The recent development in multi-kilowatt CO2 and Nd-YAG lasers has led to a significant increase in surface hardening processes, such as transformation hardening, surface melting, surface alloying, surface cladding, and ceramic coating. The application of these processes has resulted in better physical properties of the surface and improved performance in the given environment without affecting the core properties. A wide range of ferrous alloys which are used in the automobile industry, machinery, and machine tools, have been successfully treated with lasers to a desire depth and showed a considerable improvement in hardness, wear, and fatigue properties.
The aim of this article is to analyze laser surface hardening process of various types of steels and cast irons and their influence on enhancing the microstructure, hardness, wear resistance, and fatigue properties.