No technology is superior to laser cleaning when it comes to cleaning aircraft parts. Traditional methods of cleaning aircraft parts, such as sandblasting, water spraying and dry ice blasting, each have their drawbacks. Using pulsed lasers will enable the elimination of large amounts of hazardous waste associated with non-laser methods and the high cost of disposal, which are also subject to strict scrutiny under environmental laws. Removing paint from the metal surfaces of the aircraft is necessary because you cannot paint over old paint, which would increase the weight of the aircraft.
Using pulsed lasers to clean aircraft parts offers many advantages:
● Laser cleaning causes very little damage to the surface where paint is to be removed compared to other abrasive techniques. Among other techniques, sandblasting in particular can cause extensive damage to surfaces under cleaning operations.
● The nozzle beneath the laser beam removes all ablative material by suction, so waste material scattered by other methods is immediately removed during operation.
● Laser ablation is a non-contact method that does not require auxiliary media such as water to work. Therefore, there is no need to remove wastewater after surgery.
● While other methods are expensive and labor intensive, the laser method is simple to use and reasonably cost effective compared to other technologies. As a direct comparison, dry ice technology can cost up to 6 times more per hour because it requires surface preparation, auxiliary media, and disposal of toxic waste.
● Noise levels are a big issue with several other techniques such as sand blasting, dry ice and water jetting, but with laser cleaning the noise levels are much lower, although not completely eliminated. To give an example of noise levels in other technologies, water jetting and sandblasting have noise levels of 110-120 dB (Ref. 2), which is comparable in loudness to emergency vehicle sirens, but with laser ablation the noise levels are much higher . reduce.
●Laser cleaning method can easily remove powder coating and epoxy paint. The harder the paint layer, the easier it is to remove using pulsed laser methods. Hydrocarbon or polymer paint binders are vaporized by high-energy pulses, and as the laser pulse explodes on the surface, it carries heavy atoms with it itself, which are subsequently removed by suction from a vacuum nozzle.
