JP2011156541A - Laser processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove fumes generated during laser processing and to prevent damage of a sheet caused by growth of a solidified material of the fumes. <P>SOLUTION: This laser processing machine includes a wall surface that surrounds a circumference of a cavity. A suction box 50 into which negative pressure is introduced is arranged inside the cavity. The suction box 50 has a suction port 50a arranged at a downstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet relative to a processing position and opposed to the processing position. The suction port 50a has a horizontal opening surface 50a2 extending to the downstream side in the conveyance direction and facing the sheet. The wall surface of the suction box 50 has a lower wall surface 50b extended along the sheet from the end of the horizontal opening surface and a side wall surface 50c separated from the end of the downstream side of the lower wall surface relative to the sheet and erected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing machine that processes a conveyed sheet with a laser, and more particularly, to a laser processing machine that can suck fumes (smoke) generated from a processed sheet.

  Conventionally, in this type of laser processing machine, processing such as cutting is performed along the transport direction by irradiating a processing point of the sheet with a laser beam on the transported sheet.

  However, in such a laser processing machine, fumes (smoke) generated from the processing point of the sheet adheres to the surface of the sheet and not only contaminates the processed surface but also contaminates peripheral machine parts and gives off a strange odor. There is a problem of lowering.

  In order to prevent such a problem caused by fumes, it has been conventionally performed to suck and remove the fumes. For example, those described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are known.

  In Patent Document 1, a suction nozzle is disposed in the vicinity of an irradiation portion, and laser processing is performed while removing a decomposition product generated at the time of laser light irradiation with a suction nozzle.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a suction / discharge duct for sucking and discharging smoke generated from the processed portion of the sheet is provided, and fine particles contained in the smoke do not fall on the sheet in the suction / discharge duct. A deposition part for deposition is provided.

JP 2008-284572 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-160087

  However, when a suction nozzle, a suction discharge duct, or the like is provided in the vicinity of a processing point as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when smoke is sucked through those suction ports, the solidified product is obtained by cooling the smoke. There exists a problem that it adheres to the circumference | surroundings of a suction opening, it grows, contacts the surface of the sheet | seat in the vicinity of a suction opening, and causes the surface to be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a laser processing machine capable of removing fumes generated during laser processing and preventing the sheet from being damaged by the growth of the solidified product. And

In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention according to claim 1 is a laser processing machine for processing a sheet to be conveyed along a conveying direction by irradiating a processing point of the sheet with a laser beam.
Provided on the upper side of the seat is a suction box provided with a wall surface surrounding the periphery of the cavity, into which negative pressure is introduced,
The suction box has a suction port that is disposed downstream of the processing point in the sheet conveyance direction and faces the processing point, and the suction port extends downstream in the conveyance direction and faces the sheet. Have
The wall surface of the suction box is erected from the end portion of the opening surface along the sheet at least on the downstream side in the conveying direction, and is separated from the downstream end portion of the lower wall surface with respect to the sheet. And a side wall surface.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the laser processing machine according to the first aspect, the wall surface of the suction box has an upper wall surface having a bent portion, and an edge portion of the opening surface is directly below the bent portion. The extended lower wall surface is present.

  Since fumes generated from the processing point due to dissolution, decomposition, etc. of the sheet tend to flow downstream in the sheet conveyance direction, according to the present invention, the fumes are arranged downstream in the sheet conveyance direction with respect to the processing point. By the suction port of the suction box, the fumes can be efficiently sucked and guided into the cavity of the suction box.

  In addition, by providing an opening surface on the suction port that extends downstream in the conveying direction and faces the sheet, the possibility of growth of solidified fumes from the lower part around the suction port can be reduced. Can prevent damage.

  Also, in the suction box, the fume comes into contact with the wall of the suction box and is cooled and solidified. However, all solidification and growth of the fume stays inside the suction box, and the solidified material falls. Since it can be received by the lower wall surface, the outside of the suction box is not affected and the sheet is not damaged.

1 is a schematic side view of a laser beam machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a laser beam machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the vicinity of a fume suction unit in FIG. 1. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the fume suction part of FIG. It is a schematic side view of the laser beam machine concerning other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the fume suction part of FIG. 5. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane parallel to the conveyance direction of the fume suction unit of FIG. 5, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the fume suction unit of FIG. is there.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laser processing machine 10 according to this embodiment includes a sheet conveying unit 12 that supplies, winds, and conveys a sheet S, and laser irradiation that irradiates the sheet S with a laser beam. Part 14, sheet vibration suppressing part 16 for preventing vibration of sheet S, fume suction part 18 for sucking fumes generated during processing of sheet S, and second fume suction part for sucking fumes generated during processing of sheet S 19.

  The sheet S that is an object to be processed such as cutting by the laser processing machine 10 can be a functional film such as a polarizing film, a cloth, a synthetic resin film, paper, or any other material.

