Surface Cleaning of Metals Using Low Power Fiber Lasers

Lasers are used in industry in a large variety of applications. These applications can mainly be divided into two categories: one specifically being materials processing. Material processing includes cutting, drilling, welding, etc., and generally involves the use of high-powered lasers. Laser applications such as rust/dye removal and surface cleaning are not yet very common for the industry. This paper reports experiments on industrial applications of a low-power fiber laser (20 W). Experimental studies showed that a low-power fiber laser could be used for a variety of applications such as surface cleaning of metals and rust-dye removal. Optimum laser parameters were also determined for these applications.