Laser cladding technology has been identified as one of the most promising technologies in brake disc coating and reducing the particle emission problem from brake discs. It can provide corrosion and wear resistance as well as a very high mechanical resistance through metallurgical bonding with the substrate. In addition to the technical advantages, laser cladding technology brings economic and supply chain advantages. The process efficiency is higher than 90% and is suitable for the scaling up and industrialization phase. The developed materials used in the laser cladding process are cost-effective, and the process requires minimal masking or preparation. It can also be fully automated using robots and set production lines. In this regard, we have developed a single-layer solution, i.e. DiscCover® Beam using a dedicated laser cladding powder for brake disc application, i.e. Metco®Brake powder. The developed powder is perfectly weldable on cast iron substrates without any pre-processing or pre-heating. From the application development point of view, the developed solution for brake disc coating has technical and quality advantages compared to other coating technologies. First, it can provide the required corrosion and wear resistance over such a thickness of 150-300 µm as a single-layer solution. Secondly, it can produce a coating with minimal heat input and carbon pick up from the substrate resulting in deformation in the disc and cracking in the coating. Finally, it also enables good metallurgical bonding with the substrate which guarantees no coating delamination during the operation. In regard to industrialization for mass production scenarios, the economic advantages of laser cladding technology are far ahead of the competing technologies as well. The process can be scaled up with more laser power, higher process speeds, and powder flow rates in addition to possible innovative machine designs to shorten the coating cycle time. These features are ideal for continuous processes. Present work is intended to provide up-to-date information on the latest trends in laser cladding technology on brake discs from application development to industrialization for mass production scenarios.

Oerlikon: Dr. Eng. Hossein Najafi, Mr. Mehmet Kemal Coskun, Dr. Eng. Arkadi Zikin, Mr. Jörg Spatzier