Laser Sources
The high capital investment of laser cladding systems is mainly attributed to the laser source itself. Before the advent of high power diode lasers (HPDL), the only available laser type with high power levels was the CO2 laser which apart from being expensive and inefficient, it introduced a series of integrating hurdles due to its long wavelength. Nowadays however with HPDL and fibre lasers being significantly cheaper to buy and operate, the cost of the process is becoming competitive to more humble techniques. This fact combined with the capability for lower operating costs, result to break-even point being reached in less than five years.
