In recent years, laser cleaning has been widely applied in industrial production, covering fields such as automobile manufacturing, aerospace, precision electronics, medical equipment, and ships. In the realm of electric vehicle batteries, motors, electronic controls, vehicle bodies, and automotive components,Main applications of laser cleaning technology in the automotive industry, laser cleaning technology boasts comprehensive application solutions.
Here are the main applications of laser cleaning in the automotive sector:
1. Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Manufacturing
This is currently one of the fastest-growing applications. Laser cleaning is essential for ensuring the safety and efficiency of EV batteries.
- Pole/Terminal Cleaning: Before battery cells are connected, the poles must be perfectly clean to ensure maximum electrical conductivity. Lasers remove oxide layers and contaminants that could cause resistance or heat buildup.
- Pre-Welding Preparation: Cleaning busbars and battery casing connections before laser welding ensures strong, defect-free joints.
- Insulation Coating Removal: Removing insulation varnish from hair-pin windings in electric motors to prepare them for electrical connection.
2. Tire Mold Cleaning
Tire molds accumulate stubborn residues like vulcanized rubber, release agents, and synthetic fibers, which must be cleaned regularly to maintain tire quality.
- The Advantage: Traditional methods (sandblasting or dry ice) can wear down the intricate tread patterns of the mold over time. Laser cleaning ablates the residue without eroding the metal mold itself, extending the mold’s lifespan significantly.
- Zero Downtime: In some systems, molds can be cleaned while still hot and inside the press, reducing machine downtime.
3. Pre-Welding and Post-Welding Treatment
Laser cleaning is widely used on the assembly line for “Body-in-White” (the stage where the car body’s frame is joined).
- Pre-Weld: It removes oil, grease, and anti-corrosion coatings (like zinc or e-coat) from steel and aluminum parts. This prevents porosity and defects in the weld seam.
- Post-Weld: It cleans the heat-tint and oxides left after welding to prepare the area for painting or coating, ensuring the paint adheres properly and doesn’t peel later.
4. Powertrain & Engine Components
- Degreasing: Removing oil, carbon deposits, and sealants from engine blocks, cylinder heads, and transmission components during remanufacturing.
- Gasket Surface Cleaning: Lasers can remove old gasket material and sealants from machined surfaces (like the connection between the engine block and head) without scratching the precise metal surface, which is a common risk with scraping tools.
5. Paint Stripping and Restoration
- Selective Paint Removal: Lasers can remove a specific layer of paint (e.g., topcoat) while leaving the primer intact, or strip a part down to bare metal.
- Grounding Points: In assembly, lasers are used to remove paint from specific small circles on the car chassis to ensure a good electrical ground connection for the vehicle’s electronics.
- Classic Car Restoration: It is increasingly used to remove rust and old paint from vintage car bodies. Unlike sandblasting, it does not warp thin sheet metal or trap sand in the chassis.