Representative case
Pulsed laser cleaning for tyre moulds in South Asia
A tyre plant moved mould cleaning from off-line dry-ice blasting to laser cleaning in the press, and cut press downtime per mould from about 4.5 hours to 1.5.
- Machines
- 2 × 200 W pulsed
- Where
- In the press, while hot
- Downtime per mould
- ≈ 1.5 h instead of ≈ 4.5 h
- Order to site
- 4 weeks
The starting point
Where they started
- Customer
- A passenger and light-truck tyre plant with about 120 curing presses.
- Where
- South Asia
- Before
- Moulds taken out of the press, cooled, dry-ice blasted in a separate bay and heated again: about four and a half hours of press downtime per mould, a weekly dry-ice bill, and noise above 110 dB in the cleaning bay.
Requirements
What they needed
- Clean segmented moulds in the press, while hot
- No damage to vents, springs and fine engraving
- No blasting media or chemicals
- Machines that operators can move from press to press
What we supplied
Equipment, by stage
-
Make
Cleaning
- Two 200 W pulsed laser cleaners (Maxwave MW-C200)
- Handheld heads with scan widths for tread and sidewall
- Trolley mounting to move between presses
-
Make
Safety and support
- Laser-safety curtains around the press during cleaning
- Eyewear for operators and supervisors
- Spare protective lenses and a year of wear parts
Acceptance
How it was proven
- Two mould segments sent to Wuhan and cleaned on video, with surface roughness measured before and after
- Vents and engraving inspected under magnification after cleaning
- On site: one full mould cleaned in the press and signed off by the plant’s mould shop
Results
What it achieved
- Press downtime per mould
- ≈ 1.5 hours instead of ≈ 4.5
- Dry ice
- No longer bought for the moulds on laser cleaning
- Surface roughness change
- Under 0.1 µm Ra on the test segments
- Operators trained
- 12, across three shifts
- Order to site
- 4 weeks, by air freight
Schedule
From contract to running
- 01
Segment tests
Two mould segments cleaned in Wuhan; video, roughness data and settings sent.
Weeks 1–2
- 02
Build and ship
Two cleaners built and run before packing; air freight to the plant.
Weeks 3–4
- 03
Train and hand over
Two days on site: settings for tread and sidewall, laser safety, daily care.
Week 5
Who did what
One contract, several factories
ZeroLine
- Chose pulsed over continuous-wave: a CW cleaner costs less per watt but would have rounded the mould edges
- Organised the segment tests and the roughness measurements
- Laser-safety plan for working at an open press
- Spare-parts kit and video support in the plant’s shifts
The factories
- Maxwave Laser built, tested and shipped the cleaners
Test on your own mould segment, not on a rusty plate. Mould residue, vents and engraving behave nothing like rust.
Behind this project
The solution and services it used
- Automotive and EV parts Laser welding, marking, assembly and test lines for parts makers.
- Sample testing Your part, processed in Wuhan on the machine we would quote.
- Shipping and compliance Export documents, crating, one consolidated shipment, and the papers your market needs.
- Installation and training Engineers on your site until it runs at rate, and a team that can run it after.
- Spare parts and support Spare parts, video support, service partners and upgrades for the life of the equipment.
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