Just like boats need to be protected from rust, components need to be protected against wear and corrosion. While there are multiple ways of protecting components, such as thermal spraying, hard chrome plating, and laser material deposition, none of these three processes are foolproof. But researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and the RWTH Aachen University, both in Germany, have been working to find an answer that can get rid of these downsides. The researchers have developed an additive manufacturing process that offers eco-friendly, cost-effective corrosion and wear protection and also gets around all of the drawbacks experienced with thermal spraying, chrome plating, and laser material deposition. The patented extreme high-speed laser material deposition method, known by its German acronym of EHLA, is able to overcome the obstacles typically found in coating technology and repair. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/176503/fraunhofer...hla-corrosion/