JP2000084692A - Aperture changing device in laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce exclusive space and to facilitate precise positioning of an aperture in an aperture changing device in a laser beam machine. SOLUTION: Apertures, which have the center in a prescribed position in the width and the height direction and which are penetrated in the front and the rear direction with different diameters, are installed in each of the plural blocks of the same shape. The aperture blocks 16 are positioned in the height direction by an aperture holder 13, guide plate 15 and a micrometer and also supported freely detachably. The aperture holder 13 and the guide plate 15 are held movably by a slide unit 10 in the width direction of the aperture block 16 and moved in the width direction, thereby positioning an aperture 3a at a prescribed position for machining. In placing n pieces of the aperture block 13 in the width direction, the extreme breadth in the width direction can be set slightly larger than n times the maximum aperture diameter, thereby enabling space to be saved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aperture changing device in a laser beam machine for limiting a beam diameter of a laser beam output from a laser oscillator to a predetermined size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a laser drilling machine which is one of the laser beam machines. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a laser oscillator which outputs a laser beam 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes a plate, and an aperture (a window: a circular through hole in this case) 3 is provided at a predetermined position.
a is formed. The plate 3 is formed of a material that does not transmit the laser beam 2 (for example, copper), and is disposed at right angles to the optical axis of the laser beam 2. 4 is a reflecting mirror, 5
Denotes an optical unit composed of a lens and the like, and 6 denotes a printed circuit board as a work to be processed.

Next, the operation of the laser drilling machine configured as described above will be described.

[0004] Of the laser beam 2 output from the laser oscillator 1, the laser beam 2 that has passed through the aperture 3a
Is bent at right angles by the reflecting mirror 4, condensed by the optical unit 5, and forms a hole in the printed board 6. When the beam diameter of the laser beam 2 is adjusted according to the diameter of the hole to be processed, the height of the optical unit 5 from the surface of the printed circuit board 6 can be fixed, and the optical unit 5 can be moved up and down. There is no need to move in the direction, and not only the processing accuracy is improved, but also the workability is improved.

[0005] As an automatic exchange device for the aperture 3a,
There are air cylinder type and rotating disk type.

In the air cylinder type, each of a plurality of plates 3 having apertures 3a of different diameters is supported on a piston rod of an air cylinder arranged at right angles to the traveling direction of the laser beam 2, and the air cylinder is operated. By operating, the predetermined aperture 3a is positioned with respect to the optical axis of the laser beam 2. According to this method, the standby position of the plate 3 is a group B indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

On the other hand, in the rotating disk type, a plurality of apertures 3a having different diameters are provided on the circumference of a rotating disk whose rotation axis is parallel to the optical axis of the laser beam 2, and the rotating disk is rotated. Thus, the predetermined aperture 3a is positioned on the optical axis of the laser beam 2. According to this method, the standby position of the aperture 3a is the group C indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

In some cases, the operator manually positions the plate 3 having the aperture 3a corresponding to the hole diameter to be machined on the optical axis of the laser beam 2.

[0009]

In the laser drilling machine described above, the roundness is required along with the accuracy of the diameter of the hole to be machined, and the aperture 3 with respect to the center of the laser beam 2 is required.
The tolerance of the deviation of the center of a is 0.01 mm or less.

In the case of the above-mentioned air cylinder type, since the air cylinder can obtain accurate positioning accuracy only at the cylinder end, when n (n is an integer of 2 or more) apertures 3a are used, Large diameter aperture 3a
Is fixed, and the (n-1) other plates 3 are supported by the air cylinder. This complicates the mechanism and requires a large occupied space.

On the other hand, in the case of the rotating disk type, if a plurality of apertures 3a are provided directly on one disk, the positions of the individual apertures 3a cannot be adjusted, so that the disk must be machined with high precision. It will be expensive. Therefore, when the plate 3 provided with the aperture 3a is arranged on the disk with a position adjustable structure, the diameter of the disk becomes large, not only a large occupied space is required, but also the weight of the disk is increased. The capacity of a motor as a driving source for rotational driving must be increased.

