EP4132740A1

EP4132740A1 - Laser turning system, laser turning method, and part obtained by using such a system

Info

Publication number: EP4132740A1
Application number: EP21718103.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Cédric CHAUTEMPS; Alexandre Oliveira; Matthias PORTELLANO
Original assignee: Alphanov Centre Technologique Optique et Lasers
Current assignee: Alphanov Centre Technologique Optique et Lasers
Priority date: 2020-04-10
Filing date: 2021-04-09
Publication date: 2023-02-15
Also published as: CN115427185A; JP2023520812A; US20230136690A1; WO2021205031A1; KR20220164058A

Abstract

Disclosed is a laser turning system (1) for producing a part (60) having a length of less than 250 mm and/or a diameter of less than 10 mm, the system comprising a rotating spindle (3) for moving a rod of material and a galvanometric scanner (12) capable of emitting a femtosecond laser beam scanning a generating profile of the part to be machined in the bar of material.

Description

A laser turning system, a laser turning process and a component obtained by using such a system.

The invention relates to a laser turning system. The invention also relates to a laser turning process. Finally, the invention relates to a component obtained by the use of such a system or by the implementation of such a method.

In order to produce components comprising one or more forms of revolution, it is known practice to implement a machining process by removing material of the turning type. Conventionally, material removal is carried out using a cutting tool acting on a rotating bar of material from which it is desired to obtain the component.

The production of components of revolution of small dimensions with great precision, such as parts of micromechanical revolution, is generally carried out by turning, in particular by turning the components in series in a metal bar. This allows industrial production rates, but has some drawbacks linked to the nature of the materials to be machined.

While it is relatively easy to turn materials specifically adapted to this technique, such as free-cutting steels containing a chip-breaking element such as sulfur, the turning of ceramic parts, but also of hard metals, induces high wear. tools, which makes this technique unproductive compared to its application to more suitable materials. In addition, bar turning of hard materials generally induces a vibration of the bar and does not make it possible to achieve the required roughness. Laser turning carried out with continuous laser sources (for example C02 laser) has been widely developed in industry, but it only makes it possible to achieve precision of the order of a few tenths of a millimeter, which can prove to be insufficient for certain applications and its thermal impact on the components obtained can generate local hardening which is harmful to the microstructure of the material, or even worse, thermal deformations which affect the dimensions of the part, in particular in the case of low volume components. It was therefore not retained as an advantageous alternative to conventional turning for medium-sized parts, even less for micrometric-sized parts.

The documents EP2314412A2, EP2374569A2, EP2489458A1 and

WO201 6005133A1 describe different types of equipment for machining using a laser.

Several studies on femtosecond laser texturing have been published.

In the study “Development of laser turning using femtosecond laser ablation” (Yokotani, A., Kawahara, K., Kurogi, Y., Matsuo, N., Sawada, H. and Kurosawa, K. (2002), Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 4426, pp.90-93), it has been shown that a laser technique made it possible to achieve low or deliberately high levels of roughness on flat surfaces.

In the study “Optimization of Nd: YAG laser micro-turning process using response surface methodology” (Kibria, G., Doloi, B., Bhattacharyya, B. (2012), Int. J. Precision Technology, Vol.3, No. 1), an Nd: YAG laser radially strikes a rotating cylindrical ceramic part made of aluminum oxide to observe the effect of speed and energy per pulse parameters on roughness. In this device, trepanation is not used and the recovery rate is only controlled by the speed of rotation of the part which does not exceed 600 rpm. The part is struck radially by nanosecond pulses.

The aim of the invention is to provide a laser turning system which makes it possible to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to improve the laser turning systems known from the prior art. In particular, the invention provides a laser turning system which is competitive compared to known turning systems.

A turning system according to the invention is defined by claim 1.

Different embodiments of the system are defined by claims 2 to 11.

A turning method according to the invention is defined by claim 12.

A component according to the invention is defined by claim 13.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, an embodiment of a turning system according to the invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a turning system according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the path of the laser beam according to the invention.

