Significance The scientific and technological community has shown an increasing interest in amorphous alloy materials because of their excellent properties, such as high strength, high hardness, and good corrosion resistance. With the development of high-end equipment manufacturing and the increasing demand for principal devices, applying laser-manufacturing technology to form bulk amorphous alloy components, amorphous strengthening, and micro-machining of the material surface has received increasing attention. For decades, people have studied the forming and processing technology of bulk amorphous alloys. Copper mold casting and thermoplastic forming technology have been widely used to form amorphous parts. The copper mold casting method has high forming efficiency, but the complexity and size of the amorphous components are limited. Thermoplastic forming technology has high forming precision and can form amorphous components with a surface micro-nano structure, but the size is still limited, and the powder composition is strictly required. Regarding machining, some methods exist, such as diamond turning and micro-EDM, but they easily crystallize amorphous materials in the machining process. With the development of critical special equipment and complex amorphous components, traditional manufacturing methods are difficult to meet the requirements; therefore, there is an urge and necessity to explore new technologies for the efficient forming and processing of amorphous alloys.
Progress Selective laser melting (SLM) technology can fabricate bulk amorphous alloys without size limitation to form a complex structure of precision pure amorphous devices and increase the heating and cooling rate in the molten pool by changing process parameters. However, no universal rule in parameter selection exists, and there are few studies on crystallization and other mechanisms, which must be further studied. Laser welding technology splices small-size amorphous alloys together to form large-size amorphous alloys without changing the amorphous characteristics, with the advantages of a simple process, high production efficiency, and high application value. However, the heat-affected zone easily crystallizes at low temperatures and slow cooling stages; therefore, simulation and theoretical analysis must be combined to predict whether crystallization can be used to obtain the process parameters of amorphous welding. The technologies of laser amorphization and laser-cladding amorphous coating are surface-strengthening methods for different degrees of corrosion resistance, wear-resistance, and other extreme conditions. It is easy to operate and has several applications. The amorphous layer obtained by laser surface amorphization technology is thin, and the properties of the amorphous layer significantly depend on the material composition and properties of the substrate. The laser-cladding amorphous coating makes up for the inherent defects of laser surface amorphization. However, because of the influence of the growth of the substrate epitaxial layer and the uneven flow of the melt, it is challenging to obtain pure amorphous coating, and the coexistent form and formation mechanism of the amorphous and crystal phases in the coating are unclear. The synergistic effect of the crystalline and amorphous phases on the properties of the coating must be studied. The processing of amorphous alloys by laser ablation, especially femtosecond laser processing, has the advantages of a minimal heat-affected zone and accurate ablation threshold that can realize high precision and amorphous processing of amorphous alloys. However, the laser process parameters' effect on the efficient machining of various bulk amorphous alloys and the fabrication of surface micro-nano structures must be further studied. Currently, most of the significant scientific and theoretical issues of amorphous alloy laser-manufacturing technology are unclear, and many scholars predominantly improve the forming and processing quality of amorphous alloys from the aspect of process exploration. Thus, the excellent properties of amorphous alloys are applied in related technical fields.
Conclusion and Prospect With the development of high-end equipment manufacturing and precision devices and amorphous alloy systems with special properties, the research and application of laser-manufacturing technology of amorphous alloy materials in various systems will be pushed to a new height. Therefore, the formation and processing of amorphous alloys require continuous process testing to obtain optimal components and deep research into the principal mechanism research in the manufacturing process of amorphous alloys. Combined with simulation and theoretical analysis, the optimal machining parameters are obtained. Laser augmentation manufacturing and laser welding can realize the formation of large-size amorphous alloys, which can meet the applications of high-performance and large-size amorphous devices. However, in most industrial applications, using bulk large-size amorphous alloys increases manufacturing costs. Amorphous layers were obtained on the surface of common metal materials using laser surface amorphization and cladding technology. The excellent properties of amorphous alloys are grafted onto the surface of common metal materials, which can reduce manufacturing costs and improve the surface properties of metal materials. Laser ablation-processing technology can change the shape of bulk amorphous alloys, which makes amorphous alloy applied in various fields and occasions in various forms of devices, especially in precision instruments and machinery, have a broad application prospect. Laser-manufacturing technology of amorphous alloy materials has significant potential in aerospace, precision instrument production, biomedicine, and other fields, but the application of technology in these fields is still in its infancy, and further research is urgently needed.
