Annular laser cladding of CuPb10Sn10 copper alloy for high-quality anti-friction coating on 42CrMo steel surface

•A novel annular laser cladding (ALC) method for preparing low-absorptivity copper alloy materials coatings was proposed.•The energy absorption model of the ALC was established and an anti-friction coating of CuPb10Sn10 was realized.•The optimized ALC parameters effectively increased the laser absorptivity by 58%.•The ALC coating of CuPb10Sn10 have a reliable microstructure.•The ALC process was shown to be sufficient to prepare copper alloy coatings on carbon steel.