Improving component cleanliness during laser remote ablation processes with high-power lasers by optimized emission blower and suction strategies

Laser remote processing with high-performance laser sources enables materials such as metals or fiber composites to be cut, welded or ablated flexibly and quickly. All these manufacturing processes produce process and material specific particulate as well as gaseous emissions. This must be recorded quantitatively and qualitatively in order to implement appropriate protective measures with regard to occupational health and safety as well as to minimize the crosscontamination of the component to be treated. Ideally, an additional cleaning step should be avoided by optimizing the arrangement of the process suction and blower. Particle distributions as well as gas phase analyses during the remote ablation process were recorded during ablation tests on metals or carbon-based composites. The structure quality and the contamination of the sample surface after laser material processing as well as after the additional cleaning process were determined. Subsequently, the samples were thermally joined to evaluate the influences.