Laser cleaning technology in the automotive industry

What is laser cleaning?

Laser cleaning technology is a cleaning solution that uses a high-frequency, short-pulse laser as the working medium. High-energy beams of specific wavelengths are absorbed by layers of rust, paint, and contamination, forming a rapidly expanding plasma (highly ionized unstable gas) and simultaneously generating a shock wave, which turns the contaminants into fragments and rejects them.

Current status of laser cleaning technology applications

Compared with the traditional cleaning technology, laser cleaning technology has unique advantages which constantly drive the rapid development of the laser cleaning market. Traditional cleaning technology such as: dry ice cleaning, sandblasting cleaning, chemical cleaning, etc., with rough, abrasive characteristics, labor intensity, low efficiency, low safety factor, high cost and other disadvantages, not only to the environment will produce pollution, but also may cause harm to human beings, potentially hazardous, and laser cleaning technology, as a kind of non-contact and non-abrasive cleaning process, can accurately control the depth, width, rust layer, oil layer, paint layer, metal surface cleaning, and so on. As a non-contact and non-abrasive cleaning process, laser cleaning technology can precisely control the depth and width of the cleaning, and can realize perfect cleaning for the rust, oil, paint and oxidized layer on the metal surface.

Current Status of Laser Cleaning Technology in the Automotive Sector

The growing population and the expanding middle class have further driven the development of the automobile manufacturing industry. Nowadays, automobiles are not only required to be practical, but also economical and aesthetically pleasing. The speed of renewal is increasing. Traditional cleaning methods are difficult to meet the needs of modern automobile manufacturing industry fine cleaning, environmental protection cleaning, low-cost cleaning.

In the automotive technology continues to innovate the novel cleaning process, laser cleaning technology using automated cleaning, selective removal, cleaning efficiency and other characteristics of the various components of the car, such as: automotive wheel hubs, brake pads, hoods, engines, etc., surface rust, paint, oxidation layer, in addition to oil, etc., powerful, in addition, the laser cleaning is very soft, no consumables, does not damage the surface of the substrate, the laser cleaning is very soft, no supplies, does not damage the surface of the substrate, and can save a certain amount of labor every year. Each year can save a certain amount of labor costs, consumables costs for enterprises.

Laser cleaning machine can also be automotive welding before the metal parts or welding after the metal parts for accurate precision cleaning, and at this time the laser cleaning non-contact, non-abrasive, no damage to the characteristics of the automotive metal parts can help automotive metal parts to obtain a strong, no gaps and micro-cracks in the welding, adhesion, can effectively improve the welding quality of automotive products, but also other parts of the automobile designated areas for precise and accurate cleaning.

For example, laser cleaning of automobile hood: the use of laser cleaning technology for localized cleaning of automobile hood is a perfect alternative to the traditional surface cleaning alternative process, the traditional cleaning method can not accurately clean the surface, so most of the automobile parts are now taken to the laser cleaning process, and the laser cleaning machine can also be equipped with robots or jigs, the use of automation to clean the surface of the work piece. The surface of the part is cleaned in an automated way. In addition, the operation of the laser cleaner is very simple, even for novices, can be operated after a simple training.