Optimization of pulsed laser based metal cleaning process

– The cleaning of metallic surfaces offers the possibility to reuse old components or to prepare components for processes such as painting, thermal treatment, etc. There are three main methods to clean metallic surfaces: chemical, mechanical and by using laser beam. The chemical method is expensive, time consuming and polluting, the mechanical one has similar disadvantages, hence laser cleaning is the most efficient of them and it is increasingly more used in industrial applications. In our work we use a 100 W fiber laser based device that includes the laser itself, an expander, a scanner and a variable focus device. The influence of the laser parameters (power, pulse repetition rate, fluence) on the quality of the surface (conductivity and adherence) has been studied and optimized. A possibility to decrease the required laser power in specific cases is envisaged. Cleaning of 3D surfaces is considered. © 2021, Cefin Publishing House. All rights reserved.