  The sheet conveying unit 12 includes a supply roller 20 that unwinds the unprocessed sheet S, a take-up roller 22 that winds up the processed sheet S, and a pair provided between the supply roller 20 and the take-up roller 22. Transport rollers 24, 24. The sheet S is transported horizontally between the pair of transport rollers 24, 24, and an intermediate point thereof is a processing point P where the sheet S is processed. Further, a roller for applying tension as necessary can be provided between the supply roller 20 and the take-up roller 22.

  The laser irradiation unit 14 includes a laser oscillator 30 and a laser optical system 32 that guides the laser beam irradiated from the laser oscillator 30 to the processing point P of the sheet S. The laser beam is focused on the processing point P by the laser optical system 32. The irradiation position of the laser irradiation unit 14 can be changed in the width direction of the sheet (direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction), whereby the processing point P can be changed in the width direction of the sheet.

  The sheet vibration suppressing unit 16 is disposed between the pair of conveying rollers 24 and 24 and around the processing point P. The sheet vibration suppressing unit 16 has a pair of first auxiliary rollers 40 and 40 arranged in the width direction across the processing point P on the upper side that is the side on which the laser beam of the sheet S is irradiated, and the laser beam is irradiated. A pair of second auxiliary rollers 42 and 42 arranged in the conveying direction across the processing point P, on the lower side opposite to the side to be processed, and these auxiliary rollers of the sheet S at the processing point P Vibration is suppressed. The length of the first auxiliary rollers 40 and 40 in the axial direction is considerably shorter than the length of the transport roller 24 in the axial direction. That is, the transport roller 24 and the second auxiliary rollers 42 and 42 have a length in the axial direction that is greater than the width of the sheet by transporting the sheet S, etc. Regarding the roller 40, the axial length is considerably shorter than the width of the sheet, and the vibration of the first auxiliary roller 40 itself is suppressed.

  The sheet vibration suppressing unit 16 further includes a plurality of third auxiliary rollers 44 and 44 that assist the second auxiliary rollers 42 and 42. Each of the third auxiliary rollers 44 has a smaller diameter than the second auxiliary roller 42 and has a shorter length in the axial direction. The plurality of third auxiliary rollers 44 are arranged in a distributed manner in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the second auxiliary rollers 42 and 42 and are in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the second auxiliary roller 42, The vibration of the roller 42 itself is suppressed.

  The first auxiliary roller 40 and the laser optical system 32 can be moved in the sheet width direction by the moving means 48 together with the fume suction unit 18 to be described later. Yes.

  The fume suction unit 18 is disposed on the upper side of the sheet S, and has a suction box 50 and a suction tube 52 having one end connected to the suction box 50 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The other end of the suction pipe 52 is connected to a blower (not shown).

  The suction box 50 has a wall surface that is hollow inside and surrounds the periphery of the suction box 50, and a bracket 54 on which the first auxiliary rollers 40, 40 are supported is fixed to the wall surface of the suction box 50. The first auxiliary roller 40 is supported by the suction box 50 via 54. Preferably, a cover plate 56 is disposed above the first auxiliary roller 40 so as to cover the first auxiliary roller 40. The cover plate 56 is provided with a transmission hole 56a through which the laser beam is transmitted, and a partition wall 56b that separates each first auxiliary roller 40 from the processing point P. The partition wall 56b prevents fumes generated from the processing point P from flowing toward the first auxiliary roller 40 side.

  On the wall surface of the suction box 50, a suction port 50a is formed for introducing fumes generated from the processing point P into the box. The suction port 50a is arranged on the rear side in the processing progress direction of the sheet S with respect to the processing point P, in other words, on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet S.

  The suction port 50a includes at least a vertical opening surface 50a1 facing the processing point P and the first auxiliary rollers 40, 40, and a horizontal opening extending from the lower end of the vertical opening surface 50a1 to the downstream side in the conveying direction and facing the sheet S. Surface 50a2. The suction box 50 is formed with a lower wall surface 50b extending along the sheet S from the end of the horizontal opening surface 50a2.

  The lower wall surface 50b extends from the end of the horizontal opening surface 50a2 to the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and stands vertically from the downstream end of the lower wall surface 50b so as to be separated from the sheet S. A side wall surface 50c is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper wall surface 50d of the suction box 50 is provided with one or more bent portions 50d1 so as to be connected to the suction pipe 52, and the lower wall surface 50b exists immediately below the bent portion 50d1. ing. Preferably, the suction box 50 can be disassembled up and down so that the inside of the cavity can be cleaned.

  The second fume suction unit 19 is disposed below the sheet S, and has a suction pipe 60 as shown in FIG. 1, and the other end of the suction pipe 60 is connected to a blower (not shown).

