Laser Cleaning

[MoeRaw]

Hello friends,
I am Mohammed from Jordan, and this would be my first post with you guys.
Hope I can gain some of your experiences and guidance in my upcoming projects.
Currently, I am in deep search of laser cleaning machines, where I am looking for a laser machine that can clean buildings' facades, which are made of stones (attached picture).
And I got lost between Chinese people (they are really cooperative, but I just can't deal with them) and I need someone who has done this cleaning method.
Now I don't know what type of laser is required to handle the job is it CW or Pulse? remarking on the high price difference between the two laser types
(CW from 8K up to 12K) / (Pulse from 14K up to 55K) depends on laser power.

Therefore, I am seeking your help!
As I understood CW is for non-heat sensitive materials (as it generates heat to the cleaned surface), so can it do the job?
plus, I need the following requirements as well:

1. High efficient speed cleaning, as we will cover large areas, a typical Jordanian building is made of stones and their facade’s area is around 240 m2, and it consists of 4 facades, thus 960 m2, so we need to be competitive with other cleaning methods (Sand Blasting, Dry ice blasting, or Water Jets).
2. We will require an effective cleaning speed greater than ≥ 50 m2/h.
3. An effective fiber cable length greater than or equal > 30 m.
4. An effective cleaning width greater than or equal > 20 cm.

 

[frank horton]

not sure.......but I think your asking forthe impossible......
those sizes would require massive amounts of electric.....
and would need a robot arm for accuracy and saftey.......

Something NASA would use.........

 

[Sergei Slovenija]

15 years ago I visited the laboratory at the Institute, dealing with fiber lasers. Their former colleague, Valentin Gapontsev, founded IPG Photonics.

I was shown in practice what are the differences between cheap and expensive deflecting mirror heads in a pistol.

The first heads build a beam scan in the form of a dense lattice. Cheap heads are shaded horizontally. And this is the main difference.

Accordingly, the speed and quality of cleaning is different. The laser beam creates ionization in micron layers of oxides and organic dirt, literally "exploding" it (if I remember the explanation correctly). And does not affect the main material. Their handheld lasers were used to clean and restore stone, antique cast iron and wrought iron (openwork bridges assembled on rivets).

 

[MoeRaw]

not sure.......but I think your asking forthe impossible......
those sizes would require massive amounts of electric.....
and would need a robot arm for accuracy and saftey.......

Something NASA would use.........

On the opposite it does not consume that much energy compared with other methods

 

[MoeRaw]

15 years ago I visited the laboratory at the Institute, dealing with fiber lasers. Their former colleague, Valentin Gapontsev, founded IPG Photonics.

I was shown in practice what are the differences between cheap and expensive deflecting mirror heads in a pistol.

The first heads build a beam scan in the form of a dense lattice. Cheap heads are shaded horizontally. And this is the main difference.

Accordingly, the speed and quality of cleaning is different. The laser beam creates ionization in micron layers of oxides and organic dirt, literally "exploding" it (if I remember the explanation correctly). And does not affect the main material. Their handheld lasers were used to clean and restore stone, antique cast iron and wrought iron (openwork bridges assembled on rivets).

thanks sergei, I just contacted IPG let you know the updates