Extreme high-speed Laser Material Deposition: A way out of the chromium ban

Components are protected against corrosion and wear through hard chrome plating, thermal spraying, laser material deposition or other deposition welding techniques. However, there are downsides to these processes - for example, as since September 2017, chromium(VI) coatings require authorization. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen as well as the RWTH Aachen University have developed an ultra-high-speed laser material deposition process, known by its German acronym EHLA, to eliminate these drawbacks. EHLA does not contain the environmentally harmful chromium(VI). With the developed process, components can be coated, repaired or additively manufactured in a particularly economical and environmentally friendly manner.
Dr. Andres Gasser and Thomas Schopphoven from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen and their colleague Gerhard Backes from the Chair for Digital Additive Production of the RWTH Aachen University have developed the EHLA process and were therfore honored with the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2017.