Microstructural evolution of tool steels after Nd-YAG laser repair welding

The present paper is aimed at investigating the microstructural behaviour of tool steels after repair welding or refurbishing by a pulsed Nd-YAG precision laser. The 1.2311 (40CrMnMo7), 1.2083 (X42Cr13) and 1.2343 (X38CrMoV5-1) steels were selected for experimental investigations to cover a wide range of steel grades, commonly used in tooling industry. Laser repair welding condition was simulated by preparing small deposits in one or more passes on steel samples having several reference geometries. Investigations on microstructural properties, microhardness evolution and on defect formation were carried out. The effects of different laser welding parameters were also considered. The study allowed to state several fundamental information on tool behaviour during repair welding in order to gain a deeper insight into this process, routinely considered in industrial practice but often neglected in scientific research works on welding metallurgy. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.