Further analysis of metalographs such as the one in Figure 2a of samples produced from
parameters in the middle of the parameter space yielded three main observations and results 1)
Fully dense deposits were achievable 2) Metallurgical bonds were formed between the melt and
base substrate 3) Hot tearing, or stress cracking was not evident. In addition, the selection of
samples that were given a stress relief heat treatment as a group did not exhibit cracking as a
result of the heat treatment. An example of the microstructure of a heat treated sample is shown
in Figure 2b.