Multiple layer laser cladding is a flexible rapid prototyping and tooling process that allows a fully dense wall or surface to be fabricated from the consolidation of a metal powder. The microstructure and resultant physical properties of the material are determined by process parameters, one of which is the pulse width of the laser used. In this work, a CO2 laser, operating at different pulse widths and in continuous mode is used to assess this effect. Microstructural characterisation of multiple layers of consolidated 316L steel is carried out and the dimensions, surface roughness and hardness of the built samples compared with the generating pulse widths. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.