Effects of Neodymium Adding Amounts on Microstructure and Properties of Laser Cladding Ni-base Alloy Layer on Cr12MoV Die Steel

The Ni-base alloy layers with the addition of rare earth element neodymium were cladded on the surface of Cr12MoV die steel by a CO2 transverse flow laser with the preset-powder method. The microstructures and properties of the Ni-base alloy layer were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Vickers microhardness test and wear test. The results show that with the addition of 1.5wt% neodymium, the dendrite growth directivity in the cladding layer was weakened, the microstructure tended to be uniform and the wear resistance increased obviously. With the addition of 2.5wt% neodymium, the cladding layer had a relatively compact microstructure and showed the best anti-wear performance. With the addition of 3.5wt% neodymium, the size of the microstructure in the cladding layer tended to be large, and the amount of coarsened hard phase particles increased and the pores were produced, resulting in the obvious decrease of the properties of the cladding layer.