invasive, laser-based functionalization for precipitation hardening of the coated area can be achieved using the required system technology for industrial applications. This procedural combination offers untapped potential for the repair of components in the tool, machine, and engine building industries. The necessary system technology is designed, assembled, and tested. Additionally, a process development is carried out. The static mechanical properties of the applied and functionalized material are determined through tensile tests, and the resulting microstructure is metallographically analyzed. As part of an application demonstration, a minimally invasive reconstruction within a cavity of a structural engine component is realized, followed by the functionalization of the applied material.