An embodiment of a turning system 1 for producing components is described below with reference to FIG. 1. The system includes:

- a rotary spindle 3 for setting in motion a bar 50 of material, and

a galvanometric scanner 12 capable of directing a femto second laser beam along a path scanning the generator profile of the workpiece in the bar of material. Preferably, the scanning is carried out tangentially to the bar 50 of material or at a tangential incidence to the bar 50 of material.

More generally, the system comprises a module 2 for setting the material bar in motion, in particular for setting the material bar in rotation along a first axis X. This module for setting the material bar in motion comprises the rotating spindle 3 according to the first axis X. Preferably, the spindle 3 can rotate at more than 20Ό00 rpm, or even at more than 50Ό00 rpm, or even at more than 100Ό00 rpm. For example, pin 3 is an electrospindle. Preferably, the spindle 3 is equipped with a gripping clamp, in particular pneumatic.

The module 2 for setting in motion preferably further comprises a rotary counter-spindle 4. This counter-spindle 4 makes it possible to carry out recoveries on the parts when they are detached from the spindle 3. The counter-spindle 4 allows the setting in rotation along the first axis X. Preferably, the counter-spindle 4 can rotate at more than 20Ό00 t / min, or even more than 50Ό00 t / min, or even more than 10O'OOO t / min. For example, the counter spindle 4 is an electrospindle. Preferably, the counter-spindle 4 is equipped with a gripping clamp, in particular pneumatic. In addition, the counter-spindle 4 is movable in translation along the first axis X relative to the spindle 3. For example, such a counter-spindle makes it possible to perform parting-off machining of the component in order to detach it from the bar. With traditional cutting methods, the face section of the component systematically presents a burr when it is detached from the bar.

The module 2 for setting in motion also comprises an element 5 allowing the movement of the spindle 3 and the counter-spindle 4 in an X-Y plane containing the first X axis and a second Y axis perpendicular to the first X axis.

The system includes an element 29 for generating a laser beam. The laser beam used to perform the machining is a laser beam composed of light pulses with a pulse duration between 10Ofs and 10ps. It can have a frequency greater than 50 kHz, that is to say that pulses or shots are emitted at a frequency greater than 50 kHz.

The scanner 12 is disposed between the output of the laser beam generating element 29 and the workpiece, in the path of the laser beam.

The galvanometric scanner 12 is an electromechanical device integrating 1 to 3 axes of rotation and possibly translation axes, on which optical elements of the mirror or lens type are mounted. Voltage-controlled actuators control the movement of these axes and make it possible to move the laser beam along 2 or 3 axes extremely quickly and precisely. The galvanometric scanner 12 comprises a focusing device making it possible to concentrate the laser on a focal point. An advanced management of the synchronization between the movement of the optical elements and the triggering of the laser shots makes it possible to produce a generator of the machined part of revolution. A galvanometric scanner is different from a polygon mirror scanner, which allows scanning in a single direction.

Preferably, the scanner 12 is arranged and / or configured to move the focal point of the laser at a speed of more than 0.5 m / s, or even more than 10 m / s, or even more than 20 m / s. The scanner 12 is arranged and / or configured to move the focal point of the laser with accelerations of more than 5 m / s ² , or even more than 500 m / s ² , or even more than 500 m / s ² , or even of more than 50Ό00 m / s ² .

Advantageously, the scanner 12 is mounted mobile in translation along a third Z axis orthogonal to the first and second X and Y axes. In other words, the scanner is mounted on a translation axis orthogonal to the first X axis. Thus, the galvanometric scanner makes it possible to position the focal point of the laser beam at the desired locations, in particular on a tangent located on the horizontal median plane of the machined bar of material.

The system advantageously comprises an automation module 6 making it possible to control the machining process or the operating process of the system.

The automation module 6 comprises an element 7 for real-time measurement of at least one dimension, in particular of a diameter of the component. Its contribution is decisive for the production of components comprising diameters of a few tens of micrometers, within tolerances of the order of one micrometer. Indeed, the diameter of a focused femtosecond laser beam is typically of the order of twenty micrometers and the depth of field of the same order. On laser beam machining processes with radial incidence, the laser shot impacts the layer of material located below the directly ablated layer. This is due to the incompressible depth of field of the laser beam. This physical limitation results in the impossibility of producing parts of revolution with a diametrical precision less than the order of magnitude of the size of the beam, namely twenty micrometers.

