Inside a DFW Fabrication Facility: How a 3000W Laser Is Replacing Sandblasting
- Tyrel Denver
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
At Argento Lux, most of our work happens behind the scenes—inside fabrication shops, industrial plants, refineries, shipyards, and manufacturing facilities where uptime, throughput, and surface preparation quality directly impact revenue.
In this case, we were invited into a large Dallas–Fort Worth fabrication facility to deliver and commission a new A-LUX 3000W Continuous Wave (CW) laser cleaning system that was being added directly to their production line.
Their goal was simple:
Reduce consumable costs. Eliminate bottlenecks. Increase production throughput.
Laser cleaning delivered on all three.
Why Fabrication Shops Are Moving Away From Sandblasting
For decades, abrasive blasting has been the default solution for surface preparation in fabrication. But it comes with major drawbacks:
Constant purchasing of blasting media
Disposal and cleanup costs
Dust, masking, and containment
Equipment wear and tear
Bottlenecks when parts must be sent out or queued
These costs add up quickly.
Based on conservative estimates shared with us by another fabrication partner, blasting media alone was costing over $100,000 per year—not including labor, disposal, downtime, or rework.
Laser cleaning changes that equation.
Instead of consuming abrasive media, a continuous wave laser removes oxides, coatings, mill scale, corrosion, and contaminants using focused photon energy. There are no bags of grit, no contaminated waste streams, and no production interruptions waiting on resupply.
What the A-LUX 3000W-CW Brings to the Production Floor
The A-LUX 3000W Continuous Wave system is designed specifically for high-throughput industrial environments like fabrication shops.
It delivers:
High-speed coating, rust, and oxide removal
Surface profiling for paint, weld prep, and coatings adhesion
Continuous operation without duty-cycle limitations
Long fiber-optic reach for large structures and complex geometries
Consistent, repeatable surface prep quality
Unlike pulsed systems designed for delicate substrates, the CW platform is built for steel, plate, pipe, weldments, and structural components that need to move quickly through production.
In this DFW facility, the laser is now part of their internal surface prep workflow—meaning parts no longer need to wait on blasting schedules, outside vendors, or consumable logistics.
Delivery, Training, and Compliance—Done Right
Every Argento Lux deployment is more than just dropping off a machine.
This installation included:
On-site delivery and system commissioning
Hands-on operator training
Online training modules
OSHA and ANSI compliance guidance
Real-world operational best practices
We don’t just teach operators which buttons to press—we teach them how to operate the system safely, efficiently, and in a way that protects both the equipment and the production line.
This training ecosystem is built from years of Argento Lux experience across fabrication, industrial maintenance, NDT preparation, and heavy manufacturing—not theoretical lab work.
Why Uptime Matters More Than Anything
Fabrication is a volume business.
Every minute a part sits waiting for surface prep is a minute it isn’t being welded, painted, assembled, or shipped.
That’s why uptime is the real driver of ROI.
A-LUX continuous wave systems are designed for:
Sustained operation
High reliability
Minimal service interruptions
And when service is needed, Argento Lux backs it with U.S.-based engineers who can troubleshoot remotely or travel onsite to resolve issues quickly.
Because in fabrication, time is money—and downtime creates expensive backlogs.
A Smarter Way to Prepare Metal
What you see in this video isn’t a demo—it’s a real system in a real production environment, doing real work.
From steel and structural components to coatings and corrosion removal, the A-LUX 3000W-CW is changing how fabrication shops approach surface preparation:
Lower operating costs
Higher throughput
Cleaner, more consistent results
Fewer consumables
Fewer bottlenecks
Laser cleaning isn’t just a replacement for sandblasting—it’s a better, more modern way to run a fabrication operation.
Ready to Modernize Your Surface Prep?
If you’re running a fabrication, manufacturing, or industrial operation and want to explore whether a continuous wave laser or pulsed laser system is right for your workflow, Argento Lux can help.
Our team works directly with operations, maintenance, and production leadership to determine the right system for your materials, throughput, and compliance requirements.
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