Skip to main navigation Skip to main content Skip to page footer
TYPO3 Introduction Package logo TYPO3 Introduction Package logo

Why Fabrication Shops Are Moving Away From Sandblasting?

For decades, abrasive blasting has been the default solution for surface preparation in fabrication. But it comes with major drawbacks:

  • Constant purchasing of blasting media

  • Disposal and cleanup costs

  • Dust, masking, and containment

  • Equipment wear and tear

  • Bottlenecks when parts must be sent out or queued

These costs add up quickly.

Based on conservative estimates shared with us by some customers, blasting media alone was costing from €30.000,€~150,000 per year—not including labor, disposal, load-unloading time, huge electricity consumption, downtime, or rework.

Laser cleaning changes that equation.

Instead of consuming abrasive media, a cleaning pulsed laser removes oxides, coatings, mill scale, corrosion, and contaminants using focused photon energy, this all without any damage. There are no bags of grit, no contaminated waste streams, and no production interruptions waiting on resupply.

LASER CLEANING Versus SHOT BLASTING - LASER CLEANING Versus SAND BLASTING

Blasting, sand-blasting, shot peeing, shot blasting

In particle/SHOT blasting, a blasting medium is accelerated and “shot” at the surface. The mechanical impact mechanically removes the surface layers and dirt. Depending on the blasting material (from baking powder to steel shot), more or less abrasive removal and damage to the base material is possible.
The process can be installed quite easily and with a moderate investment volume and is very flexible. In addition to the disadvantage of surface roughening (which can also be an advantage depending on the application), particle blasting also has some basic disadvantages:

  • High energy consumption costs (especially with compressed air blasting)
  • No partial application possible, blasting medium can penetrate into critical component areas
  • Depending on the technology, mixing of the blasting medium with the ablated layer leads to high waste quantities.
  • High wear on blasting nozzles and blasting devices
  • High noise and dust exposure requires sound insulation cabins

Abrasive Blasting vs Fiber Laser Cleaning

Laser Cleaning - Versus - Shot and Sand blasting

While the cleaning is easy and effective, the big cost lies in the collection and disposal of the blast media, which often has to be separated from the paint debris, which has its own treatment issues. 

Fiber lasers eliminate the blast media problem. They provide a more controlled process that does not accidentally damage a surface through excessive removal, and can also be used on thin and composite materials that would be damaged by the particle impact. Fiber laser cleaning is always consistent, independent of operator effects, and can scale to suit the job size by selection of the laser power.