In manufacturing and maintenance, keeping metal surfaces clean is crucial for product quality and equipment performance. With advancing technology, handheld laser cleaning machines are becoming increasingly popular. This article explores how to choose the right handheld laser cleaning machine for rust removal, delving into its features, applications, and comparisons with other cleaning methods, to offer advice on metal cleaning. Whether you’re in manufacturing, maintenance, or any other industry, this article provides valuable insights and guidance.
Laser cleaning machine can be used for laser rust removal, laser paint removal, laser oil removal, laser coating removal and other functions. Laser cleaning machine using high-frequency high-energy laser pulse irradiation of the surface of the workpiece, the surface layer can be instantly absorbed by the focused laser energy, so that the surface of the oil stains, rust spots or coatings occur in an instant evaporation or stripping, high-speed and effective removal of surface attachments or surface coating cleaning method. Moreover, the laser pulse with very short action time will not harm the metal substrate under appropriate parameters.
Application of Handheld Laser Cleaning Machine
| Metal surface rust removal; paint stripping and removal; degreasing, stain, and dirt cleaning; surface coating and layer removal; pre-treatment of welding and spray surfaces; residue cleaning of rubber molds; antique, architectural, and artifact cleaning. | |||
| Rust removal | Remove oxides | Equipment rust removal | Surface preparation |
| Coating removal | Weld pretreatment | Glue pretreatment | Remove grease |
| Plating cleaning | Surface cleaning | Mold cleaning | Surface roughening |
| Weld seam cleaning | Building repairs | Mold paint removal | Precision cleaning |
Laser Cleaning VS Other Non-Contact Cleaning
Plasma Cleaning vs. Laser Cleaning
What is Plasma Cleaning? Plasma cleaning is a dry cleaning technique that utilizes a high-frequency power source to excite low-pressure inert or reactive gases into a plasma state. The plasma contains a large number of positive ions, negative ions, free electrons, as well as excited-state atoms and molecules. These active particles undergo physical or chemical reactions with organic contaminants, oxides, or other impurities on the surface of the object to be cleaned, causing the contaminants to decompose into volatile small molecules and be removed from the surface. Due to collisions between ions and the workpiece, the removal efficiency of this cleaning technique is at the atomic level, making it suitable for ultra-precision cleaning of workpieces.
The main characteristic of plasma cleaning technology is its suitability for cleaning various types of substrates. It can effectively handle metals, semiconductors, oxides, and most polymer materials such as polypropylene, polyester, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, epoxy, and even polytetrafluoroethylene. It can achieve both overall and local cleaning as well as cleaning of complex structures.
Advantages of Plasma Cleaning
Comprehensive: Suitable for surface cleaning of various materials (such as metals, semiconductors, ceramics, plastics, etc.).
Environmentally friendly and efficient: No solvent is required, the cleaning process is fast, and it can improve production efficiency.
Surface modification: Not only can contaminants be removed, but the surface properties of materials can also be changed through surface activation, etching, and other methods.
Difference between Ultrasonic Cleaning and Laser Cleaning
What is Ultrasonic Cleaning? Ultrasonic cleaning technology utilizes transducers to convert electrical energy into high-frequency mechanical oscillations, creating cavitation effects in the cleaning solution. Cavitation bubbles rapidly form, expand, and violently collapse under the action of sound pressure, generating instantaneous high temperature, high pressure, and intense shock waves. This process can disrupt and remove dirt, grease, and other impurities from the surface of the workpiece, achieving the purpose of cleaning.
Advantages of Ultrasonic Cleaning
Microscopic cleaning: Ultrasonic waves can penetrate into extremely small crevices and cavities, making it particularly suitable for cleaning parts with complex geometries and internal channels.
Gentle and comprehensive: The ultrasonic cleaning process is relatively gentle, minimizing the risk of mechanical damage to the workpiece surface, while ensuring uniform cleaning effects across the entire surface.
Non-contact cleaning: There is no need for direct contact with the cleaning solution during the cleaning process, reducing the risk of secondary contamination caused by manual intervention.
Energy-efficient: Compared to traditional manual cleaning and certain chemical cleaning methods, ultrasonic cleaning is faster and consumes less energy.
Laser Cleaning
Laser cleaning technology, like plasma cleaning, falls within the category of dry cleaning methods. It involves irradiating the surface of the workpiece with a high-energy laser beam, causing particles, contaminants, and surface pollutants such as paint to evaporate or detach from the cleaning layer, thus achieving the purpose of cleaning the surface of the workpiece.
Advantages of Handheld Laser Cleaning Machine
Precise and controllable: the cleaning area can be precisely controlled to realize selective cleaning, which is highly specific to the target pollutants.
Non-destructive cleaning: Under proper parameters, laser cleaning can avoid damage to the material itself, especially suitable for precision parts and sensitive materials.
Efficient Deep Cleaning: For stubborn or deep-seated contaminants, laser cleaning can provide stronger cleaning effect than plasma cleaning.
