Preliminary study on corrosion and wear properties of laser color marked stainless steel

Abstract

Laser color marking of stainless steel has been in the interests of different industries for some time. Still wide use of the process is not seen on consumer products which might be because of lack of their usability information. Laser processing of stainless steel surfaces creates an oxide layer on the surface. The thickness of this layer defines how white light is reflected from the surface. What in principle is only a thin oxide layer on the surface can be seen as different colors by the viewer. If this oxide layer is thick and solid it will have good corrosion and wear properties. Consumer products are constantly under certain corrosion and wear. In this study, the corrosion and wear properties of laser color marking on AISI Type 304L (EN1.4307) austenitic stainless steel were evaluated based on laser process parameters and colors. The results show that the corrosion properties of marked surface expressed as critical pitting temperatures (CPT) depend on heat input: coarsely the lower heat input the higher CPT. Also scanning velocity has a remarkable effect on CPT. The laser color marking parameters have a significant influence on the wear behaviour of both the surface itself and that of the counter body surface. Laser color marking has high potential to become a widely used technique for product marking and decoration.Laser color marking of stainless steel has been in the interests of different industries for some time. Still wide use of the process is not seen on consumer products which might be because of lack of their usability information. Laser processing of stainless steel surfaces creates an oxide layer on the surface. The thickness of this layer defines how white light is reflected from the surface. What in principle is only a thin oxide layer on the surface can be seen as different colors by the viewer. If this oxide layer is thick and solid it will have good corrosion and wear properties. Consumer products are constantly under certain corrosion and wear. In this study, the corrosion and wear properties of laser color marking on AISI Type 304L (EN1.4307) austenitic stainless steel were evaluated based on laser process parameters and colors. The results show that the corrosion properties of marked surface expressed as critical pitting temperatures (CPT) depend on heat input: coarsely the lower heat input the hi...