Laser ablation is a process that Laser Services uses to remove layers of material while leaving the base material intact. Most commonly used for removing material to create solder dams, it can also be used to remove unwanted traces on circuit boards to salvage your parts instead of scrapping and remaking. For small-piece orders or large production runs, laser ablation provides the utmost flexibility and processing speeds for a wide range of PCB manufacturing applications. Laser ablation is incredibly accurate and forms solder dams with less material and less labor than any other PCB solder damming process. Laser ablation can remove conductive inks and metal foils without causing damage to the carrier substrate, and unlike chemical etching, laser ablation uses a dry processing method controlled by digital technology. As a result, masks and hazardous by-products are eliminated.