Direct Laser Deposition (DLD) of WC/Co cermets as wear-resistant coatings

This thesis presents the Additive Manufacturing (Direct Laser Deposition) of Tungsten Carbide (WC) cermets, a material that has long been used for wear applications. This alternative route of fabrication allows the expensive yet wear-resistant materials to be placed at locations where the wear resistance is required. This thesis illustrates the effects of different print parameters, presents the optimal parameters that result in a dense and successful deposition without Carbon loss or Cobalt binder evaporation, and examines the microstructure and wear mechanisms. With our unique microstructures, the wear performance of our WC coatings exceeds that of the commercial WC cermets by more than 1 order of magnitude.