LASER Cleaning & Surface Prep for Sustainment & Repairs Timothy Niemeier Adapt Laser Systems LLC
Cleaning & De-Coating with Light It s Here! Timothy Niemeier Adapt Laser Systems LLC
Repair & Sustainment with Off-The The-Shelf Laser Surface Prep? YES A Technology Solution For Today s s Depot Maintenance Problems Commercially Available Now! De-Coat & Clean with Light
Overview Problem Surface Prep/De-coating Solution Laser Cleaning & De-Coating What & How Range of Portable Compact Systems Share Current DoD Applications Safety/Environmental Benefits
Cleaning/De-Coating Coating Methods Abrasive Blast, UHP Water Blast CO Blast, 2 Power Tools, Solvent Cleaning Wipe & Gripe Problems Consumables, Secondary Waste Disposal Containment, Clean-up, Surface Damage Worker & Environmental Safety Technology Solution?
Traditional Surface Prep Large Areas. Abrasive Blast Water Jetting (since 1870) Used for Replace vs. Repair
Traditional Surface Prep Small Areas. Needle Gun Sander/Grinder
Traditional Surface Prep Power / Impact Tools Problems Gouge, leave sharp edges Drive-in rust & contaminants Obscure surface defects / cracks Weld NDT Prep?
Hand Tools - Scrapers Traditional Surface Prep Small Areas - Hard Access Not Power Tool Accessible - Wire Brushes - Hand Sanding Only for lose paint, rust, sensitive materials Won t remove, grease, oil, chlorides
Traditional Surface Prep - Steam Cleaning - Solvent Cleaning Other Methods. - Chemical Strippers If there re safe there re slow Problems- Time Consuming / Labor Intensive Waste Stream NDT Prep
Why me? Tremendous Amount of Handwork!
Traditional Surface Prep Problems Skilled Worker Shortage Train & Quit Labor Intensive & Unpleasant Work Inherently Dangerous Increasingly Complex Advanced Materials Easily Damaged Waste Disposal, Environmental Risks Time / Cost / Quality / Safety
Solution Advanced Laser Systems No Media No Clean-up No Containment No Secondary Waste Versatility w/laser Precision Designed for Safety Green Mitigates Environmental Risks & it s Commercially Available, Proven Technology Compact & Portable, LOWE$T CO$T Over time
Laser Surface Prep Background First Laser 50 years ago today everywhere Homes, Cars, Stores, Factories, Hospitals, DoD eye surgery, teeth whitening, cutting steel De-Coating Lasers 10+ years ago first machines developed promising expectations.
Laser Surface Prep Yesterday The Warehouse Laser 1997 Laser Coating Removal System
Lasers Yesterday Limitations Expensive Limited Power Custom One-of-a-Kind Hard to Operate & Maintain Not- Portable, Reliable or Versatile Exciting Idea Not Ready
Laser Surface Prep Today The Backpack Laser Ultra-Portable Small Reliable Versatile Affordable Easy to Operate Commercially Available Virtually Maintenance-Free 20 Watts: Suitable for touch-ups, repairs, flash rust removal, surface roughening
Laser Surface Prep Today 1000 Watt Portable Laser Handheld &/or Automated High-Power De-coating & Cleaning
Portable 1000 Watt Laser 150 ft Fiber Optic Compact: 30 wide Easy to Set-up & Use Virtually Maintenance-Free Strip Rate: 2mils / 1SF /1min. No Media / No Clean-up Availability? Rent it!
DoD Laser SP Activities Depots & Other Facilities w/ Laser Systems FRC East Cherry Point USCG Aircraft Repair & Supply Center Army Air Aviation Center at Fort Rucker Wright Paterson AFB Tinker AFB Hill AFB Warner Robbins Air Logistics Center NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center Electric Boat Tobyhanna Army Depot (system ordered)
DoD Laser SP Activities Naval Base Kitsap (IMF & SWFPAC) CTC Advanced Laser Applications/Rapid Cure Coating Conf Jan 2008
Fleet Laser SP Activities Naval Base Kitsap (IMF & SWFPAC) Critical Parts Require Weld De-coating for NDT Inspection Every 1-4 Yrs Problem Standard methods - chemical / some mechanical Removal process slow / difficult NO tumbling, peening, abrasive blasting or vapor stripping allowed (nothing that could obscure defects) Needs: Save Time Reduce Costs & Waste Steam
Fleet Laser SP Activities Naval Base Kitsap (IMF & SWFPAC) De-Coating for NDT Evaluation Consideration Current Process Laser De-Coating Time to Complete 3 5 days 25 min. Labor 1.5 5 hrs 15 min. Waste 6 pounds Negligible Cost Benefit Payback ~2yrs CTC Advanced Laser Applications/Rapid Cure Coating Conf Jan 2008
Fleet Laser SP Activities Naval Base Kitsap (IMF & SWFPAC) Laser Test Results - Successfully removed several coatings / multiple substrates - Passed visual NDT inspection, cracks easier to see - Low surface temps, no impact to welds, no hot work permit required - Production - performance improvement - EHS - environmental, health & safety improvement CTC Advanced Laser Applications/Rapid Cure Coating Conf Jan 2008
Fleet Laser SP Activities Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Overhaul Engineering Group: Air Monitoring Test of De-Coating Process Result No Hazardous Air Pollutants Detected 1 PPM by Volume
DoD Laser SP Activities Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding CVN-65 Enterprise Overhaul Proactively Implemented Worker Training: Laser Safety Hands-On Equipment Operation Workers Like the Laser Process quite, clean, limited PPE, easier.
