Taking their\nideas from defence mechanisms found in plants such as the Lotus leaf, the \u2018High\nThroughput Laser Texturing of Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Surfaces\u2019,\nor TresClean project, has made a breakthrough that will enable the production of\nself-cleaning sheet metal on an industrial scale for the first time. TresClean\nhas used high-power laser cutting devices to create microscopic \u2018spikes\u2019 and\n\u2018ridges\u2019 in sheet metal, causing liquids to \u2018bounce off\u2019 the rough\nmicro-topography that mimics the surface of the Lotus leaf. This roughened\nsurface creates miniature pockets of air that minimises the contact area\nbetween the surface and a liquid, almost like standing on a bed of needles. This\nnew technique will initially be used to create antibacterial surfaces for use\nin the food production industry \u2013 dramatically increasing productivity and\nreducing costs in factories which process biological food products such as\nmilk, tomato sauce, and yoghurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Luca\nRomoli, Project Coordinator of TresClean explains: \u201cIn the same way that Lotus\nleaves keep themselves clean, without the need for cleaning products or\nchemicals, their jagged, rough surfaces enable water to stay as spherical\ndroplets by preventing \u2018spreading\u2019.\u201d
\n\u201cBacteria do not get a chance to stick because the contact with the metal\nsurface and the liquid is reduced by over 80%. We are looking at an\nanti-bacterial metal\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laser Textured Surfaces<\/strong> While this replicating approach may currently exist for specific and expensive plastic components, it is a first for self-cleaning metal. Metal surfaces are textured using innovative industrial photonics devices: high-average power ultrashort-pulsed lasers are used in combination with high-performance scanning heads by utilising an innovative beam delivery method enabling movements of up to 200 m\/s. TresClean can\nachieve this surface texturation quickly by cutting areas of 500 square cm in\nless than 30 minutes. In early 2015 production methods could make laser-etched\nmetal at a rate of 1 square inch in 1 hour, whereas TresClean can produce 1000\nsquare cm in the same period of time, making this technology 156 times quicker\nthan before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially aiming\nits product at machine parts for the food industry TresClean hopes to make a\nsignificant impact on productivity: \u201cVats in milk factories need to be cleaned\nevery 6-8 hours to avoid the exponential growth of bacteria. This hinders usage\nand therefore affects output\u201d Romoli said. \u201cBy saving hours per day in cleaning,\nit will yield an efficiency improvement stemming from fewer sterilization\ncycles and less cleaning time within production as a whole. This will also\nreduce energy consumption as a result of fewer cleaning phases making food\nproduction quicker, safer and more profitable\u201d. Professor Romoli sees the\nlong-term possibilities and implications for other sectors: \u201cIt is possible\nthat any use of metal that needs to avoid the formation of bacteria will\nbenefit from the TresClean product, such as medical cutting tools, sterile\nsurfaces, dishwashers, or even saucepans\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Video: https:\/\/vimeo.com\/307225436<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: https:\/\/www.nanowerk.com\/nanotechnology-news2\/newsid=51820.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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