Use of a Laser/TIG combination for surface modification of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The surface modification of materials such as Ti-6Al-4V is necessary to imp rove their wear resistant properties for use in tribological applications, in this paper it is shown that a laser with low power and tungsten inert ga s (TIG) can be combined together for surface modification of Ti-6Al-4V allo y, and when performed in a controlled atmosphere of pure nitrogen or a mixt ure of nitrogen and argon, can produce a wear-resistant surface alloy. Comp ared with laser processing, a cheaper surface modification process has been developed involving a shorter processing time, which is free of stringent requirements such as a vacuum system.