Wood Laser Cleaning Machine

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Why wood laser cleaners can clean wood without scorching and burning?

 

  1. Short Pulse Duration

A distinctive feature of pulsed lasers is that their energy output is released in a very short period of time (usually in the nanosecond or picosecond range). This means that the contact time between the laser and the wood surface is very short, thus limiting the transfer of heat to the deeper layers of the wood. This rapid energy release is sufficient to allow surface paint or stains to absorb enough heat to vaporize or expand thermally, thus stripping them from the wood’s top layer with no heat damage and burning hurts.

  1. Precise Energy Control

Pulsed laser cleaning equipment often has precise energy control that allows the operator to adjust the power, frequency and pulse width of the laser according to the type of wood and the characteristics of the stain. By precisely controlling these parameters, we can ensure that the laser energy is applied only to the contaminants on the surface of the wood and not to the wood itself.

  1. Cooling System

Typically, MOZLASER’s wood laser cleaning machines are equipped with a cooling system, which is used to quickly remove localized laser heat by installing an air extraction system, while at the same time removing plasma, dust, smoke and other contaminants generated by the laser cleaning of the wood. The air extraction system manages the heat generated in the wood cleaning works. This further protects the wood from thermal damage.

 

 

The Scientific principle of wood laser cleaning machine

 

Pulse wood laser cleaner, as a high-tech cleaning technology that has emerged in the past few years, have been gradually used in the fields of surface contaminant cleaning and paint restoration on wood, wood furniture, antique woodwork, etc. The average person comes across laser cleaning as magical and incredible. Ordinary people who come into contact with laser cleaning think that it is very magical and unbelievable. In fact, it mainly has the following two scientific principles to realize this “magic” process:

 

  1. Interaction between laser and material:Laser energy is absorbed by the paint layer, causing the molecules inside the paint layer to heat up quickly and produce thermal expansion.
  2. Thermal expansion and paint stripping: When the thermal expansion of the paint layer is greater than its adhesion to the wood substrate, the paint layer will be stripped from the wood surface.

 

So how do we choose a wood laser cleaner? How to use the right parameters for the cleaning of paint and pollutants on wood surfaces?

 

We can evaluate and consider the following dimensions:

 

Laser power and cleaning results

The result of laser cleaning is closely related to the average power of the wood cleaning laser. The laser power and the single pulse energy are high enough to overcome the adhesion between the paint layer and the wood substrate for effective cleaning. Too low an energy density may not remove the paint, while too high an energy density may result in surface damage to the wood.

 

Choice of laser wavelength

Shorter wavelength lasers are usually more effectively absorbed by the paint layer, thus improving cleaning efficiency. The choice of wavelength needs to take into account the optical properties of the paint layer and the resistance of the wood substrate.

 

Pulse Width and Repetition Frequency

Two important parameter settings for wood laser cleaning machines is “Pulse Width” and “Repetition Frequency”, also affect the effectiveness of wood cleaning. A shorter pulse width reduces the heat affected area, while a proper repetition frequency increases the cleaning efficiency while avoiding excessive heating of the wood substrate.

 

Warm reminder:

 

Safety Considerations

Although the wavelength and laser beam pattern of a pulsed woo laser cleaner are generally safe for wood, different cleaning parameters such as cleaning power, pulse width and repetition frequency may have an effect on the cleaning results. Therefore, we recommend that before you proceed with the cleaning of whole wood parts, it is necessary to carry out a small wood pieces to do laser cleaning test firstly in order to evaluate the safety of laser cleaning. Special care should be taken when cleaning particularly valuable wood implements, such as goldenrod, yellow rosewood, and antique woodwork.

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