Abstract
This paper describes two processes for the 3D microstructuring of metallic/metal-matrix composite parts by using pulsed Nd-YAG laser. (1) In the first part, laser microcladding process is discussed. The effect of beam interaction time and the relationship between various layers are considered. The results show that in this case the beam interaction time greatly affect the structural development of the product with respect to its strength and quality. (2) In the second part, selective laser sintering with the one and two components metallic powders shall be discussed. The results show that due to the surface contact only, the feature size obtained with the one component solid state sintering is smaller compared to the two metal liquid phase sintering of the metallic powder, comprising of high and low melting point. The influence of the processing conditions on the type of phases and the microstructure evaluation are considered. Successful attempts were also made in creating the fine structures with the metal-matrix composite powder materials. A few examples are demonstrated briefly.