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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.

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.The industrial laser cleaning machine must be fired in short pulses to avoid damage to the substrate being worked on. The rust rapidly absorbs the energy of the laser beam, resulting in increased temperature levels. Once the temperature is sufficiently high, the rust melts and eventually vaporizes.

Since fiber laser cleaning uses a nonabrasive, noncontact approach without the involvement of solvents, chemicals, or abrasive media, it is ideal for surface profiling and rust/scale removal. The cleaning process can be conducted on a small or large scale and can be automated. Precision laser cleaning machine is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to remove rust and prepare the surfaces of rolled steel products and fabricated steel parts for protective coating.

Laser weld preparation is one of the many applications of laser cleaning and handheld laser welding machine and helps to remove ferrous and nonferrous metals, lubricants, and other contaminants from metal and aluminum surfaces in preparation for high-quality welds. It also ensures smooth and pore-free brazed seams.

When used in pretreatment processes for welding and brazing, laser cleaning does the following:

Thorough removal of shop-primer, hydrates, and oxide layers

De-greasing and de-oiling

Apart from welding and brazing preparation, lasers can also be used to remove weld residues such as residual flux and oxide materials as well as thermal stains from finished weld joints. This cleaning method is particularly beneficial for stainless steel parts since laser light suspends grain boundaries, ensuring that weld seams are passivated—thus increasing corrosion resistance.

The benefits of using laser cleaning in welding and laser marking machine and brazing pretreatment applications include:

Adjustable wavelengths and power for precise treatment of joining surfaces over a wide range of material thicknesses

No damage to the underlying substrate—that is, the galvanized layers of sheet steel

Partial decoating. Laser cleaning is particularly effective in applications that require the partial removal of paint or coatings from finished surfaces. It can be used on virtually all surface types, whether chemically anodized, oxidized, or organic. Laser cleaning can be used to de-coat solar panels and remove paint in the automotive and aerospace industries while maintaining the integrity of the primer substance.