China is recognized as a big manufacturing country, the largest processing country in the world, and the largest industrial volume in the world. In order to realize industrial modernization and solve the problem of a large number of labor, China has spent 25 years from introducing foreign enterprises to endogenous enterprises in the past 20 years since the 1990s to complete the 100 year industrialization process in Europe and the United States, which has brought about environmental deterioration and industrial pollution, and unrestrained discharge of wastewater, waste gas and waste goods. The blue sky is covered by haze, the drinking water has peculiar smell, the heavy metals in the soil exceed the standard, and the city is surrounded by various waste garbage, which are all prominent environmental problems at present. Our government has long been aware of the problem, and has also vigorously built sewage treatment plants and waste gas adsorption and filtration facilities. However, this measure is only discharged first and then treated, and the cost is also very high. In this context, it has become a very urgent and necessary task to change some production processes and upgrade more environmentally friendly cleaning processes. Laser cleaning / derusting is a very potential choice, and also an important technology that gradually changes industrial environmental protection.
We always think that laser cleaning technology can not be regarded as a laser processing. It is a workpiece surface treatment technology that is different from laser processing. It is different from previous laser cutting, welding, drilling, marking, cladding, etc. These are the use of high energy of laser to change the shape, properties of materials or the relationship between parts to achieve processing effects. Laser cleaning does not change the material matrix, It is a surface “washing and brushing” process, not a laser processing technology, to remove the stains, rust, dust or residues on the surface. Nevertheless, it does not mean that laser cleaning is a process without technology. On the contrary, its application must take into account factors such as the material of the material, the thickness of the stain, and the moderation of laser power and energy. Because of its wide application, different material applications require laser cleaning systems with different parameters. Therefore, there are still many articles to do in process exploration, research and testing.
The research of laser cleaning technology and the development of equipment in China started late, basically tracking the development of foreign countries. Although some achievements have been made in a relatively short time, there is an obvious gap compared with foreign countries. Since 2004, there have been some research articles on laser cleaning in China’s academic circles. By 2010, the laser fusion center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics was the first to try to develop laser cleaning equipment in China and successfully applied it to Yungang Grottoes, stone walls, stone statues, murals and other cultural relics. In the next few years, the papers on laser cleaning technology of various domestic scientific research institutions gradually increased, and there was also a lot of attention.
According to the Market Research Report, the value of the global laser cleaning market will reach 589 million US dollars in 2018, and it is expected to reach 724 million US dollars by 2023. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2018 and 2023 is 4.22%. Many of the above-mentioned fields belong to the pillar industries of the national economy. After the laser cleaning technology is added to them, the economic and social benefits are very considerable. It is completely possible to develop matching laser cleaning equipment and make it practical and industrialized in a short time by using the existing laser technology conditions in China. It is also of great significance to promote the development of high-tech industries.
The continuous development of laser cleaning will inevitably bring more styles of products, which is not only an industrial application technology, but also a combination of life applications. Although stainless steel and aluminum products are widely used nowadays, every household has metal articles and tools, and many people will throw away a tool because it rusts. If laser cleaning machines are equipped in the large and small laser processing stores on the street in the future, the farm implements, knives, pliers, etc. at home will be rusty. After they are cleaned and repaired by others, they will take on a new look, just like those who went to the village to provide knife sharpening services 20 years ago. Just imagine how big a business this laser cleaning is.