When the operator replaces the plate 3 manually, the center of the aperture 3a must be aligned with the center of the laser beam 2 each time the plate 3 is replaced.
It takes time and the work efficiency decreases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has the following aperture exchange apparatus, that is, the mechanism is simple, the occupied space is small, and the capacity of a drive source such as a motor is small. It is another object of the present invention to provide an aperture changing device for a laser beam machine, in which an aperture positioning operation is easy and an aperture positioning accuracy is improved.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aperture changing apparatus for a laser beam machine in which a beam diameter of a laser beam is limited to a predetermined size by an aperture. A plurality of identical blocks each having an aperture having a different diameter and having a center at a predetermined position in the width direction and the height direction and penetrating in the front-rear direction, and the plurality of blocks at predetermined intervals in the width direction. A holder for supporting, a fixing member for fixing the block to the holder, a positioning member for regulating a position in a vertical direction of each block to determine a position in a height direction of each aperture; To position a block having an aperture to be processed among the plurality of blocks at a predetermined position in the width direction. Comprises a de mechanism, a driving source for moving the holder by driving the slide mechanism, and characterized in that.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1> FIGS. 1 to 3 show an example of an aperture changing device (hereinafter simply referred to as "aperture changing device") in a laser beam machine according to the present invention.
1 is a front view of the aperture changing device, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along line AA of FIG. In the following description, the horizontal direction in FIG. 1 which is a front view is “width direction (of block)”, the vertical direction is “vertical direction (or height direction)”, and the front and back direction is “front and rear direction” It is assumed that.

In these figures, reference numeral 10 denotes a slide unit (slide mechanism), and a slider 10a is movable on a base 10b in the width direction (left-right direction) in FIG. 10c is a pulse motor (drive source), a base 1
The ball screw 10d, which is fixed to the side surface of Ob, is rotated. Numeral 10e is a nut screwed into the ball screw 10d, and is fixed to a lower portion of the slider 10a. 10f
Denotes a bearing, which is disposed at an end of the base 10b and rotatably supports the ball screw 10d. Reference numeral 11 denotes a base plate, which is fixed to the slider 10a. 12
Is a support, which is fixed to the base plate 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes an aperture holder (holder) which has an L-shaped side view as shown in FIG.
Is fixed to the support 12. One side (vertical side) of the aperture holder 13 has a plurality of long holes 13a.
(10 in FIG. 3) are formed. Reference numeral 15 denotes a guide plate which is fixed to the aperture holder 13 and is integral with the aperture holder 13. Guide plate 15
A plurality of guide grooves 15a (10 in FIG. 3) are formed in the vertical direction in FIGS.

Reference numeral 16 denotes an aperture block (block), which is fixed to the aperture holder 13 by a bolt (fixing member) 17 with a projection 16a formed on one side face engaged with the guide groove 15a. . Below the aperture block 16, a plurality of apertures 3a having different diameters each having a center at a predetermined position in the width direction and the height direction are formed so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction perpendicular to the width). Have been. In the case of this embodiment,
One aperture block 16 in which apertures 3a each having a diameter of 1 mm to 5.5 mm in increments of 0.5 mm are formed.
0 are arranged. These aperture blocks 16
Are all formed in the same shape except that the size of the aperture 3a is different.

As shown in FIG. 3, the width W of the guide groove 15a is larger than the width w of the projection 16a by several μm. Also,
Inner surface 15b of guide plate 15 and aperture holder 1
The distance M between the inner surface 13b and the inner surface 3b is several μm wider than the length m of the aperture block 16. Further, the pitch P of the guide grooves 15a is several μm wider than the thickness p of the aperture block 16. Furthermore, the variation in the distance between the center of the aperture 3a and the upper side 16b of the aperture block 16 is equal to 0.
01 mm or less.

Numeral 18 denotes compression springs, which are provided in the same number as the number of the aperture blocks 16 and urge the aperture blocks 16 upward in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. Reference numeral 19 denotes a bolt that fixes the support 12 to the base plate 11. Reference numeral 20 denotes a positioning plate, which is fixed on the guide plate 15 by bolts 21. A groove 20 a is provided on a side surface of the positioning plate 20 facing the aperture holder 13. A support plate 22 supports the micrometer 23 and is fitted in the groove 20a. The gap between the plate thickness of the support plate 22 and the width of the groove 20a is about several μm. Reference numeral 23a denotes a head, and when rotated, a shaft 23b of a micrometer (positioning member) 23 is rotated.
Moves vertically to finely adjust the height position of each aperture block 16.

Next, a procedure for positioning the aperture 3a will be described.

