Four-stroke marine pistons are subjected to high forces and temperatures. Their grooves are getting wider with time and once a tolerance limit has been reached, they have to be replaced with new ones. KIMI offers the laser cladding repair option as a cost-saving, sustainable repair solution that not only restores but also prolongs pistons’ service life by improving grooves resistance to erosion and corrosion.
Laser cladding is the most advanced fusion technique and it has many advantages over other buildup techniques. Only with laser cladding, 100% reliable and safe buildup of worn out grooves can be guaranteed, due to the metallurgical bond achieved. With laser cladding piston grooves are re-built and machined back to original dimensions, thus, standard size piston rings can be fitted again. The method is applicable not only to steel but also cast iron and aluminium pistons as a result of the low dilution and the low heat input during the process. The material used for building up piston grooves achieves high mean hardness and very low coefficient of friction. Subsequently after repair, piston obtains higher resistance to erosion than before. Finally, the material used for building up sustains its hardness at high temperatures.
As a supplementary service, we provide our customers with full-reporting- including dimensional reports, photos and NDT certificates-prior and after repair. NDT services and certificates are issued by certified personnel (Level II EN473). Finally, quality assurance throughout the repair process and final quality control are indispensable part of all of our services.