Application of Laser Cladding Technology in the Repair and Strengthening of Agricultural Machinery

According to statistics, the mechanization level of agriculture in China reached 74% in 2022. As China begins to promote agricultural mechanization and automation on a large scale, the requirements for production efficiency are becoming increasingly higher. Long-term overload operation, poor lubrication, impurities, external impacts, and other factors directly affect the service life of key agricultural machinery components. The failure of critical wear-resistant parts such as rotary blades, harvester cutter discs, and trenchers significantly increases maintenance costs and severely impacts the working efficiency of agricultural machinery. Currently, most agricultural machinery repairs involve simple disassembly and replacement, which not only increases the operational costs for agricultural machinery companies but also hinders the widespread adoption of agricultural mechanization in China.

With the rapid development of modern agriculture, applying advanced laser technology to the agricultural sector has become an essential step. Among these, laser cladding technology for the repair and reinforcement of agricultural machinery is particularly noteworthy.

Laser cladding is a surface modification technology for base materials. By pre-setting the cladding path and using laser irradiation, the cladding material and the substrate surface are rapidly melted into a molten pool along the laser path, then quickly solidified into a metallurgically bonded, low-dilution cladding layer. This enables in-situ repair of mechanical components or cladding processes to enhance the wear resistance, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, oxidation resistance, and other properties of the original substrate surface.

Compared to traditional processing technologies, laser cladding technology has the following characteristics:

1. The cladding layer and the substrate can form a metallurgical bond;

2. The substrate experiences minimal thermal impact and is less prone to deformation;

3. The dilution rate of the cladding layer is low, saving expensive cladding materials;

4. The thickness of the cladding layer can be controlled;

5. It can repair specific parts of components and areas that are difficult to handle with other methods.

Before cladding and repairing agricultural machinery components, surface pretreatment is required. Due to the harsh working environment of agricultural machinery, components are often covered with soil, oil, water, fertilizers, pesticides, rust, oxide layers, and other contaminants, making the repair process more complex compared to other fields. For agricultural machinery components, a common practice is to rinse off surface dirt from soil-contacting parts with water. If the dirt on the damaged surface is particularly stubborn, laser cleaning can be used. Afterward, the surface to be clad is sanded with sandpaper and cleaned with acetone to prevent surface contaminants from entering the cladding layer during laser cladding, which could cause defects and affect the quality and performance of the cladding layer.