Laser ablation supports the serial surface structuring of large three-dimensional components
The market for laser processing of large components is continually expanding into new fields of application. Whether it’s creating intricate patterns on translucent surfaces for modern lighting effects or large-area structuring to achieve a uniformly rough, adhesive surface—the demand for precise material removal with the JENscan® Style is growing along with its popularity. Until recently, the serial, seamless patterning of large three-dimensional workpieces with a laser posed a challenge. The reason: Materials that are particularly prone to variation require a specific compensation process during machining. With the JENscan® Style, Jenoptik has created a sensor-based solution for uniformly precise laser ablation. Guided by a high-precision laser scanner, the laser beam generated by a fiber laser ablates even the most intricate patterns at high processing speeds. This allows large-area designs to be produced within a short processing time. Even geometries larger than the laser scanner’s processing field can be ablated. The optical measurement systems required for this enable the seamless joining and positioning of multiple processing fields. Thanks to the robot-guided JENscan® Style processing head, even large components with hard-to-reach surfaces can be processed.
The Key Challenges of Machine-Based Paint Removal from Surfaces
Components Prone to Variation
Plastic workpieces from mass production differ from one another depending on their material composition. Due to thermal influences or deformation, they shrink, warp, or change during the manufacturing and further processing stages. A typical example from the automotive industry is polypropylene bumpers. They rarely match their original CAD model exactly. To achieve a consistent result, these variations in components prone to fluctuations must be compensated for during machining.
Large-Format Three-Dimensional Parts
Surface texturing of large three-dimensional components often requires a seamless transition between the patterns on multiple sub-surfaces. The challenge lies in precisely reproducing the geometries even on components with varying shapes—especially for patterns that are larger than the machining field. This also applies to hard-to-reach surfaces and highly intricate designs. Optical measurement systems are necessary for the seamless alignment and positioning of multiple machining fields.
Seamless Design
The “Seamless Design” approach aims for fluid transitions between materials, surfaces, functions, and technologies. For the automotive industry, for example, this means developing car bodies or closed front panels with flush elements that appear to be cast as a single piece and visually conceal their functional components. The elimination of joints, slots, and edges serves both aerodynamics and minimalist design, as well as ensuring absolutely clean surfaces. As an added benefit, reducing the number of components used also makes assembly more cost-effective. The production of these large, continuous components requires integrated process steps in manufacturing.Precise Paint Removal: Lighting Design and Surface Texturing with Lasers
Large-format components
Optical digital compensation for component variations
Application center for prototyping
Frequently Asked Questions on the Topic
How does modern lighting design affect road safety?
With the JENscan® Style, Jenoptik has created a solution that goes beyond the design language of automotive manufacturers to integrate functional elements—such as signal, position, or communication lights—directly into painted components. These are illuminated only when needed, ensuring that the vehicle’s design remains unaltered when the lights are off. The technology thus enables, for example, daytime running lights or smaller lights within a closed front panel. Backlighting of plastic surfaces also highlights a special nighttime design that sharpens attention and increases visibility. In the future, laser-based paint removal from plastic surfaces will also enable safety-critical communication between autonomous vehicles and their environment—so-called car-to-pedestrian communication.
Which current trends in the automotive industry does laser paint removal support?
The electrification of road transportation is bringing about new designs and lighter materials. Modern plastics are replacing metal surfaces, while previously necessary design elements—such as a radiator grille—are being eliminated. The newly created surfaces can be designed with an illuminated logo or a light strip using backlighting. At the same time, the JENscan® Style supports the trend toward customer- or model-specific mass production by enabling rapid pattern changes during machining. Even in vehicle interiors, there are already numerous applications today for trim elements with illuminated contours. Control elements as well as warning and information lights in autonomous vehicles can also be incorporated using the Jenoptik JENscan® Style.
How does brand differentiation through light work in automotive design?
To customize exterior design and more strongly convey brand identity, increasingly complex geometries are emerging that can no longer be achieved with conventional technologies. Lighting design conveys the brand identity of a vehicle manufacturer or model by illuminating the finest structures, geometries, or lines of the body, such as an illuminated logo. By precisely removing paint from large three-dimensional components, the JENscan® Style enables a distinctive vehicle design using light. Patterns on bumpers, spoilers, and radiator grilles personalize the lighting design. This is also suitable for differentiating and classifying product lines. The ablation technology enables automotive OEMs to visually and emotionally redesign their vehicle offerings to remain competitive on the international market.
How can the JENscan® Style remove paint from plastic surfaces with such precision?
The JENscan® Style laser technology removes paint from plastic surfaces with pinpoint accuracy. Even when dealing with large, three-dimensional workpieces that are highly prone to variation and feature patterns formed by joined sub-surfaces, the laser seamlessly and precisely vaporizes the preprogrammed pattern from the paint. To achieve this, the component is secured in the system on a fixture that allows the robot’s processing head to access it from every angle. There, it is automatically measured. A multi-stage sensor system detects component variations and digitally compensates for them using adjustment algorithms based on the CAD reference. Theory and reality are superimposed and aligned so that the laser reliably reproduces the pattern.
Is the specialized processing technology of the JENscan® Style also suitable for other applications?
Yes. The JENscan® Style finds its laser-based application whenever the properties of the surfaces of large three-dimensional workpieces need to be modified. For example, the partial removal of paint roughens the surfaces of steel-enamel bathtubs and shower floors to ensure better adhesion. And wherever the backlighting of translucent surfaces can contribute to a personalized, feel-good atmosphere, individualized therapy, or brand communication through light, the JENscan® Style enables their industrial production. This applies to home interiors just as much as it does to the interior design of airplanes or autonomous vehicles, as well as to other applications in future mobility and its infrastructure.
Experience JENscan® Style firsthand: Put us to the test!
Could laser-based paint removal with the JENscan® Style be the right solution for your specific application? At Jenoptik’s Customer Application Center in Jena, you can test specific applications under real-world conditions before deciding to purchase a JENscan® Style system. Jenoptik is here to advise you on evaluating the integration of this technology into your production or post-processing workflow.
Next-Generation Paint Removal
The performance of the JENscan® Style builds confidence in its technology: Laser-based paint removal is opening up an ever-wider range of applications. Serial surface processing with lasers is gaining ground thanks to its material compatibility, speed, and precision. The combination and continuous advancement of optical-digital laser technologies make Jenoptik the leading provider of three-dimensional ablation technologies. Benefit from this expertise by adapting it to your surface application.Advantages of laser-based paint removal with the JENscan® Style from Jenoptik
- Any design is possible
- Seamless removal of patterns
- Processing of large 3D shapes
- Highest precision
- Delicate structures and lines
- Compensation for component deviations
- Fully automated process
- No tool wear
- High process speed
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