Effect of laser-discrete-quenching on bonding properties of electroplated grinding wheel with AISI 1045 steel substrate and nickel bond

To improve the bonding strength between the nickel bond and the hub of the electroplated diamond grinding wheel, a hybrid technique was proposed to combine laser pre-quenching steel substrate and post-electroplating nickel. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, AISI 1045 substrate was nickel-coated. The bonding properties between the electroplated nickel coating and substrate with or without laser-discrete-quenching were discussed comparatively by scratch, indentation, and thermal shock tests. The results show that the pre-quenching treatment leads to phase transformation of AISI 1045 microstructure from the mixed pearlite and ferrite phases into the martensitic phase. Since the martensitic phase is characterized as a high corrosion resistance, the interface of substrate/coating is smooth and flat in the pre-quenched zone, and the coating is bonded well with the steel substrate. In contrast to the steel substrate without pre-quenching treatment, the proposed technique significantly enhanced the bonding strengths of the electroplated nickel-coating. On one hand, the average hardness of electroplated nickel-coating on the laser pre-quenched zone is increased by 18.7%, and the scratch depth with the same load become narrower and shallower. On the other hand, the coefficient of friction (CoF) and the vibration amplitude are reduced, and the coating is bonded effectively with the substrate to inhibit the crack initialization at the interface. This prevents effectively the coating from peeling off and improves significantly the thermal shock resistance property.