ANSI
View official documentation (opens in new tab)ANSI Z136.1, Safe Use of Lasers (applies to all laser cleaning applications)[1]
Ikmanda RoswatiPh.D.Indonesia
Ultrafast photonics and laser-matter interactionPublished
Jul 22, 2026
Tool Coating Laser Stripping (TiN, CrN, DLC)
Hard coatings laser cleaning starts with XRF on the insert, TiAlN and CrTiAlN flank strips need coupon fluence, not one 1064 nm setting for all five chemistries. Hot alkaline baths leach cobalt from WC-Co; laser leaves dry nitride dust sized to Cal/OSHA 0.5 mg/m³ chromium and 0.02 mg/m³ cobalt ceilings. (Science.gov TiAlN UV strip; 8 CCR §5155; Kucera et al. 2021)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a single laser setting strip all five PVD hard coating types?
No single fleet setting strips all five chemistries. Each coating needs its own coupon band at UV or excimer wavelengths, TiAlN cleared at 2.71 J/cm² at 355 nm on a 1.5 µm coupon, while 3.2 µm DLC on carbide removed at 7 J/cm² on excimer, not one 1064 nm nanosecond pass copied from a fleet chart. (Marimuthu et al. 2020; Science.gov TiAlN UV strip; Kucera et al. 2021; science-gov-crtialn-excimer-2020)
Does laser PVD stripping attack the cobalt binder in cemented carbide tools?
Laser PVD stripping does not attack the cobalt binder the way hot chemistry does. Cited excimer work cleared 3.2 µm of DLC from WC at 7 J/cm² without substrate damage, while NaOH and peroxide baths at 80 °C leach cobalt from WC-Co over repeat cycles. (Marimuthu et al. 2020; Sen CrN strip 1999; sen-crn-stripping-hss-1999)
Can laser strip coating from only part of a cutting tool?
Yes, segmental laser stripping can remove coating from the flank face only while preserving coated zones elsewhere on monolithic cutting tools. Chemical strip at 80 °C attacks the whole insert, so it cannot limit removal to one tool zone the way multi-axis segmental positioning can. (Sen CrN strip 1999; sen-crn-stripping-hss-1999)
Sources(4 references)
- Laser stripping of TiAlN coating — UV DPSS thresholds osti.gov (opens in new tab) — TiAlN 1.5 µm removed at 2.71–3.38 J/cm² at 355 nm
- Laser de-coating of hard DLC coatings from tungsten carbide cutting tool academia.edu (opens in new tab) — DLC 7 J/cm² excimer on WC; 3.2 µm removed without substrate damage
- Stripping of CrN coatings from high-speed steel sciencedirect.com (opens in new tab) — NaOH + H₂O₂ at 80 °C removes all coating indiscriminately
- Segmental laser stripping on monolithic cutting tools mmscience.eu (opens in new tab) — Selective flank-face strip for re-sharpening
Laser safety on tool reconditioning lines
Physical vapor deposition strip jobs still run under national laser-safety zoning, beam enclosure, eyewear, and controlled work areas per ANSI Z136.1 regardless of which coating chemistry is on the insert.
Sources(1 reference)
- ANSI Z136.1 — Safe Use of Lasers webstore.ansi.org (opens in new tab) — national laser safety standard for all laser cleaning applications
X-ray the insert, then walk the UV laser test-piece recipe
1Identify chemistry before any fluence number
- CrN, TiN, TiAlN, CrTiAlN, and DLC each carry distinct ablation thresholds, XRF or manufacturer documentation is mandatory.
- Do not copy TiAlN 2.71 J/cm² at 355 nm or DLC 7 J/cm² at 248 nm onto a 1064 nm nanosecond fiber pass without a fresh coupon relabel. (Kucera et al. 2021)
2Run the Marimuthu steel-coupon strip band first
- On 2 µm CrTiAlN over steel, Marimuthu reports successful removal at 2 J/cm² with 90% beam overlap, 4.2 mm/s cleaning speed, and 100 Hz, a steel coupon, not WC-Co.
- Hold overlap and speed on a labeled test patch before production flank-face work.
3Size extraction to cobalt and chromium rows
- WC-Co binder particulate during strip must meet Cal/OSHA 0.02 mg/m³ cobalt and 0.5 mg/m³ chromium planning numbers.
- Run HEPA source capture for the full pass, dry nitride dust, not caustic bath waste.
