Proceedings of the
9th International Conference of Asian Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (ASPEN2022)
15 – 18 November 2022, Singapore
doi:10.3850/978-981-18-6021-8_OR-15-0238
Effectively and Selectively Sealant Removal Using CO2 Laser
1Adaptive Robotics and Mechatronics Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
2Joining and Machining Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
3Advanced Imaging and Machine-vision Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
ABSTRACT
A feasibility study is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of using a laser for sealant removal. We experimentally compare the performance of two type of laser systems, Yb:YAG laser and CO2 laser, in the task of sealant removal, which is a very common task in aerospace industry. We have proved that CO2 laser is able to remove the sealant in a more effective and selective means task in aerospace industry. We have proved that CO2 laser is able to remove the sealant in a more effective and selective means or defects on the smooth surface of metal (Aluminum) substrates beneath the sealant. It is also insensitive to the focusing or aiming errors and can be easily integrated with robotic arm without need of sophistic and expensive force sensing and servo control. Therefore, it provides a low cost and practical solution for fully automated large area sealant removal without an operator intervention.
Keywords: Precision machining, Laser for manufacturing, Laser Cleaning
1Adaptive Robotics and Mechatronics Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
2Joining and Machining Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
3Advanced Imaging and Machine-vision Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
ABSTRACT
A feasibility study is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of using a laser for sealant removal. We experimentally compare the performance of two type of laser systems, Yb:YAG laser and CO2 laser, in the task of sealant removal, which is a very common task in aerospace industry. We have proved that CO2 laser is able to remove the sealant in a more effective and selective means task in aerospace industry. We have proved that CO2 laser is able to remove the sealant in a more effective and selective means or defects on the smooth surface of metal (Aluminum) substrates beneath the sealant. It is also insensitive to the focusing or aiming errors and can be easily integrated with robotic arm without need of sophistic and expensive force sensing and servo control. Therefore, it provides a low cost and practical solution for fully automated large area sealant removal without an operator intervention.
Keywords: Precision machining, Laser for manufacturing, Laser Cleaning
