Laser systems can be used for the Surface Engineering processes such as cladding and heat treatment. For cladding, the laser is used to fuse a deposited material onto the surface of a base material. Heat treatment of steels and other materials is performed by the controlled application of heat from the laser. The various spot sizes and dimensions of laser spots allow very controlled and localised heat application. The main advantages of lasers in Surface Engineering are:

• Flexibility of the spot allowing excellent localised heating.
• High processing speeds leading to high productivity
• Controlled heat input minimising distortion

Laser Surface Engineering processes are used on components such as engine parts, aircraft components, turbine blades and mining tooling. The industries which use laser Surface Engineering process include the automotive, aviation, mining and power generation industries.