Initial Situation
An industrial valve in a power plant showed significant wear on its wedge gate. Under conventional repair practice, the existing STELLITE™ 6 hardfacing would first have to be completely removed before a new layer could be applied – a time‑consuming and costly process.
The Challenge
A refurbishment method was required that would:
- reliably eliminate wear,
- keep material removal to an absolute minimum, and
- significantly reduce the overall effort for disassembly, machining and post‑treatment.
The Solution
Our approach: laser cladding with STELLITE™.
- The wedge gate is turned down only far enough undersize to create a flat, uniform surface – a complete removal of the original hardfacing is not necessary.
- A new layer of STELLITE material is then applied to this surface using the laser cladding process, achieving a precise build‑up with a metallurgical bond to the base material.
- Final machining and reassembly of the valve are carried out on site at the power plant by a specialised service company.
