Laser Surface Treatment Optimization of 1.2379 (AISI D2) Tool Steel

Industrial applications require materials with specific surface quality and hardness properties. Laser surface treatment stands out as a cost-effective and effective method that improves surface performance by changing the structural and physical properties of the material. 1.2379 cold work tool steel is a commonly used material in die and mold industries for injection mold inserts; therefore, the surface properties of the material play a significant role. In this study, it is aimed to optimize laser parameters; the laser power, pulse duration, repetition rate and line spacing for the responses such as hardness and surface roughness. For this purpose, 1.2379 cold work tool surfaces were treated using a commercially available industrial ytterbium low-power pulsed fiber laser experimentally. Experiments were conducted based on 34 full factorials. Vickers hardness and micro-roughness measurements were performed on the laser-treated surfaces. Regression models were developed using experimental data and the appropriate models were selected for each response. The response variables were then optimized based on stochastic optimization methods: Nelder-Mead, Differential Evolution, Random Search and Simulated Annealing. The results indicate that a maximum hardness of 495 HV0.5 and a minimum surface roughness of 0.277 mu m were achieved, corresponding to a 61% increase and a 43% decrease, respectively, compared to the base metal.