Citation :

Nguyen Van Cuong, Toan Thang Le, Thu Quy Le, "Effect of Laser Cladding Parameters on the Surface Roughness of Stellite 6 Coatings on Cylindrical AISI 1045 Steel," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 33-42, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488360/IJME-V13I8P104

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of laser cladding parameters on Surface Roughness (Rz) of Stellite 6 coatings on cylindrical shaft substrate of AISI 1045 steel using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array with three replications. Stellite 6 powders were deposited on AISI 1045 steel substrate using the laser cladding method with laser power, scanning speed, powder feed rate, and overlap ratio as input parameters. Surface topography was measured using a 3D non-contact optical microscope. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and quadratic regression modeling were performed based on experimental results. Experimental Rz values were varied between 30.09 and 66.44 μm. ANOVA showed that the overlap ratio was the dominant factor affecting the surface roughness, followed by scanning speed and powder feed rate, while laser power had a significant non-linear effect on roughness. A statistically significant quadratic regression model (F = 63.83, p < 0.001) was developed to predict Rz response. According to the regression model and main effects plots, optimum laser power of 1800 W, scanning speed of 800 mm/min, powder feed rate of 15 g/min, and overlap ratio of 60% were predicted to achieve the minimum value of Rz. The predicted minimum value of Rz from the regression model was found to be 18.11 μm. Confirmation experiment was conducted at the predicted optimum setting, which resulted in an average Rz of 19.55 μm, revealing a prediction error of 7.4%. Therefore, increasing the overlap ratio improves surface uniformity and reduces the post-machining allowance required for laser-clad shaft components.

Keywords

Laser cladding, Stellite 6, Surface roughness, Taguchi method, ANOVA, Regression model.

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