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News Item - Rofin Lasers Remove Coatings From Airframes
Using the latest high power solid state lasers, paint and metallic surface coatings can be ablated either extensively or highly selectively with ever reducing cycle times Today, more and more surfaces are finished with functional coatings, either to protect the surface, add functionality or enhance its aesthetic features. Growing alongside the increasing use of surface coatings is the need to achieve either a highly selective coating, or following a full laminar surface coating, the selective ablation of the coating. Using laser technology it has been possible for some time now to ablate a variety of surface coatings, with precise ablation widths - ranging from 20 to 50 μm - being typical of laser processing. Now however, the new DQ-Series lasers from Rofin make ablation rates up to 100 cm²/s possible across a wide range of applications, therefore opening up new possibilities for selective ablation.
Ensuring safety - quickly
The ablation of coatings, sealants or paints from a surface is usually required because the base material underneath is to be inspected and therefore needs to be exposed. One well known example of this requirement is on aircraft which undergo regular airframe and structural safety checks. Historically, paint or protective coatings have been removed from these surfaces using chemicals, as lasers were not able to achieve satisfactory material removal rates. However, with the introduction of Rofin’s new high performance DQ – Lasers, excellent ablation rates are now possible. Today Rofin lasers are used to remove sealants and paint from surfaces on the inside of aircraft wing tanks to expose the rivets and bolts which require inspection. The use of the laser within these often confined areas is faster than manual removal techniques. In addition, the use of a colour detection system means that surfaces which have already been cleansed of the surface coatings are not further ablated unnecessarily. Another benefit of this process is the combination of a camera with the laser focusing head, enabling the user to view progress within the tank without the need to actually access the area.
