Purpose This study aims to investigate the correlation between laser processing parameters, microtexture characteristics and the tribological behavior of cemented carbide surfaces. Design/methodology/approach Annular microtextures were fabricated on YG8 cemented carbide discs using a nanosecond laser under varied parameters to investigate their effects on tribological performance. The influences of laser power, scanning speed and scan count on texture geometry were characterized, and tribological tests were conducted accordingly. Findings Results show that texture width and depth increase with higher laser power, decrease with faster scanning, and increase with more scans. The friction coefficient first rises and then falls with increasing power, gradually increases with speed and decreases before rising with additional scans. The lowest friction coefficient (0.30452) was achieved at 20 W, 100 mm/s and three scan passes. Originality/value The relationships among laser parameters, the geometric characteristics of the microtextures and their subsequent effects on the tribological behavior of microtextured cemented carbide were established. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-09-2025-0440.
Tang et al. (2026) studied this question.