Effect of scanning path on deformation of laser cladding coating on thin-walled part

In order to improve the current situation that thin-walled part such as harvester cutter are prone to deformation during laser cladding for their performance enhancement, three different Fe-based alloy cladding coatings were prepared by Nd:YAG laser processing system under the scanning paths of Hilbert fractal, contour offset, and grating. The data of the deformation of the substrate and the bath depth were then obtained. The results show that the bath depth at the center of the contour offset scanning path is the largest, which is 0.75mm, and the deformation of the sample reaches 0.30mm; there is a positive correlation between the thermal gradient of the bath and its vicinity and the deformation of the substrate in the laser cladding process. The higher the temperature is, the faster the change is, the greater the thermal stress is, and the greater the tendency of deformation is. The bath depth in grating scanning path increases with time and the thermal gradient is small, so the deformation tendency of the substrate is weak, and the macroscopic feature is the best, which is suitable for the scanning path of laser cladding of thin-walled part. This study has guiding significance for laser cladding on thin-walled part.