This limitation is overcome with the use of a tangential incident laser beam. The ablation is performed using only the edge of the Gaussian profile of the laser beam. In this case, the successive laser shots do not lead to additional ablation. Consequently, the precision of the diametrical dimension is defined by the precision of the positioning of the laser beam and not by its size. The positioning precision of the laser beam is itself defined by the positioning precision of the scanner 12 and of the element 5 for moving the spindle 3 along the Y axis and is of the order of one micrometer.

A servo-control of the diametrical dimension by the measuring element 7, the measurement precision of which is of the order of a micrometer, combined with a tangential beam ablation process, makes it possible to produce turning parts with precision on the generator of the profile of the same order, namely a micrometer. The automation module 6 further advantageously comprises a servo module 8 of the parameters of the laser and / or of the displacement of the laser beam as a function of the measurement carried out by the measuring element 7.

The automation module 6 controls many actuators of the system, including pin 3 and / or counter-spindle 4 and / or element 29 for generating the laser beam. This control can be carried out in particular as a function of measurements of the dimensions of the machined part. For example, the control module 8 can control the speed of rotation of the spindle 3 or the counter-spindle 4 to the size of the workpiece, in particular the diameter of the workpiece. It is thus possible to vary the speeds of the spindles and counter-spindles as a function of the theoretical value of the diameter to be machined, for example in order to have the same rate of lateral overlap of the impacts of the laser (depending on the speed of rotation of spindle, machined diameter and laser frequency). More generally, it is possible to vary the speeds of the spindle and counter-spindle in order to obtain a variable or constant recovery rate as a function of the diameter and / or of the part of the component, for example in order to obtain a state of given surface, for example a different surface finish on different parts of the component.

The measuring element 7 may be an optical micrometer.

In addition, the automation module 6 including the measuring element 7 makes it possible to monitor production in order to rectify any deviations from the machining process. Thanks to the data acquisition by the measuring element 7, it is possible to improve the repeatability of the machining of the components. Thanks to the data acquisition by the measuring element 7, it is possible to reach the final dimensions of the component with a very high precision which would not be attainable without this control, in particular because of drifts during machining and / or the very high speed of rotation of the spindle.

The automation module 6 advantageously comprises a rotary encoder 9 configured so as to constantly know the angular position of the spindle, in particular the absolute angular position of the spindle.

In addition, the automation module 6 advantageously comprises a synchronization module 10 configured so as to synchronize the pulses of the laser to the angular position of the spindle.

Thus, it is possible to synchronize this angular position and the scanning of the scanner. It thus becomes possible to envisage the production of parts comprising surfaces which are not of revolution along the first axis, such as surfaces of screw threads, toothings, radial bores, flats, grooves, section surfaces. non-circular, etc.

The system advantageously comprises a bar feeder 11. The feeder integrated into the system makes it possible to automate the insertion of the material bar in the spindle in a simple way, without having to rotate the counter spindle. The bar of material is then inserted into the space between the spindle and the counter spindle, then pushed by the counter spindle into the spindle clamp.

An embodiment of a laser turning process, in particular laser bar turning, is described below.

The method makes it possible to obtain a component from a bar of material. The method includes use of a laser turning system described above. The movements of the laser beam L are controlled by the activation of the galvanometric scanner 12. This allows very rapid movements of the laser beam. Therefore, the coverage rate of the impacts of the laser beam on the workpiece is reduced and the machining quality is higher. The recovery rate is defined as the ratio between (i) the area of the intersection surface of two successive impacts of the laser beam on the workpiece and (ii) the area of the surface of an impact of the laser beam on the room.

The laser beam is preferably focused on the horizontal median plane X-Y of the part, corresponding to the horizontal plane passing through the first axis X of rotation of the spindle. The beam is also oriented with a tangential or substantially tangential incidence relative to the rotating bar, that is to say oriented along the third Z axis or substantially along the third Z axis and moved along a trajectory T following the desired final contour. for the component, as shown in figure 2.