  In the laser processing machine 10 configured as described above, the sheet S that has been unwound from the supply roller 20 is wound around the take-up roller 22 after being laid between a pair of conveying rollers 24 and 24. The sheet S is transported between these rollers at a predetermined speed, and is transported between the pair of transport rollers 24 and 24 in a substantially horizontal state. Then, processing such as cutting of the sheet S is performed by irradiation of the laser beam from the laser irradiation unit 14 focused on the processing point P that is an intermediate point between the transport rollers 24 and 24 in the transport direction.

  From the processing point P, fumes are generated due to dissolution, decomposition, and the like of the sheet S. The fumes tend to flow backward from the processing point P in the processing progress direction of the sheet S, that is, downstream in the conveyance direction of the sheet S. is there. Since the suction port 50a is arranged on the rear side in the processing progress direction of the sheet S with respect to the processing point P, that is, on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, the fume is efficiently sucked from the suction port 50a. And guided into the suction box 50.

  In the suction box 50, the fumes come into contact with the wall surface of the suction box 50 and the like to be cooled and solidified. Therefore, the part where the fume is solidified is a discontinuous part of the wall surface of the suction box 50 where the wall facing the flow of the fume and the vortex and the turbulent flow are generated. For example, in FIG. Solidification of the fume occurs at a corner where the lower wall surface 50b intersects, a portion around the bent portion 50d1, and the like.

  However, according to the present invention, the solidification of fume and the growth thereof all remain inside the suction box 50 and do not affect the outside of the suction box 50. For example, the solidified material grown near the side wall surface 50c and the bent portion 50d1 may fall due to gravity as it grows. However, since the fallen material is received by the lower wall surface 50b, the sheet S is not damaged. . Further, the solidified material grown at the corner where the side wall surface 50c and the lower wall surface 50b intersect with each other does not damage the sheet S because it is supported by the lower wall surface 50b.

  Further, if the suction port 50a is not provided with the horizontal opening surface 50a2, the fumes come into contact with the periphery of the suction port 50a to cause solidification of the fumes, and the solidified product further moves downward from the lower portion of the suction port 50a. The sheet S may grow and be damaged. However, by providing the horizontal opening surface 50a2, the growth of the solidified product can be prevented. Since the fumes sucked from the suction port 50a rises toward the suction pipe 52 in the box, the possibility of solidifying at the end of the lower wall surface 50b around the horizontal opening surface 50a2 is reduced. ing.

  By the above-described fume suction unit 18, fume is efficiently sucked and removed, and contamination of peripheral machine parts including the sheet S and generation of a strange odor due to the diffusion of fume to the surroundings can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the sheet S from being damaged by the solidified material of fume.

  Further, the second fume suction unit 19 sucks fumes generated from the side opposite to the beam irradiation side of the sheet S. Some fumes are generated from the opposite side of the beam irradiation side, but not as much as the beam irradiation side. Since the suction pipe 60 is on the lower side of the sheet S, solidification of fume hardly affects the sheet S.

  In addition, as processing, in addition to cutting the sheet continuously, it may be cut intermittently, as well as cutting, drilling, welding, and the like.

  5 to 7 show a fume suction part 18 'according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the fume suction unit 18 ′, the suction tube 52 is behind the suction port 50 a of the suction box 50 in the processing progress direction of the sheet S, that is, downstream in the transport direction of the sheet S, as in the previous embodiment. The sheet S is not arranged in the sheet width direction but is shifted in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet S. Even in this case, similarly to the previous embodiment, by arranging the suction port 50a, the vertical opening surface 50a1, the horizontal opening surface 50a2, the lower wall surface 50b, the side wall surface 50c, the upper wall surface 50d, and the bent portion 50d1, The same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the sheet S conveyed in the horizontal direction between the conveying rollers 24 and 24 is processed. However, even if the sheet is inclined and conveyed, a suction box is provided above the sheet S. By arranging 50, it can be similarly applied.

10 Laser processing machine 50 Suction box 50a Suction port 50a2 Horizontal opening surface 50b Lower wall surface 50c Side wall surface 50d Upper wall surface 50d1 Bending portion S Sheet P Processing point

Claims (2)

In a laser processing machine that performs processing along a transport direction by irradiating a processing point of the sheet with a laser beam on a transported sheet,
Provided on the upper side of the seat is a suction box provided with a wall surface surrounding the periphery of the cavity, into which negative pressure is introduced,
The suction box has a suction port that is disposed downstream of the processing point in the sheet conveyance direction and faces the processing point, and the suction port extends downstream in the conveyance direction and faces the sheet. Have
The wall surface of the suction box is erected from the end portion of the opening surface along the sheet at least on the downstream side in the conveying direction, and is separated from the downstream end portion of the lower wall surface with respect to the sheet. And a side wall surface.   The wall surface of the suction box has an upper wall surface having a bent portion, and the lower wall surface extending from an end portion of the opening surface exists directly below the bent portion. The laser processing machine described.

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