To remove rust and scale, you need to use a laser beam with high peak power and repetition rates, fired in short pulses to prevent damage to the substrate. Rust absorbs the laser's energy quickly, increasing temperature levels until they reach an acceptable threshold. Once that threshold is met, the rust starts to melt and eventually vaporize. Pulsed fiber lasers provide superior control over power, wavelength, and pulse duration, which makes removing rust and scale without harming underlying materials a breeze.

The aluminum smelting industry uses carbon blocks as "sacrificial" anodes to produce primary aluminum. The quality of these anodes has important effects on the environment, economy, and technology of production. To achieve the best production efficiency, it is important to clean anode assemblies before reusing them in aluminum smelting operations. Laser cleaning is a very effective method that meets all the required conditions for reusing anode assemblies.

Laser cleaning is a highly effective method for preparing metallic materials to be joined. It greatly improves process stability, surface adhesion, and seam quality prior to welding or other joining techniques. Laser cleaning can effectively remove oxides and contaminants such as grease that weaken adhesive bonds. This is particularly useful for applications involving curved or flat surfaces, or parts with complex 3D geometries that cannot be machined by hand.

Laser cleaning has proven to be very effective in assisting with welding and brazing applications. In industries such as shipbuilding, precision tool manufacturing, and automotive, it is necessary to prepare the surfaces of aluminum and steel materials before they can be used for welding. Laser weld preparation is one application of laser cleaning that utilizes the laser beam to remove both ferrous and nonferrous metals, as well as contaminants like lubricants, from metal surfaces. This prepares the metal for high-quality welds and creates smooth brazed seams with no pores or pinholes.

Laser cleaning is an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to removing paint or coatings from finished surfaces. This is especially true when dealing with surfaces that are chemically anodized, oxidized, or organic. Lasers are often utilized in the de-coating of solar panels, as well as in the removal of paint in the automotive and aerospace industries. The primer substances remain intact throughout the process. Fiber lasers provide an even more effective option, as they can remove coating layers with pinpoint precision, eliminating many of the challenges that come with partial de-coating applications.

Laser cleaning technology has numerous applications, including selective paint removal. In industries such as automotive and aerospace, it may be necessary to selectively remove top layers of paint while preserving the primer, especially when weathered coatings on vehicles need to be removed prior to repainting. With the ability to differentiate between the chemical and physical properties of top layers versus primer layers, laser settings can be adjusted to remove only the top layers without impacting the primer's mechanical, chemical, or thermal properties. As a result, the primer's corrosion-resistant capabilities can be preserved for years after the old coats have been removed, making laser cleaning technology an effective solution for paint removal in these industries.

Mold surface cleaning can be a significant bottleneck in achieving production readiness, as molds are typically pulled faster than they can be cleaned and returned to production. In fact, cleaning mold plates and retooling is often more tedious, time-consuming, and labor-intensive than all other repair stages (disassembly, troubleshooting, and reassembly) combined. A more systematic, consistent, and predictable method is needed for cleaning mold surfaces, and laser cleaning technology is the ideal solution for this challenge.