Product Code: ICA12_1801

Advances in Large Scale Laser Paint Stripping
Authors:
Stan Ream, EWI; Columbus OH USA
Presented at ICALEO 2012

At the 2010 ICALEO conference EWI introduced a new polygon scanner for laser paint stripping and coating removal. In the intervening two years this technology has advanced considerably. Newer versions of the polygon scanner have been designed and built, and this scanner technology has been used successfully with a variety of laser types to remove a wide range of coatings and paints. These EWI scanners have delivered the highest paint stripping efficiency, paint stripping productivity, and ease of effluent removal ever reported. Now that the fundamental capabilities of this scanner technology have been established, the remaining challenges of large scale, commercially viable, coating removal applications are being addressed. Key among these challenges is the need for real-time coating removal process control, which is required to accommodate overlap between stripping passes, variable coating thicknesses, and the increasing request to strip only to the primer coating. A color-based imaging solution to this specific challenge has been developed and will be presented at this years ICALEO. Additionally, several concepts for large scale deployment of both fiber and CO2 lasers for coating removal from commercial aircraft and other structures will be presented.