I could see that for around window openings and rusty areas this would be the way to go. not to mention inside corners, great for a shop you want to keep clean. or a small area of rust repair. especially would be good for alloy panel repair on so called priceless cars like Ferraris etc.
He's probably not even an auto body specialist, he probably works for the company that makes the laser, probably a salesman doing a demo to make a sale.
The guy works for JH Norton Inc. also know as Norton Sandblasting. The car is an S10 blazer being converted into a classic Ford. There are spots of bondo and there is primer. He isn't missing spots, the laser will not remove both layers as it is reflected from the topcoat at full intensity. The video is not a sales pitch for JH Norton or Adapt Lasers, it is meant to be informative, for the SSPC and MPA
why $300/hr? it said 1KW. what is 1KW input or output power? the unit is worst case 10% efficient, which is maybe 10KW and in one hour he uses less than $1 of energy. Commercial is about $0.0/KWH. so energy cost is < $1.00. The cost of his bad workmanship $15/hr. so why $300/hr?
I don't know how expensive it is to use this unit, but you have only factored in operating costs, not the costs associated with making the initial investment in the machine.
Cool tech. Saw this at an open house at ESCA Blast this fall. Guy used it to restore national landmarks and such. But that said for $100,000 I'll stick my dustless blaster faster and cheaper.
I can see the advantages for part or metal refurb but surely bead blasting, sand blasting has same effect on larger surface areas and is a lot cheaper to do. Be great for engine refurbs , part refurbs etc etc for sure
What’s really cool, is that you can take the paint off and still leave the basecoat. 👍🏻 Just the answer for dealings with cars that have a failing clearcoat. 😄
I wonder what would happen if you used the laser at the same time you weld? Would it clean the sight better and create a stronger weld and the clean up would be instant all in one motion I'm thinking if the oxides on the surface are removed milliseconds before the weld bead is laid down you would have a greater stronger safer welded part Hope someone tries it and posts it
Even at 1000W, the undercoat is really tough to remove. Media blasting feels quicker. But this laser is more precise and less dirty than media blasting.
Try this laser to treat particulate filter ( DPF) for diesel engines ( diesel ) . If this works to open a workshop for cleaning filters in this way : D
it will burned out the public clothes and bodies and cause death and disability at very first second, it will cause riots even if they are not going to prolonged ongoing debate and so on
how about the damage to the rubber part of the doors? This idea seem to be useful but looks like it's going to take more time more than the old school way maybe the output is not strong enough to erase the paint at one swipe. And of course, tons of money lost on electricity bill
Yes, he is demonstrating it. I know that a painter would use more even passes across the panel. If you painted that way it would have runs, or maybe dry spots, or even both. It would be very useful, but for the money not very practical.
Yes, it would work well for that as the rubberized coating have to be burned or scrapped off. Tough stuff. I usually sand blast rust and old coatings which is messy and hard to contain the sand. This would be great for that. One Question would be what other prep would be needed to refinish? I would think it could oxidize quickly making a durable finish tough to accomplish.
FreeAgent I'm planning for my shop and bought a pretty big compressor for sand-blasting. I love the ability of media-blasting but hate the nasty process. Here are the reasons I don't like media blasting: 1) You need fresh air because of the silica dangers. 2) The dusty mess goes everywhere and you never get rid of the dust. 3) Cleanup is time consuming. 4) Prep work to prevent dust/media from getting into everything and covering things that will get damaged like chrome trim and glass. 5) Cost of buying and disposing of the media, suit, hoses, nozzles. 6) Risk of deforming and warping thin metals. Not sure how much that machine would cost, the 1000 Watt but, I'll be researching. I am thinking about making an investment into one of these CleanLASER machines as a business venture. There is demand for media blasting but, the risk of warped car body panels is a problem. I would love to get into this laser cleaning business. Especially since I could do it inside my shop without any extra effort and inside where it's warm! It's cold out here! Right now I have three 20ft trailers, four classic vehicles, a skidsteer, and three old mowers I want to strip the rust/paint. Around here it would cost over $1,000 just to media blast one trailer. This laser cleaning has me excited!
A cheap sand blaster, decent compressor, a broom and 3-4 bags of black beauty from your local hardware store is faster and way cheaper. If you want less mess, you can try dried ice as the media.
Pretty much nothing would happen for a couple of reasons. First, traditional mirrors would not be effective at reflecting that particular wavelength. Second, the beam would diverge only a few feet out and it's energy would be spread out over a larger area reducing it's overall output per centimeter squared.
It's a fiber laser (1064nm). The light itself is not visible to the naked eye -- and you wouldn't want your eyes anywhere near the path of the beam. It will blind you instantly. What you're seeing is the beam hitting and interacting with the surface. The laser itself it somewhere behind him. The device he's holding contains a scanner pair to move the beam back and forth which is coupled to the laser using fiber optics. I believe these units start in the $50,000 for lower wattage models, with this one probably exceeding $200,000, and yes, they actually work quite well. They can be used for the cleaning of any surface, but they are best suited for extremely delicate things that normal bead or sand blasting could destroy.
I know it has a vacuum to suck up the vaporization/albation leftovers. but would one need to wear some sort of special protective mask? im sure there are some particles left over floating around?
@@davidstokes2780 no running costs, no need for cleaning and protective equipment besides glasses, and you can get in grooves and tight spaces, like pillars
To begin with...lasers are difficult to maintain , expensive , temperamental. If something goes wrong you call a Phd or an engineer that specializes in lasers. They are also dangerous. A drop of water can deflect a laser beam. The flash lamp can remove the paint only faster ,safer and cheaper. Manuel Morante
+Rocky1138 Since it's all optical burning, there's no physical particles touching the surface. Sandblasting tool can leave an uneven surface if you dwell somewhere too long because the sand particles will eat away the metal underneath while laser won't. If you hit the weather stripping with laser you'll be more than likely burn it away too since black color is highly absorbing. The other downside of sandblasting tool is that you need sand and lots of it. The sand also flies everywhere unless you have something collect back the sand particles.
I would think that this is a pretty expensive method to take a car back to metal, considering power costs and/or owning or hiring the laser. It does in an incredibly good job otherwise!
Actually you can get the diodes online for less than a hundred dollars. All the would be required is that you build a housing, and get the right wavelength and its definitely feasible, and something you may be able to build yourself for a few hundred dollars. EDIT: Nevermind, I didn't realize the title said 1000W as opposed to 1000mW.