WC-Co/316L stainless steel bonding enhancement by laser surface texturing and pressure-assisted sintering

WC-Co cutting tools are widely used in harsh conditions, but the brittleness of this material can limit their use. Joining steels to WC-Co can provide an alternative, by combining the toughness of steel with the high hardness and wear resistance of WC-Co. The creation of textures at the bonding interface is known to increase the adhesion between materials, through a mechanical interlocking effect and an increase in the contact area. In this sense, this work proposes the laser surface texturing of WC-Co green compacts with cross-hatched and circular micropatterns and subsequent pressure-assisted sintering of the textured and sintered WC-Co with 316L SS powder to improve the bonding between materials. Results showed that the bonding of the textured multi-material was successfully processed and an interdiffusion zone was formed at the bonding interface without the presence of detrimental compounds. The addition of textures showed a tendency to increase the shear bond strength, with the cross-hatched micropatterns generally showing a higher bonding strength than the circular micropatterns. This approach showed to have the potential to improve the bonding between materials, thus contributing to the development of novel multi-material WC-Co/316L stainless steel cutting tools with enhanced properties and performance.

Automated summary

In this study, laser surface texturing was used to improve the bonding between WC-Co and 316L stainless steel. The addition of textures increased the shear bond strength, with cross-hatched micropatterns showing higher bonding strength. This approach has the potential to develop novel multi-material cutting tools with enhanced properties and performance.