Quality monitoring during laser hardening
The paper describes typical problems and their solutions during surface hardening with laser. This method is now widely used for processing tools, turbine blades, gears and a number of other machine components. However, during process quality control, it is often difficult to correctly determine both the hardness of the hardened layer and also its depth, as it is not easy to use the measurement procedures from other hardening methods. Another problem is calibrating the temperature sensor on the laser system and setting the correct control parameters. Practical examples show a number of situations that can lead to serious quality problems, as well as how to prevent them.