Sources(1 reference)
- Investigation of Multiparameter Laser Stripping of AlTiN and DLC C Coatings pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (opens in new tab) — CrTiAlN steel-coupon strip parameters; 1064 nm ns AlTiN/DLC band 2.9–29 J/cm² on tool steel
Wear coatings deposited in vacuum, not rust or corrosion films
On tool steel and cemented carbide inserts, CrN, TiAlN, CrTiAlN, and DLC arrive as 1.5–10 µm physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition ceramic layers. They bond through interfacial adhesion at 200–500 °C deposition, not atmospheric oxidation, engineered wear coatings to strip for re-sharpening, not field contaminants. (Cutting Tool Engineering 2003)
Sources(1 reference)
- PVD coatings for turning applications ctemag.com (opens in new tab) — five hard coating chemistries deposited in vacuum at 200–500 °C on cutting tools
Each coating chemistry carries its own strip band
DLC on WC-Co carbide inserts runs the tightest verified strip window in the literature. CrTiAlN on tool steel has a published 2–6 J/cm² process band at 1064 nm class wavelengths on H13 coupons, but TiAlN and CrTiAlN on cemented carbide still lack peer-reviewed 1064 nm nanosecond thresholds, UV and excimer coupon numbers must stay labeled by wavelength.
| Substrate | Ablation threshold (J/cm²) | Substrate damage (J/cm²) | Process window | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tool steel (H13/D2) with CrTiAlN | 2–4 | 8–12 | 2–6×Moderate — steel-coupon strip at 2 J/cm² with 90% overlap; not a WC-Co license | sublimation-ablation |
Sources(2 references)
- Laser de-coating of hard DLC coatings from tungsten carbide cutting tool academia.edu (opens in new tab) — DLC 7 J/cm² excimer on WC; CrTiAlN steel coupon 2 J/cm² reference band
- Laser stripping of TiAlN coating — UV DPSS thresholds osti.gov (opens in new tab) — TiAlN 1.5 µm removed at 2.71–3.38 J/cm² at 355 nm — not 1064 nm ns
Pulse energy — Tool Coating Laser Stripping
Working fluence ~3.00 J/cm² on Tool steel (H13/D2) with CrTiAlN (window 2.00–8.00 J/cm²). Bars: datasheet max pulse energy; color: process status.
- Wuhan Sintec STPL-V-i1600: 250 mJ — In process window
- Laserax LXQ-UHP 3000W: 150 mJ — In process window
- Laserax LXQ-UHP 2000W: 150 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 2000: 100 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 2000 Bright+: 100 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser QF-2000: 100 mJ — In process window
- Laserax LXQ-UHP Series (500W–3kW): 100 mJ — In process window
- 4JET JETLASER M1000: 100 mJ — In process window
- Laserax LXQ-UHP 1000W: 100 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 1000 Bright+: 100 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser QF-1000: 100 mJ — In process window
- 4JET JETLASER M500: 100 mJ — In process window
- Laserax LXQ-UHP 500W: 100 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 500 Bright+: 100 mJ — In process window
- Netalux Jango®: 100 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 1000: 50 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 500: 50 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser QF-500: 50 mJ — In process window
- Netalux Kamino 300: 50 mJ — In process window
- cleanLASER CL 500: 25 mJ — In process window
- SenFeng SF1000HC: 50 mJ — In process window
- SenFeng SF500HC: 50 mJ — In process window
- Powerlase Vulcan 500c: 40 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 300 Air: 15 mJ — In process window
- cleanLASER CL1000iF: 10 mJ — In process window
- 4JET JETLASER M200: 10 mJ — In process window
- Powerlase FL-C100C: 5.0 mJ — In process window
- Narran ROD 100 Air: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- PULSAR Laser SHARK P CL 1000A: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser ECO-C 500: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- PULSAR Laser SHARK P CL 500A: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- PULSAR Laser SHARK P CL 300M: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- Han's Laser HC-PD 200W: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- PULSAR Laser SHARK P CL 200M: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- Han's Laser HC-PD: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- Han's Laser HC-PD 100W: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- PULSAR Laser SHARK P CL 100M: 1.5 mJ — In process window
- Han's Laser HC-PD 50W: 1.1 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser QFC-300: 1.0 mJ — In process window
- P-Laser ECO-C 200: 1.0 mJ — In process window
- In window
- Below threshold
- Near damage
- Damage risk
Top questions about Tool Coating Laser Stripping
What is the hard coating types?
Five primary PVD hard coating types relevant to laser removal: CrN (~2000–2500 HV, silver-gray), TiN (~2000–2300 HV, gold-colored), TiAlN (~2000–3000 HV, dark violet/black, retains hardness to 800°C), CrTiAlN (~3000–4000+ HV, highest oxidation resistance), DLC (diamond-like carbon, amorphous, friction coefficient μ <0.1). Different chemistries and optical absorption profiles mean different ablation thresholds — no single fluence works for all five (brycoat-crn-properties). PVD/CVD hard coatings (CrN, TiAlN, AlTiN, DLC) absorb at 1064 nm primarily through free-carrier absorption. (Science.gov TiAlN UV strip; Kucera et al. 2021)
Sources(2 references)
- Chromium Nitride (CrN) PVD Coating Physical Properties brycoat.com (opens in new tab) — CrN, TiN, TiAlN, CrTiAlN, and DLC — five coating chemistries with distinct ablation thresholds
- PVD Coatings for Turning — CTE Magazine ctemag.com (opens in new tab) — CrN, TiN, TiAlN, CrTiAlN, and DLC — five coating chemistries with distinct ablation thresholds