As a traditional plain bearing manufacturer, ADMOS mainly produces composite plain bearings for machine and plant engineering. Laser cladding has been developed as an alternative to the existing casting processes. These is a so-called generative process for coating surfaces on a base body of steel or high strength copper alloy.
The Process
A laser beam, which is focused on the component surface via optical components, serves as the energy source. As a result of the continuous feeding of the powdered bearing material, a local molten bath forms on the component surface. Through the solidification of that weld pool, a firmly bond is formed with the base material. Any layer thickness can be generated by a track or layer-wise welding.
For tin-based bearing materials, the welding process was qualified by an independent institute in the course of a welding procedure test in accordance to DIN EN ISO 15614-7.
The Technology
The system concept allows a maximum flexibility with regard to the geometries who can be coated. A multi-axis industrial robot serves as a carrier system for the processing optics and allows a free positioning of these anywhere in the room. At the same time, a flexible clamping device is provided for handling the workpiece. For the use of all degrees of freedom and for the building of even the most complex motion paths, a offline programming with a powerful 3D-CAM system is used.
The Advantages
ADMOS is able to process all common bearing materials by welding. The method has a number of substantial advantages over the traditional casting process.
- high reproducible bonding strength
- energy saving up to 80%, material saving up to 70%
- simple multilayer construction (e. g. steel – bronze – white metal)
- level of automation ensures a high quality level
- highly flexible system technology (emergency requests, repairs)
The Potential
- processing and development of new bearing materials
- broad choice of material for the basic body (e. g. alloyed steels, copper-based alloys, …)
- new coating variants and material combinations (e. g. floating bush with steel core)