In this way, the material of the relevant radius of the workpiece is completely ablated, without additional ablation if the laser shots are continued. This would not be the case if the incidence of the laser was not tangential, especially if the incidence of the laser beam was radial. Indeed, in this hypothesis, additional shots would lead to additional ablations.

In addition, with a tangential incidence of the laser beam, the ablated material is ejected in a direction opposite to the beam and does not come up into the beam and disturb it as in the case of a radial incidence. This configuration allows perfect control of the machining passes. In addition, the edge of the Gaussian beam profile is in contact with the surface of the workpiece. The energy supplied to the surface of the part is less than the ablation threshold, and the surface of the part thus undergoes the equivalent of a finishing pass, with a smoothing of the residual material.

Advantageously, a line generating the profile of the part to be machined is created by the system 6. This line constitutes a profile according to which the focal point of the laser beam moves along the path T in the XY plane by the action of the scanner 12 galvanometric during the machining of the part. In addition, to perform the machining of the part, the part is rotated around the first X axis and the generating line is gradually brought closer to the first X axis by moving it in the XY plane, in particular along the second Y axis, in particular by using element 5 of module 2 for setting in motion. The different paths of the generating line by the laser beam each constitute a machining pass.

The implementation of the method described above makes it possible to obtain an embodiment of a component. Preferably, the component has a diameter of less than 10 mm and / or a length of less than 250 mm.

Laser machining technologies eliminate the tool wear mentioned above, but also have the following advantages:

- The range of machinable materials is significantly extended, because there is no longer any need to take into account the behavior of the chips (especially compared to free-cutting steels traditionally containing sulfur as chipbreakers).

- The cutting force is negligible and the bar does not vibrate. Indeed, the frequency of the laser firing can be slaved so that, as the machining progresses, the evolving natural modes of the machined part are never excited.

- No lubricant is necessary, since femtosecond laser machining is athermal.

- Surface hardening and / or surface texturing are possible, simultaneously with machining.

Throughout this document, the terms “bar”, “part” and “component” are used to designate the component at different stages of its production. The term “bar” preferably designates the bar of material 50 before the start of its laser machining and at the start of its laser machining. The term "part" preferably designates the bar or the component during laser machining. The term “component” preferably designates component 60 at the end of its laser machining and after its laser machining.

Claims

Claims:

1. Laser turning system (1) for producing a component (60) with a length less than 250 mm and / or a diameter less than 10 mm, the system comprising a rotating spindle (3) for setting. moving a bar of material and a galvanometric scanner (12) capable of emitting a femto-second laser beam scanning, in particular scanning with an incidence tangential to a bar of material, a generator profile of the component to be machined in the bar of material.

2. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the scanner is configured to move the focal point of the laser at a speed of more than 0.5 m / s, or even more than 10 m / s, or even more than 20 m / s and / or with accelerations of more than 5 m / s ² , or even more than 500 m / s ² , or even more than 5Ό00 m / s ² , or even more than 50Ό00 m / s ² .

3. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the scanner is mounted on an axis (Z) of translation orthogonal to the axis (X) of the spindle (3).

4. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spindle is capable of rotating at more than 20,000 rpm, or even more than 50,000 rpm, or even more than 100,000 rpm.

5. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laser beam has a frequency greater than 50 kHz.

6. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an automation module (6) comprising a element (7) for measuring at least one dimension of the component in real time.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a module (8) for controlling the parameters of the laser and / or the displacement of the laser beam as a function of the measurement carried out by the measuring element.

8. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a rotary encoder (9) configured so as to constantly know the angular position of the spindle, in particular the absolute angular position of the spindle.

9. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises a synchronization module (10) configured so as to synchronize the pulses of the laser to the angular position of the spindle.

10. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a counter spindle.

11. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a bar feeder (11).

12. A method of laser turning, in particular bar turning, of a component from a bar of material, the method comprising the use of a system according to one of the preceding claims.

13. Component (60) obtained by implementing the method according to the preceding claim.