3D laser cleaning as a novel approach to artworks conservation

Until recently, restoration cleaning has been carried out primarily manually. Manual laser cleaning is a time-consuming process that requires highly skilled restorers. The introduction of automation, which increases the quality and  speed of laser cleaning, will significantly expand its application range and reduce the complexity of restoration work. In this article, we present the results of our experimental work on automated 3D laser cleaning. The proposed  approach allows for precise cleaning of objects of complex geometric shape under the control of a CNC machine. To remove dirt from the surface of such objects, we have developed an original approach based on a combination of  three-dimensional scanning of the object and obtaining a point cloud of the surface to be cleaned, creating a control program for surface cleaning on a CNC machine. The demonstration of the automated cleaning process took place  on corroded steel samples of complex geometric shape. A fiber ytterbium pulsed laser with an average power of 100 W with a wavelength of 1.06 microns and a pulse duration of 100 ns was used for cleaning.