Advanced Robotic Laser Coating Removal System (ARLCRS)

The Department of Defense (DoD) operates major depot maintenance facilities that perform repair, testing, and remanufacturing operations for weapon systems and support equipment possessed by the U.S. military. The current methods utilized by these depots for the removal of coating systems are costly, time consuming, labor-intensive, cause substrate damage, and result in undesirable environmental conditions. Large quantities of hazardous waste are commonly generated, and typically result in high disposal costs and environmental regulatory scrutiny. Wastes that are associated with coatings removal include liquid paint removers, contaminated rinse water from chemical stripping operations and media waste from a variety of blasting processes that are utilized. Laser coating removal is an ablative process that can be applied to a variety of substrates, including metal, composites, and plastics. Laser energy is focused onto the surface and is absorbed into the coating resulting in decomposition and removal of the coating causing only a minimal increase in substrate temperature. The key advantages in the use of lasers for coating removal include its non-contact nature and that it uses no secondary medium that contributes to waste streams. This presentation will focus on the advanced robotic laser coatings removal system (ARLCRS) developed for the United States Air Force consisting of multiple units, depending on the size of the aircraft being processed. All units are synced together, allowing for a single control point and simultaneous ablation of each side of the aircraft without the need to reposition the aircraft. A six kW fiber laser was selected as the laser generator based on the types of coatings commonly found on the outer mold line of aircraft, the removal rates that must be achieved to maintain the current productivity levels, and the flexibility required for the beam delivery to the work surface.