Powder fed laser beam cladding is the cladding of an additional material on a component with the help of a laser beam. The result is a functional surface with certain technological features or the reconstruction of the required contour of the component. According to the method of the application of the additional material a one-step and a two-step procedure can be distinguished. The BIAS uses the one-step procedure, where the additional material in form of powder, wire or paste is supplied in the machining zone. By the use of a multi-layer application, laser beam coating produces functional layers with a thickness > 2mm. The two-step procedure fixes the additional material before the machining onto the surface. This can be done by thermal spraying, galvanic coating, plating or binding with an organic binder. In contrast to conventional welding procedures the laser beam cladding has the advantage of low heat input and local and precise machining so that machinery components can be repaired with low distortion and low rework. An example is the repair-cladding of ship diesel valves (Fig. 1). The used Stellite 6 powder is supplied by means of an off-axis-powder nozzle. For cladding Nd: YAG- or diode-laser radiation is used. By this method crack free coatings can be generated by overlapping tracks. By application-based qualification proofs as well as the proof of the operational requirements, BIAS was admitted by the Germanian Lloyd for laser beam cladding of machine components of ships. The basic technology was published in form of a PAS (Publicly Available Specification) to open it to the public.

Figure 1: Repair cladding of a ship-diesel-valve.
Figure 2: Cross-section of a coating, Stellite 6 on a steel substrate.	Figure 3: Admission to laser beam coating of machine components of ships.