Loosen the bolt 21 and move the positioning plate 20
From the guide plate 15. In this state, the projections 16a of the aperture block 16 are engaged with the guide grooves 15a of the guide plate 15, and the ten aperture blocks 16 are inserted between the inner surface 15b of the guide plate 15 and the inner surface 13b of the aperture holder 13. Then, bolt 2
1, the positioning plate 20 is moved to the guide plate 15
Fixed to. Next, the support plate 22 is inserted into the groove 20 a from one of the positioning plates 20, and the aperture block 16 is held by the bolt 17 at a position where the upper side 16 b of the aperture block 16 contacts the tip of the shaft 23 b of the micrometer 23. Fixed to. When all the aperture blocks 16 are fixed to the support 12, the support plate 22 is removed. The head 23a is rotated as required to finely adjust the vertical position of the aperture block 16, that is, the aperture 3a, and then fixed to the aperture holder 13.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of the aperture exchange device. In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes an NC device of the machine main body. Three
Reference numeral 1 denotes a controller which stores the position of each aperture 3a in the width direction (left-right direction) in FIG. 32 is a driver for the pulse motor 10c.

Next, the operation of the aperture exchange device having the above configuration will be described.

When a command to change the aperture 3a is issued from the NC device 30 during automatic operation, the controller 31 rotates the pulse motor 10c by a predetermined angle, and
0d is rotated by a predetermined angle. Thereby, the slider 10a integrated with the nut 10e screwed to the ball screw 10d moves in the width direction (left and right direction) in FIGS. 1 and 4 and is positioned with respect to the base 10b. By this positioning, the center of the aperture 3a to be used can be made coincident with the center of the laser beam 2.

In the present embodiment, the aperture block 1
6 is provided with a projection 16a and engaged with the guide groove 15a of the guide plate 15, so that when the bolt 17 is tightened, the aperture block 16 does not shift in the width direction (lateral direction). In addition, since the aperture block 16 can be arranged at any place of the aperture holder 13, that is, a so-called cartridge type, the aperture blocks 16 having the apertures 3a having different diameters can be easily replaced. Further, the positioning in the vertical direction is easy, and the working efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, when n aperture blocks 13 each having an aperture 3a are arranged in the width direction, the total width in the width direction can be made slightly larger than n times the maximum aperture diameter, and space can be saved. be able to. In addition, since the pulse motor 10c as a driving source only moves the aperture block 16 and the like in the width direction, the capacity can be reduced.

When the upper side 16b of the aperture block 16 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the positioning plate 20, the vertical position of the aperture block 16 is adjusted.
a, the support plate 22, and the micrometer 23 can be omitted. In this case, the lower surface of the positioning plate 20 acts as a positioning member instead of the micrometer 23 as the positioning member. Further, a servo motor may be used instead of the pulse motor 10c.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A plurality of identical blocks each having apertures having different diameters and having a center at a predetermined position in the width direction and the height direction and penetrating in the front-rear direction, and a holder for supporting these blocks at predetermined intervals in the width direction And a fixing member for fixing the block to the holder, a positioning member for regulating the vertical position of each block to determine the position in the height direction of each aperture, and moving the holder in the width direction to form a plurality of blocks. By providing a slide mechanism for positioning a block having an aperture to be used for processing at a predetermined position in the width direction and a drive source for driving the slide mechanism to move the holder, the mechanism is simple and occupied. The space is small, the capacity of the drive source such as a motor is small, the aperture positioning work is easy, and the aperture positioning accuracy is high. So as to can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an aperture exchange device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the aperture exchange device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of an aperture exchange device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a laser drilling machine which is one of conventional laser processing machines.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3a aperture 10 slide mechanism (slide unit) 10c drive source (pulse motor) 13 holder (aperture holder) 16 block (aperture block) 17 fixing member (bolt) 23 positioning member (micrometer)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An aperture exchanging device for a laser beam machine, wherein a beam diameter of a laser beam is limited to a predetermined size by an aperture, wherein a center is located at a predetermined position in the width direction and a height direction, and a front-rear direction. A plurality of same-shaped blocks each having an aperture having a different diameter penetrated therethrough; a holder for supporting the plurality of blocks at predetermined intervals in the width direction; a fixing member for fixing the blocks to the holder; A positioning member that regulates the vertical position of the block to determine the position in the height direction of each of the apertures; and the aperture that is moved in the width direction to be used for processing of the plurality of blocks. A slide mechanism for positioning a block having a predetermined position in the width direction; and driving the slide mechanism to move the holder. And a drive source for causing the laser beam machine to have an aperture changing device.