Before talking about the difference between the two, let’s take a look at how a continuous laser cleaning machine and a pulsed laser cleaning machine work respectively.
* CW fiber laser cleaning machine working principle:
(1) Use a MAX, Raycus or JPT laser source to generate a high-intensity density laser beam.
(2) The energy density of the laser can be adjusted to make the dirt expand by heat. When the expansion force of the dirt is greater than the adsorption force of the dirt on the substrate, the dirt will be separated from the surface of the object.
(3) The laser beam can generate a high temperature of several thousand degrees or even tens of thousands of degrees near the focal point, which makes the dirt evaporate, vaporize or decompose instantly, so as to achieve the effect of laser cleaning.
* The working principle of the pulse cleaning machine:
(1) Using Raycus pulsed fiber laser source, 100W, 200W, 300W, 500W optional.
(2) The Pulsed laser cleaning is the process of removing material from a solid (or sometimes liquid) surface by irradiating it with a laser beam.
(3) At low laser flux, the material is heated by the absorbed laser energy and evaporates or sublimates. At high laser flux, the material is usually converted into a plasma.
(4) The depth of absorption of laser energy and the amount of material removed by a single laser pulse depends on the optical properties of the material as well as the laser wavelength and pulse length.
* What is the difference between pulsed laser cleaning and continuous laser cleaning?
(1) The beam emitted by the continuous fiber laser is continuous and has low protection to the substrate. And the slower the scanning speed, the greater the damage to the substrate. However, when the speed is above the threshold, faster speeds can result in insufficient cleaning. Therefore, choosing the right scan speed is critical when using CW fiber lasers for laser cleaning.
(2) The beam of the pulsed fiber laser source is periodic, and has a high degree of protection for the substrate. Lasers with narrow pulse widths (about 100 ns) make it easier to clean paint. Balancing the heat between cleaning the paint and melting the substrate (thermal effect) is critical. The fiber pulsed laser structure brings the advantage of precise thermal control, which is a critical point in the cleaning process.
(3) The continuous laser cleaning machines can only be used to clean metals, such as stainless steel, iron doors and windows, aluminum, etc., and can be used to clean rust and single-layer paint on the surface of metal materials. The pulse laser cleaning machine is suitable for various materials such as metal, wood, stone, plastic products, ceramics, etc. It can be used for paint removal, rust removal, oil removal, metal polishing, graffiti cleaning, etc.