Naval Application Of Laser Ablation Paint Removal Technology

In contrast closed loop laser technology has proven successful in demanding applications including stripping on helicopter rotor blades removal of specialty coatings on military aircraft removal of paint corrosion products on commercial aircraft and nuclear decontamination.

Naval application of laser ablation paint removal technology.

Laser ablation offers tremendous potential as a game changing technology to improve the efficiency of naval maintenance related to preservation. The lasertronics laser ablation system dramatically reduces and simplifies management of the waste products generated by stripping. With a predictive three times more efficient removal rate markedly improved worker safety and reduction in hazardous waste streams the business case is clear. The laser beam is pulsed onto the part with a precise energy density.

Laser paint removal laser paint removal is a process through which a paint layer is removed from a surface without damaging the substrate. As the paint is vaporized the. Laser removal of protective coatings from naval vessels is a promising alternative to traditional paint stripping methods such as grit blasting chemical paint stripping needle grinding etc. During coating removal the surface temperature of the radome never exceeded 170 f.

The company used this technology until about 2000 when it was replaced with an nd yag laser from northrop grumman s cutting edge optronics in st. In the automobile and aerospace industry it is sometimes necessary to remove the top layer of paint while maintaining the primer. It s also known as laser coating removal and de coating. It is higher than the paint ablation threshold but lower than the substrate ablation threshold.

This is often the case when the top weathered coatings on vehicles need to be thoroughly removed before the application of a new. Laser demand when lasertronics launched its first paint stripping system in the mid 1990s it did so with a co 2 laser. Proposed solution the objective of the proposed work is to develop a laser ablation paint removal technology and process with a comparable removal rate and reduced overall cost to current methods that is also environmentally friendly and operator safe and friendly. Over the last few decades abrasive blasting was the most widely used paint stripping method used for large area marine structures though smaller repairs may be performed using various handheld tools.

Laser ablation produces significantly less waste than do other stripping processes. Jim russell lasertronics director of business development said the nd yag s flexible fiber optic beam. The co 2 laser generated a 0 5 in. Laser ablation has the potential to remove paint and other coatings from ship s surfaces using a process that is faster safer and less expensive than conventional methods.

Wide pulse beam that was guided by previously recorded geometric analysis data. The radome was affixed to a device that rotated as the laser beam ablated the paint from the surface.