Laser texturing before thermal spraying - LaTex

Important results from the project

The project tackled the area ”Resource-efficient production” by focusing on the surface preparation before thermal spraying: substitution of the traditional multi-step grit-blasting process by one-step laser texturing. The overall goal was to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of laser texturing before thermal spraying in industrial environments. The goal was reached by understanding the interaction laser/material, testing in 4 production lines, and commitment of every partner.

Expected long term effects

In the long term, it is expected that Swedish companies start to adopt laser texturing as a pretreatment instead of grit blasting lading to: _ Improved work environment by removing particles, vibrations and noise _ Increased resource efficiency: no chemicals nor grit, lower energy requirement _ Lower number of component failure due to repeatable surface properties with laser _ New development in thermal spray coatings and processes when optimized to match laser treatment

Approach and implementation

The consortium included a research institute, a university and six industrial partners. Activities: Texture design - how to choose the treatment parameters for each case (substrate, coating); Demonstrators of real components - how to go from lab scale to production line; Case for industrialization - what are the expected qualitative and quantitative benefits; Sharing the findings - results and guidelines were shared nationally and internationally, in course material, publications and workshops.