Industrial Cleaning: Plasma vs. Ultrasonic vs. Laser
Principle of Operation: Plasma cleaning relies on chemical reactions and physical impact, ultrasonic cleaning depends on cavitation effects, while laser cleaning relies on the interaction between photons and matter.
Precision of Cleaning: Plasma cleaning is more suitable for large-area uniform treatment and surface modification. Ultrasonic cleaning is generally applicable to a wide range of materials and is gentler on most material surfaces. Laser cleaning can precisely target and clean specific areas, making it especially suitable for cleaning complex geometries and fine structures.
Cleaning Depth and Effectiveness: Laser cleaning typically removes difficult-to-handle contamination layers, such as hard oxide layers or embedded particles. Plasma cleaning has strong cleaning capabilities at the microscopic level but may not penetrate as deeply as laser cleaning. Laser cleaning’s point-like focusing characteristic gives it a significant advantage in fine and selective cleaning, while ultrasonic cleaning excels in overall cleaning, especially for tiny gaps and internal structures.
Applicability: Ultrasonic cleaning usually requires a liquid medium. Plasma cleaning is suitable for most materials, particularly advantageous in surface activation before pre-treatment or bonding. Laser cleaning is more suitable for applications with extremely high cleanliness requirements or strict protection requirements for material substrates.
Types of Laser Cleaning Machines
There are mainly 3 types of laser cleaning machines: laser cleaning robots, platform automatic laser cleaning machines, and handheld portable laser cleaning machines.
Robot Laser Cleaning Machine: Cleaning robots are equipped with laser cleaning systems, enabling precise and efficient automated cleaning operations. They typically feature flexible robotic arms that can automatically adjust cleaning positions and angles according to preset programs or sensor feedback. They are suitable for large, complex-shaped, or batch-produced components.
Platform Automatic Laser Cleaning Machines: Platform automatic laser cleaning machines are stationary devices with fixed processing platforms and programmable motion control systems. They are suitable for cleaning relatively fixed-sized and large-batch products. The cleaning process is computer-controlled, with workpieces placed on the platform. Through an X-Y-Z or multi-axis linkage system, the laser head movement is precisely controlled to achieve automated and precise cleaning. Such equipment is commonly used for production line integration, suitable for standardized cleaning processes in industrial production.
Handheld Portable Laser Cleaning Machines: Handheld portable laser cleaning machines are compact, lightweight, and easy to carry and operate on-site. They are mainly used in situations where flexibility and portability are required. Users can directly hold the laser head for localized or specific area cleaning tasks, suitable for flexible operations or cleaning small-sized workpieces. Due to their mobility, they can be quickly deployed and used in various environments, exhibiting strong adaptability.
These different types of laser cleaning machines vary in application scenarios, cleaning efficiency, and operation methods, allowing users to choose the most suitable type based on specific requirements.
100W Handheld Laser Cleaning Machine
The fiber handheld laser cleaning machine independently developed by Dapeng can accommodate a 100W pulse laser source and weighs only 35kg. Laser rust removal machines are used to remove rust, oil stains, coatings, graffiti, and have various other applications. The small size and light weight of the handheld laser cleaning machine make it easy to operate and enable cleaning of hard-to-reach areas.
Features:
1) Powerful, short-pulsed laser pulses rapidly move onto the target surface, generating tiny plasma bursts, shock waves, and thermal stresses, leading to the sublimation and evaporation of surface materials.
2) The focused laser beam can accurately evaporate surface objects or dust.
3) Laser cleaning is suitable for metal surfaces. The processed and optimized laser beam will not change the metal properties or damage the surfaces treated with laser. The laser beam only acts on coatings, residual residues, or oxides and will not damage the metal substrate surface.
4) Through the laser cleaning control system, various parameters such as the power, pulse frequency, and laser shape of the laser equipment can be adjusted, enabling the handheld laser cleaning machine to adapt to various processing materials.
Handheld Laser Cleaner Price
The primary factor influencing the price of handheld laser cleaners is the main component. There’s a significant price difference between well-known imported lasers and ordinary ones.
Continuous Lasers & Pulsed Lasers
Next is the difference in laser power. Currently, commonly used continuous wave laser powers are 1000W/1500W/2000W. These continuous laser powers are suitable for cleaning heavy dirt on large workpieces, metal surfaces, paints, oxides, etc., with high cleaning efficiency.
Pulse laser powers are typically 100W/200W/500W. Pulse laser cleaning machines have relatively lower power but offer higher cleaning precision and control capabilities, suitable for fine cleaning of small parts, electronic components, artworks, etc.
The cost of laser cleaning machines is related to the configuration of the laser, with higher configurations resulting in higher costs. In addition to the type and power of the laser, other factors such as component configuration, brand, and after-sales service also influence the price. DPLASER helps you reduce handheld laser cleaner price. Dapeng Laser has more than ten years of experience in the design and manufacturing of laser cleaning machines, and our professional team is committed to providing you with customized solutions to meet your cleaning needs. Whatever your needs are, we can tailor the best solution for you in the most cost-effective way.
