Laser Photonics Corporation, a leading global developer of industrial laser systems for laser cleaning and other applications, highlights a key application for its CleanTech laser systems – regular bridge maintenance.

“Workers removing rust and paint from bridge beams often use abrasive blasting, chemical stripping and other traditional methods of surface preparation,” said Wayne Tupuola, CEO of Laser Photonics. “With laser cleaning, these professionals can replace outdated methods with a solution that is both cost-effective and operator-safe.”

Compared to the traditional surface cleaning methods, Laser Photonics’ CleanTech machinery has a more compact footprint. The CleanTech laser is much quieter, is more powerful and precise, and it effectively removes dirt, corrosion, mold and other contaminants from surfaces without damaging the underlying material. CleanTech releases a high-powered laser beam that vaporizes paint and rust covering steel H-beams and other bridge components. Separately, our technology can also capture the vaporized residue fumes and particles by suction from a separate filtration unit.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), highway agencies undertake bridge painting every five to 15 years as a preventive maintenance measure to extend the life of steel bridges. According to AASHTO, laser ablation coating removal offers “significant cost savings, health and environmental benefits over traditional methods. It reduces the release of airborne contaminants to extremely low levels, which improves industrial hygiene and worker safety, requires less personal protective equipment and enhances safe disposal of hazardous waste.” Further, it is “highly effective and efficient as no containment structure is needed and ‘touch up’ or spot repairs can be done which can help maintenance staff resolve issues before they worsen.”

Sandblasting a typical highway bridge is estimated to generate at least 9,000-12,000 pounds of spent blast media mixed with hazardous paint residue. The waste generated by the laser ablation coating removal process comes to roughly 40 pounds of dry, non-toxic powder for a similar preparation area, which in turn can get captured by the Laser Photonics’ fume extractor.

Should bridge support supplementation be required, a typical bridge might also require paint and rust removal from beam ends at several dozen locations prior to welding shear pins to the beam web. Maintenance workers can safely operate laser equipment from temporary decking suspended from the bridge beams without interfering with traffic or obstructing pedestrian walkways. This makes Laser Photonics’ CleanTech laser blasting technology the preferred choice for transportation infrastructure maintenance and improvement.

For more information about the CleanTech line of laser cleaning systems, please visit https://www.laserphotonics.com or contact our sales department at fiberlaser@laserphotonics.com.

About Laser Photonics Corporation

Laser Photonics is a vertically integrated manufacturer and R&D Center of Excellence for industrial laser technologies and systems. Laser Photonics seeks to disrupt the $46 billion, centuries-old sand and abrasives blasting markets, focusing on surface cleaning, rust removal, corrosion control, de-painting and other laser-based industrial applications. Laser Photonics’ new generation of leading-edge laser blasting technologies and equipment also addresses the numerous health, safety, environmental and regulatory issues associated with old methods. As a result, Laser Photonics has quickly gained a reputation as an industry leader in industrial laser systems with a brand that stands for quality, technology and product innovation. Currently, world-renowned and Fortune 1000 manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, industrial, maritime, space exploration and shipbuilding industries are using Laser Photonics’ “unique-to-industry” systems. For more information, visit https://www.laserphotonics.com.

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