Removing old paint with a laser gun

Text and photo: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

The 20-tonne colossus is used in production at the aluminium plant. Liquid metal is poured inside and finished cylinders come out.

The moulds at the plant need regular maintenance. But it's not always easy to remove layers of paint of different thicknesses.

- SOME OF THIS malingen er 20 år gammel. Med laserpistolen går det som en lek å få den bort. Fordelen er også at vi kommer til overalt, sier operatøren.

He works as a logistics manager at Farmar and has had a couple of men working in the workshop for the past two weeks to make the mould nice and shiny.

– Når vi er ferdige, skal den males, sier operatøren, som håper på flere tilsvarende oppdrag fra Alcoa Lista.

- THIS IS a test project. "If we manage to do the job with greater efficiency and quality, we may well get more noise moulds to work with. Alcoa Lista has many such moulds in various sizes," says Byberg.

The laser burns away rust and paint at a very high temperature. There is no sand and waste products, as with sandblasting.

Farmar offers laser rust and paint removal to anyone who needs it. The laser gun is easy to transport and requires little rigging.

– Vi kommer med personell som er kurset for å håndtere maskinen, sier operatøren.

THE GUN CAN is set in the same way as a pressure washer - with a maximum width of 30 centimetres. The pressure can also be adjusted based on how coarse or fine you want the surface to be. The optimum distance between the gun and the object is 80 centimetres.

The gun is not only used on iron and steel. It is also very effective on surfaces such as concrete and wood.