Laser cleaning – not just the dull stuff
To all the petrol heads, did you spot us on Car SOS earlier this month?
We were visited by none other than British radio host, TV presenter and engineer, Tim Shaw!
After stripping down a 1992 VW Corrado, Tim brings a box of rusty seat runners and his camera crew to Dorchester. He’d heard our ‘space-age rust removal machine’ could restore them.
Patryk, our Service and Support Technician, greets Tim and his camera crew at the door.
Patryk makes them promise to blur out our top-secret robots before he invites him inside the workshop.
After a glimpse around the facility and a briefing on safety, Patryk fires up a CleanLASER CL500 (500 Watt) laser cleaning machine to demonstrate the rust cleaning capabilities.
The enthusiastic Tim is let loose to use the laser cleaner and is impressed at the process and results. “That is just incredible!”
Our laser cleaning machines are not only available for TV stars and rusty old cars.
Laser cleaning removes rust, oil, paint, resin or other contaminants from a range of surfaces, without damaging the base material. It’s fast to set up, and simple to use whether you’re in the workshop or out onsite.
We offer demonstrations and trials so feel free to contact our team to discuss your requirements today.
How does laser cleaning work?
A focused laser beam vaporises the target material.
It produces micro-plasma bursts, shockwaves and thermal pressure which sublimates and ejects the target material.
Settings are optimised based on the target material and base material. This ensures the base material is not damaged or changed.
Why laser cleaning?
Aside from being ‘the definition of cool’, as stated by Tim Shaw, laser cleaning is
- Fast to set up
- Simple to operate
- Uses no consumable media
- Low operating costs and low energy usage
- One of the safest methods of cleaning when used correctly.
Example Application: Removal of hazardous coatings
Laser cleaning makes it easy to maintain equipment with lead or asbestos coatings.
It’s typically faster, safer and more effective than traditional abrasive or chemical paint stripping options where workers need to wear multiple types of PPE and the work area needs to be sealed off to contain hazardous dust and debris.
Laser cleaning, when combined with the correct extraction system, eliminates the hazardous secondary waste which would take additional time and money to clean and dispose of.
It leaves a residue-free surface for visual inspection and re-welding. Ideal for NDT inspection or welded joints and preparation for welding or bonding parts.
Camels and high powered lasers
From becoming TV stars, to riding camels, our Service and Support Team have been busy!
Ed Page, our Service and Support Manager recently went to Dubai to provide training and support for a handheld CL1000 Laser Cleaner.
This has twice the power of the 500W laser demonstrated in Car SOS making it ideal for industrial uses such as:
- Hazardous coating removal
- Pre-treatment of welding seams
- Nuclear decontamination
- Fast cleaning of all surfaces
Inspiring the next generation of engineers
On the 6th April, we were delighted to welcome Cheselbourne Village School to the Loop Technology Centre.
They learned about industrial robots and met our KUKA Titans Loki and Thor. Their delight was such a joy to see.
Get a glimpse of these mighty titans moving for the first time and watch the heart-warming reaction of the students:
Thank you for reading. Please get in touch if you would like to learn more, or talk to us about your requirements.
01305 257108
Next Month’s Focus
Complex forms made simple
We revisit our award-winning innovation FibreFORM.