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It’s time to clean out our closet and tell you about Laser cleaning machines; how they work, what materials they can process, what’s the difference between the models, and how to choose one for you. Let’s start!

What is Laser cleaning and how does it work?

High-energy laser that burns rust, paint, or corrosion, but does no damage to the material’s surface itself. That’s a laser cleaning, an effective method, which can help you where traditional ways of removing impurities would fail. For example, submicron particles of dirt which get stuck to the objects firmly can be easily cleaned off by a laser.

Let’s figure out how it works. Shortly, principle can be described like this:

  1. Emitted through the gun laser is absorbed by the layer of contamination.
  2. Since the laser beam is a high-energy one, it causes plasma to appear on the surface of that contamination, and it expands fast, summoning impact waves. 
  3. These waves destroy the dirt, crushing it into little pieces which can be easily evaporated.  

The major pluses which a laser cleaning machine can afford are no-contact process, no need in polishing (grinding), and a possibility to work with a wide range of materials.

That allows you to clean even the smallest details or those, for which the distortions are not acceptable. Also the laser effectively uses the metal’s ability to reflect.

Important conditions for quality work:

  • The light impulse should be short by width, so the hit wouldn’t have a chance to accumulate in the processed zone and damage the material.
  • If metal is covered by oxides or contains them, then plasma may appear on its surface as well.  

You need no additional consumables while working with a laser cleaning machine, except for protective glasses and electricity. Furthermore, no special preparations of the material before the beginning  are not needed.

Types of laser cleaning machines

Wattsan
CW
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If you looked in our catalog, then you’ve seen that we have different abbreviations for our equipment. Letters, which are in them, mean the type of the laser that is being used during the work: impulse (PA, PW, and PW Pro models) or continuous (CW and CW Pro).

Impulse cleaning

Wattsan
PA/PW
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These come with a power of 100, 200, 300, and 500 Watt. 

Pulse cleaning cleans more softly and is appropriate for all sorts of materials, including removing impurities from the nonmetal surface and cleaning tasks. It’s more expensive and takes longer to clean. When working with delicate and thin materials, only impulse cleaning is recommended.

Furthermore, when compared to continuous laser cleaning, pulsed laser cleaning allows for better heat management and prevents the substrate temperature from being too high or partially dissolved.

Continuous cleaning

Wattsan
CW
More

Here we speak about 1 kW power and up to 3 kW.

Continuous cleaning eliminates “dirt” by heating, and leaves a rougher surface. It is ideal for quickly removing rust, corrosion, and paint from broad sections of metal surfaces. It is used for big constructions, boats, trains, etc.

What materials can be cleaned

Laser cleaning machine can remove contaminants, like:

  • rust;
  • paints;
  • traces of fuel and lubricants;
  • carbon, soot;
  • organics;
  • tint;
  • coked oil;
  • and many more.

These and other types of impurities may be cleaned by the laser equipment from black and nonferrous metals, their alloys, ceramics, stone, bricks, granite, concrete, and other surfaces.

Application

Laser cleaning is used in a lot of different industries related to metal, but we will give you a few specific examples.

  1. Tire mold cleaning

During the production, they get dirty. Laser cleaning eliminates the problem of spring vent clogging and mold wear that existed in the previous blasting technique. Laser cleaning is a quick and dependable method for removing impurities from tire mold.

  1. Aerospace industry

Laser cleaning is a safe option for this.

It is used to take paint off significant components or entire airplanes before repainting them, remove coatings or corrosion, and remove layers of contaminants from metal and composite surfaces (у которых должен быть верхний слой из металла или термостойкого материала) in preparation for processing.

It is being preferred over traditional procedures since it is way friendlier on the component.

The same can be said for train, car industries, and etc.

Safety during the work

It’s important to remember that a laser is a light received by stimulated emission of radiation. Due to that, our eyes and hands need protection from it.

Wattsan laser cleaning machines come with special glasses. They protect the eyes from radiation. In addition, gloves should be worn just in case the laser causes a burn. It is also advisable to take off all jewelry.

How to choose

So, we have a few laser cleaning machine’s models in front of us. How to choose the right one for our needs?

The selection begins from the question “What are we cleaning?”. 

1.

Statues, gypseous sculptures, wood? Then you need an impulse cleaning machine that processes the delicate materials much softer. Also, it’s great for removing fats or oils, for example, from kitchens and cars. Business on cleaning of restaurant’s cook rooms is one of the ways to use this type of laser equipment.

Impulse cleaning doesn’t overheat the material and removes thick layers of impurities!

2.

If your key materials are metals, concrete, brick, and other large surfaces, then you need a continuous cleaning machine. To get rid of rust from beams, remove rust or paint, graffities.

It’s suitable for industrial, big projects, where the surface appearance is not that important, since this type of laser cleaning may cause a little material deformation. 

Fast (and furious) cleaning of greater areas and thin layers of dirt or paints is what continuous laser equipment is meant to do.

Important part! This type doesn’t work with wood, organics, or fatty contaminations.

2.1.

Continuous laser machines are divided by the numbers of seams they have. CW model has 1, while CW Pro has a few different ones.

Here the choice is based on the accuracy of the result you want to achieve at the end. If you are going to use the processed surface for further coating or etc, and the presence of lines is crucial, then you need a CW Pro machine. Different modes allow you to find a perfect variant for your task, and you get an evenly cleaned area.

If you haven’t found your material in the lists above, or something is still unclear, feel free to contact our managers! Call us, and we will tell you all the details, considering your case.

Conclusion

  1. This type of cleaning is a high-energy laser that burns rust, paint, or corrosion, but does no damage to the material’s surface itself. 
  2. Principle of work can be described like this: emitted through the gun laser is absorbed by the layer of contamination, and since the laser beam is a high-energy one, it causes plasma to appear on the surface of that contamination, and it expands fast, summoning impact waves. These waves destroy the dirt, crushing it into little pieces which can be easily evaporated.  
  3. The main advantages: no-contact cleaning, no need for grinding and the ability to work on a wide range of materials.
  4. There are pulse and continuous cleansings. The first ones are with capacities of 100, 200, 300, 500 watts. Impulse cleaning does not overheat the material and removes thick layers of dirt.
  5. The second has power parameters from 1 kW and up to 3 kW. Quick cleaning of large surfaces and thin layers of dirt or paint is what continuous cleaning is intended for.
  6. It’s important to remember about protection. Wattsan laser cleaning machines come with special glasses. They protect the eyes from radiation. In addition, gloves should be worn just in case the laser causes a burn. It is also advisable to take off all jewelry.

The most often asked questions:

Is it portable/handheld?

Yes. Our laser cleaning machines are handheld, and they have an 8-meter cable that allows you to freely move around. It may be elongated by the customer’s desire.

How long does it take to clean X square meters of metal?

Below, we have a few videos for you to demonstrate the speed of cleaning on a metal cube by different types of seams. 

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