NSWC CD DoD Laser SP Activities High-value sensitive substrate Problem: HAZMAT Chemical Stripper Laser Stripped No Chemicals
DoD Laser SP Activities Sub Propulsion Shaft Refurbishment Problem: Major time / expense moving shaft to & from abrasive blast bldg Tests Pending Solution: Use automated laser SP to complete all work in shaft shop & avoid moving
Electric Boat Purchased 20 Watt Backpack Laser Exploring uses for: - Cleaning prior to adhesive bonding - De-gloss paint prior to over-coating - Remove rust DoD Laser SP Activities Save Time & Labor
Laser Applications "Advanced Metalworking Solutions for Naval Systems that Go in Harm's Way" A laser ablation paint removal system will reduce labor costs and secondary waste compared to traditional paint removal methods. Photo courtesy of Adapt Laser Systems NMC Evaluating Laser Ablation Paint Removal System to Reduce Maintenance Cost and Environmental Impact
Portable Laser De-Coating Laser Source
Beam Delivery Fiber Optic Flexible / Versatile Double steel-jacket cover protects fiber Operate up to150ft from laser source in any direction Laser with Two 150 ft each
End Effectors examples Flat Angular Confined Laser with 2 Types Robotic Special
End Effectors Selective Precise De-coating 2D Beam Scanner In-Situ Laser Marking, Dot Matrix (3-5 sec) Bar Code, Human Readable
End Effector Fume Extraction Vacuum Hose Beam Exit & Suction Nozzle Suction captures vaporized material
Fume Extraction/Filter Unit Laser de-coating with fume extraction No emissions No dust No cleanup No containment Quite/Non-disruptive to on-going operations Flexible hose delivers all vaporized material to It s Clean multi-stage filter unit with HEPA & carbon filters
Flat Laser SP Today Laser w/dual End Effectors Confined Robotic Versatility Multi-Task Laser w/ 2 Tools Angles
Laser SP Applications Touch-up at coating damage (repair vs. replace) Remove Oxides: steel, aluminum, magnesium, etc Cleaning/de-coating sensitive substrates (composites / thin profiles) De-coating for weld/ NDT inspections Prep welds steel & aluminum Remove coatings where not feasible for UHP water / grit blasting (mach/equip rooms, near controls)
Laser De-Paint & Clean Operating Equipment / Controls Near Other Personnel w/laser Curtains
Laser SP Applications De-coat / clean intricate precision parts Laser part marking in-situ Remove coatings, rust, oil, grease, chlorides in one step Remove lead paint / chromate primers De-coat / clean contaminated surfaces without producing hazardous secondary waste
Laser SP Today Maintenance Support Tool for All DoD Platforms Land Sea Air
Opportunities /Benefits Repair damaged coatings promptly A multi-task tool to de-coat & clean many substrates Reduce waste stream, use of chemicals, solvents Enhance worker safety & job satisfaction Save Time / Expense
Laser Surface Prep Ready for Today & for Tomorrow
Today Maintainers Need The Tools & Technology Suitable for Traditional & Advanced Materials To Save Time, Control Costs Enhance Safety It s No Accident
Sustainment Technology That Protects Our Homeland
Need Worker Friendly Tools Problem Imagine - Unpleasant doing this Dangerous all day! Work! Imagine doing this all day!
Takeaway - Surface Prep Lasers Today Proven Versatile Cost Effective Wide Range of Power Available COTS / Rentable Virtually Maintenance-Free Easy to Use w/1 Person Ultra-Portable & Reliable There Ready!
Laser Surface Prep Ready to Help Make Rapid Repairs Fix Vs. Replace Maintain Readiness Do More with Less! De-Coat & Clean with Light!