Devices for laser cleaning of metal from rust. Will replace sandblasting in the future

He believed that the most effective cleaning of metal from rust, paint or other contaminants is sandblasting. Copes with all types of pollution, but has a number of disadvantages (about them below).

Came across videos with some fantastic process of cleaning iron parts using a laser. Then I thought that these were single prototypes. It turned out to be mass-produced equipment.

There are many manufacturers of such equipment in China. But it has a cosmic value (more on that below).

Agree, it looks like frames from a science fiction movie. What is it and how does it work? Stationary equipment looks like this:

Stationary laser for cleaning metal contamination. The emitter is like a science fiction blaster. This device can also be purchased on aliexpress - link.

Choice of laser power: 30, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 watts. Water cooling, automatic beam focusing. Cost at the time of this writing: from 354 thous. rub. (30W) up to 11.795 million. rub. plus shipping 1735 rub. These equipment are mainly sold on alibaba .com.

Some sellers on aliexpress sell some kind of news subscription for 40-80 thousand rub., not the equipment itself. Mislead buyers. Here is a selection of sellers who misinform with price:

But back to the device. As it is already clear, there is a laser in the body of the device. The laser operates in a pulsed mode, but the frequency of the pulses is so huge that it is perceived as continuous radiation. The laser beam goes through a fiber-optic cable to the emitter in the form of a pistol and is scattered by a narrow band. A layer of rust or a layer of paint absorbs radiation, instantly heats up and evaporates. The cleaned metal surface has a mirror effect and is no longer heated enough to evaporate.

Where there was a deep layer of rust, a low-power device needs to be passed 2-3 times. The metal layer can also evaporate, but not in the same way as dirt.

Video with the work of the Chinese backpack of laser cleaning with a pulse power of only 100 W:

I found a Russian manufacturer of such equipment that produces both portable and stationary equipment for metal cleaning:

Knapsack power: 50 W or 100 W. Stationary device with power 200, 500 or 1000 watts. The backpack has air cooling, the stationary has water cooling. The manufacturer provides the price upon request.

From all this information, it is clear that the main drawback of such equipment is the high price. That is why it has practically no distribution. Of the advantages: no consumables. The cost of metal cleaning - 1.5 rub / m2 (electricity cost). Installation mobility. The speed of work. Safety while following simple rules. The laser does not create micro roughness like sandblasting (higher quality processing).

Compared to the disadvantages of sandblasting: sandblasting makes the surface uneven, even if the paint has been applied to a smooth substrate before. Especially on plastic substrates. Sand as a consumable is a separate topic. It must be dry, calibrated (sieved). Professional sandblasting machines cost up to $ 100,000. rub. and more. But not millions like a laser cleaning machine.

Perhaps, sometime in the future, lasers will have quite an affordable cost and each car service or master, instead of a sandblaster, will work with a laser cleaning device or even welding. For what price would you buy such a device - write in the comments?

***

Subscribe to the channel, add it to your browser bookmarks (Ctrl + D). There is a lot of interesting information ahead.