Fabrication of metal-polymer hybrid via injection molding of polymer on laser cladded metal

Metals and polymers are frequent materials for engineering purposes. Technological advances have called for new materials with high stiffness and low production cost, especially in automotive industry. Up until now, the more common approach was to employ high strength metals like steel in manufacturing different parts and coating them subsequently with regard to their application, in order to reach maximum performance. One of the novel composites is metal-polymer hybrid which is produced by injection molding a layer of polymer on a laser cladded metal to form a laminated composite. The superiority of this method lies in the diversity of pattern and powder material and feed rate in cladding that can be optimized for a particular loading in different applications. Evaluating parameters are, holding pressure, mold temperature, cladding pattern, and polymer thickness. Simple Tension and three-point bending tests showed that the maximum strength of joint adhesion was achieved at mold temperature, lower holding pressure (70MPa), higher thickness (3mm), and parallel pattern. Moreover, better flexural modulus was reached at mold temperature, lower holding pressure (70MPa), lower thickness (2mm), and parallel pattern.