There are various cleaning methods in the traditional cleaning industry, most of which use chemicals and mechanical methods for cleaning. As my country’s environmental protection regulations become increasingly demanding and people’s awareness of environmental protection and safety becomes higher and higher, there will be fewer and fewer types of chemicals that can be used for industrial production cleaning.
How to find cleaner and more non-destructive cleaning methods is a question we must think about. Laser cleaning has the characteristics of no grinding, no contact, no thermal effects, and is suitable for cleaning objects of various materials. It is considered to be the most reliable and effective solution. At the same time, laser cleaning can solve problems that traditional cleaning methods cannot solve.
The physical principles of laser cleaning
The light emitted by the laser is absorbed by the layer of contaminants on the surface to be treated. Larger energy absorption will rapidly expand to form plasma (highly ionized unstable gas), generating shock waves. The shock waves clear the contaminants through the debris.
Compared with traditional cleaning methods, such as mechanical friction cleaning, chemical corrosion cleaning, liquid and solid strong impact cleaning, high-frequency ultrasonic cleaning, etc., laser cleaning has five obvious advantages.
Environmental protection benefits: Laser cleaning is a “green” cleaning method that does not require any chemicals or cleaning fluids. The cleaned waste is basically solid powder, small in size, easy to store, recyclable, has no photochemical reaction, and does not pollute. Environmental pollution problems caused by chemical cleaning can be easily solved. In most cases, an extractor fan can solve the waste problem caused by cleaning.
Effect advantages: Traditional cleaning methods are mostly contact cleaning. The surface of the cleaning object is affected by mechanical force, which will damage the surface of the object. The cleaned medium adheres to the surface of the object to be cleaned and cannot be removed, causing secondary pollution. Laser cleaning solves these problems by being non-abrasive and non-contact, with no thermal effects that won’t damage the substrate.
Control advantages: Laser can be transmitted through optical fibers, and in cooperation with manipulators and robots, it can be easily operated remotely and clean parts that are difficult to reach with traditional methods, which can ensure the safety of personnel.
Convenient advantages: Laser cleaning can remove various contaminants from the surface of various materials, achieving a level of cleanliness that conventional cleaning cannot achieve. In addition, contaminants on the material surface can also be selectively cleaned without damaging the material surface.
Cost advantages: Laser cleaning is fast, efficient, and saves time; the initial investment in purchasing a laser cleaning system is high, but the cleaning system can be used stably for a long time, the operating cost is low, and more importantly, it can be easily automated. Cost calculation: The cleaning efficiency of one unit is 8 square meters, and the operating cost is about 5 degrees per hour. That is, the cleaning cost is 4 cents/square meter. After excluding the initial cost, it is 4 cents/square meter in the later period.
Introduce the use of laser cleaning in various fields
Laser cleaning technology is a new type of cleaning technology that has developed rapidly in the past decade. It has replaced traditional cleaning technology in many fields with its own advantages and irreplaceability. Laser cleaning can not only clean organic pollutants, but also can be used to clean metal raw materials. Rust, metal particles, dust and other inorganic substances. Introduce several practical applications. These technologies are very mature and widely used.
1. Cleaning of mold
Tire manufacturers around the world manufacture hundreds of millions of tires every year. Tire mold cleaning during production must be fast and reliable to save downtime. Traditional cleaning methods include sandblasting, ultrasonic, carbon dioxide cleaning, etc., but these methods usually require the high-heat mold to be cooled for several hours and then moved to cleaning equipment for cleaning. Cleaning takes time and is easy to damage the accuracy of the mold. Chemical solvents and Noise also creates safety and environmental protection issues.
In the laser cleaning method, the laser can be transmitted through the optical fiber, so it is flexible in use; The laser cleaning method is connected through the optical fiber, and the light guide can be cleaned to the dead corners of the mold and difficult-to-remove places, which is easy to use; The rubber is not vaporized, so it will not Toxic gases are produced, affecting the safety of the working environment.
Laser cleaning tire mold technology has been widely used in the European and American tire industries. Although the initial investment cost is high, the benefits gained through saving standby time, avoiding mold damage, operating safety, and saving raw materials will be quickly recovered.
A cleaning test conducted by Quantel’s LASERLASTE laser cleaning system on the production line of Shanghai Shuangqian Truck Tire Company showed that the molds of large truck tires can be cleaned online within 2 hours. Compared with conventional cleaning methods, the economic benefits are obvious.
2. Cleaning of weapons and equipment
Laser cleaning technology is widely used in the maintenance of weapons. Using a laser cleaning system, rust and contaminants can be effectively and quickly removed, and the removal parts can be selected to automate cleaning. Using laser cleaning, not only the cleaning degree is higher than that of chemical cleaning process, but also there is almost no damage to the surface of the object.
By setting different parameters, a dense oxide protective film and metal molten layer can also be formed on the surface of metal objects to improve surface strength and corrosion resistance. The waste removed by laser hardly pollutes the environment and can also be operated remotely, effectively reducing the health hazards to workers.
3. Cleaning of old aircraft paint
European laser cleaning systems have been used in the aviation industry. The aircraft surface must be repainted after a certain period of time, but the original old paint needs to be completely removed before painting. The traditional mechanical paint removal method can easily damage the metal surface of the aircraft, posing a risk to safe flight. Using multiple laser cleaning systems, the paint layer on the surface of an A320 Airbus can be completely removed within two days without causing damage to the metal surface.
4. Cleaning of building exterior walls
With the rapid development of our country’s economy, more and more skyscrapers have been built, and the problem of cleaning the exterior walls of buildings has become increasingly prominent. The laser cleaning system provides an excellent solution for building exterior wall cleaning through optical fibers. It can effectively clean various pollutants on various stones, metals, and glass, and is many times more efficient than conventional cleaning. It can also remove black spots and stains on various building stones.
5. Cleaning in the electronics industry
The electronics industry uses laser to remove oxides: The electronics industry requires high-precision removal of dirt and is particularly suitable for laser oxide removal. Before soldering to the substrate, the part’s pins must be completely free of oxide to ensure optimal electrical contact, and the pins must not be damaged during the decontamination process. Laser cleaning can meet the usage requirements and is highly efficient. Only one pin needs to be irradiated with laser once.
As mentioned above, laser cleaning plays an important role in many fields, including automobile manufacturing, semiconductor wafer cleaning, precision parts processing and manufacturing, military equipment cleaning, building exterior wall cleaning, cultural relic protection, substrate cleaning, precision parts processing and manufacturing, liquid crystal It can play an important role in areas such as monitor cleaning and chewing gum trace removal.
The application of laser cleaning in national defense military equipment: such as paint separation and rust removal of various aircraft, rust removal of various ship equipment, various weapons and equipment, rust removal of various tanks and guns, etc., has broad prospects and huge development potential. . In particular, laser cleaning has obvious advantages such as environmental protection, convenience, safety, and low-cost use. It is a new, efficient, and safe process technology.
How Does Laser Cleaning Work and What Are Its Benefits Compared to Traditional Cleaning Methods?
