THE CHALLENGE

To laser clean an active chiller that had developed a large amount of corrosion—enough to question the integrity of the underlying metal—prior to inspection and repair. The problem? This particular chiller was located on the 57th floor of a downtown Charlotte, North Carolina high-rise and included a lengthy amount of overhead work in tight conditions.

PROJECT DETAILS

Client: CMC Industrial Services of North Carolina—Owner/President Mike Coleman

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Company Overview: Headed by President, Mike Coleman, CMC Industrial Services is located in Concord, North Carolina and has been providing quality industrial cleaning, hazardous material abatement, and restoration services for over 15 years.

CHILLER DETAILS

• Substrate: Steel
• Contaminant: Heavy rust
• 20+ years old

After the Charlotte company contacted Mike and his team, he weighed the options between using a more traditional method of metal cleaning like media blasting versus using a newer technology like laser cleaning. Having been using laser cleaning systems in past projects for several years now, Mike was aware of their corrosion removal capabilities, and ultimately opted for the newer method. This is largely in part due to some of the problems they faced with this project because of the location of the chiller including:

PROBLEMS WITH LOCATION

• Keeping the noise level down to avoid disrupting neighboring executive offices
• Air intakes leading into the building were located nearby, so no dust or odors could be present
• The 57th floor provided no access to a high voltage set up, only 110v
• Since it was an active, working chiller, no contaminants could enter the water
• Cramped quarters meant no more than one operator could work at once

 

THE SOLUTION: 100W lightCASE

After considering all the potential problems associated with this project we decided that the 100w lightCASE would be the best laser cleaning system to provide Mike and his team. We came to this decision based on a number of factors including the lightCASES flexibility and ease-of-use in a small working environment as well as its capability to run off 110 volts. The compact head of the OSH20 optic allowed the operator to efficiently ablate around all sides of the chiller and due to our fully integrated suction, only one operator was needed.

 

CLEANING PROCESS

RESULTS

In under 2 weeks Mike and his team were able to remove all corrosion from around the chiller and get it ready for inspection. Because of the 100w lightCASE’s lightweight, compact features, the corroded steel around the chiller was able to get properly cleaned without creating any dust or debris that may have contaminated the water. The engineers on the project approved the work, with Mike adding that “they couldn’t stop talking about how great a job the laser did.”

 

 

 

WHATEVER YOUR NEEDS, ADAPT LASER HAS THE SOLUTION FOR IT

Adapt Laser specializes in providing the highest-quality laser cleaning systems available. Our systems come in both handheld and automated options making them versatile for different applications and surface preparation. We offer formal laser operations and safety training to ensure both you and your employees get the most out of their laser cleaning system. Over the past 15 years we have helped equipped numerous companies across varying industries with our state-of-the-art laser cleaning solutions.

If you’re looking for a faster, totally unique industrial cleaning and coating removal process, contact us today or call (816) 466-5855 to find the right laser cleaning system for you.

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