Similar to rust and oxides, the removal of grease, mould, dirt and paint is often done prior to metal welding or bonding to ensure a strong, contaminant-free bond. The most common metals that form oxidation layers include common metals such as aluminium, bronze, brass and copper, as well as precious metals such as gold and platinum. Not only can it be used to remove the oxidation layer, but it can also remove any remaining contaminant oxides from the product, protecting it from further damage. This is where laser cleaning proves its advantage. However, removing the oxidation layer could expose it to further deterioration. Such coatings can influence the integrity of a product, and are a sign that its surface material is breaking down. įor metals that don’t contain iron – and therefore do not rust – laser cleaning can be used on those that instead develop an unwanted oxide coating. ![]() The most common metals that can rust include iron, cast iron, wrought iron and steel. Rust removal is also performed to to restore metal products or structures, for example those with historic significance. ![]() Rust removal is one of the most common uses of laser cleaning, often done to ensure a clean, uncontaminted surface prior to welding or bonding applications. What substrates and contaminants can be cleaned using a laser? The simplest, most effective way of ensuring user safety during laser cleaning is to have the application take place remotely, within a strictly controlled laser safety enclosure. Similarly, the user must also be protected in such a way that they are not being exposed to laser radiation levels that exceed the limits outlined by their government. To ensure user safety during laser cleaning, a suitable fume extraction system must be positioned next to the process to ensure that levels of harmful particulates that exceed the limits outlined by governments are not released into the air. The process can be conducted either in person, using a handheld system to move the scanning beam over the workpiece, or remotely, delivering the beam to a laser head via an optical fibre, which can then be moved over the workpiece automatically using robots within a safe enclosure. This targeting of the right ablation threshold, combined with the fact that laser cleaning can be controlled with micrometre levels of precision, ensures that the underlying substrate is left completely free from damage. The parameters of the laser beam – namely its power, wavelength, repetition rate, scanning speed and beam diameter – are carefully selected so that only the ablation threshold of the unwanted material is reached, rather than that of the substrate itself. This causes particulates of the material to be ejected away from the substrate, or for the material to be vapourised entirely. Here the beam interacts with any unwanted material, which absorbs the energy and rises rapidly in temperature until its ablation threshold is reached – the point at which its molecular bonds break. ![]() How does laser cleaning work?Īt its core laser cleaning involves an optical scanner being used to move a focused laser beam over a surface. Laser cleaning on the other hand requires no consumables, only power, making it more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than such traditional methods. These can often be labour-intensive or require the use of consumables such as sand (sand-blasting techniques can also damage the underlying substrate) or hazardous chemical products/solvents (which then require costly disposal) depending on the material being removed. The process, which can be used for micro-scale or large-scale cleaning of a number of materials, offers an attractive alternative to traditional industrial cleaning methods. Laser cleaning is a quiet, non-contact, non-abrasive, efficient, cost-effective, repeatable, high-precision and eco-friendly process that can be used to remove unwanted materials such as dirt, rust, paint, oil, oxides and other contaminants/impurities from surfaces. A brief introduction to laser cleaning, the technologies involved, and the advantages it offers over other cleaning methods What are the advantages of laser cleaning?
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