From manufacturing plants and medical labs to the automotive, aviation, and steel fabrication industries, the laser is becoming the most preferred method for surface cleaning of materials.
Although the use of lasers in laser cutting machine, drilling, and laser welding machine applications is well known, its current adaptation in industrial cleaning applications is relatively new and unexplored.
This current application of lasers came as a result of the need for a nonhazardous, nonabrasive cleaning method that could be used as a substitute in applications where chemical, manual, and abrasive blasting methods were formerly used.
Benefits of using lasers in cleaning applications
Key problems presented by conventional cleaning methods include negative environmental impact and wear on the substrate. Abrasive blasting systems created significant amounts of waste and damaged delicate surfaces, while the use of chemical solvents resulted in potentially hazardous vapors and liquid waste products.
This led to the adaptation of laser technology in surface cleaning applications. Due to its many benefits, laser cleaning machine is now the most effective method of removing unwanted matter from the surface of materials.
Currently, there is a wide array of pulsed laser cleaning and de-coating systems used in various applications ranging from removing vulcanizing residue from tire molds and engraving surfaces by ablation to stripping insulation from conductors and de-coating paint from delicate surfaces.
Some of the many benefits of using lasers in surface cleaning applications include:
Automated and nonrandom cleaning method
Reduced amount of waste products
Increased safety
No need for chemicals or blasting media
Nonabrasive and noncontact cleaning process
Laser cleaning applications
Surface profiling and rust removal in steel fabrication. Portable laser cleaning machine is also an effective and efficient method for removing rust and scale from metallic materials. Rust and scale are contaminants that form on metal surfaces as a result of natural or artificial processes. When metals are exposed to moisture, they react with water to form ferrous oxides, resulting in rust. This rust degrades the quality of the metal, making it unsuitable for use in various applications.
