Effects of tungsten inert gas welding and laser welding parameters in maintenance welding of plastic injection molds

Manufacturers of plastic injection parts, which provide products with serial production of many sectors, especially automotive and white goods, have to keep their assets in tough competitive conditions together with continuously developing technology. One of the most important steps in achieving this is cost and therefore efficient use of resources. For this reason, in the case of problems in plastic injection molds, repair welding should be preffered instead of replacement. In this study, firstly the welding method is presented, then TIG and laser welding methods used for maintenance welding in plastic injection mold steel are explained. In the experimental study, TIG and laser welding were applied to 1.2738 mold steel and the results were evaluated by ITAB width and Vickers hardness.