JP2012096262A - Laser-beam machining method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set micro-joint conditions suited for a work in the side of a laser-beam machining apparatus without changing a machining program.SOLUTION: A micro-joint setting program is incorporated in the side of a laser-beam machining apparatus 1, which executes an inputted NC machining program. The micro-joint setting program is executed by the laser-beam machining apparatus 1 when micro-joint setting is on, by inputting selection of yes/no of micro-joint setting and micro-joint conditions in the side of the laser-beam machining apparatus 1, so that micro-joint conditions are set on part of a cutting contour line drawn by the NC machining program.

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing method using a laser processing machine, and in particular, to setting conditions for forming a micro joint by leaving a small distance on a plate-like workpiece.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to micro joint condition setting in order to prevent the cut-out portion from jumping up and falling after cutting when the workpiece is laser cut. As described in Patent Document 1 and the like, conventionally, it is usually necessary to change the machining program for setting the conditions of the micro joint, which increases the burden on the CAM worker (the creator of the NC machining program).

  Also, even if micro joint settings are incorporated into the NC machining program, the operator of the laser processing machine cannot freely select whether or not to set the micro joints, and the micro joint setting conditions also depend on the workpiece machining status. At the same time, it cannot be changed at the actual processing site.

  On the other hand, if the distance of the micro joint is set large so that it is common to all the workpieces for the formation of the micro joint at the NC machining program creation stage, it becomes very difficult to remove the workpiece. Will become bigger. For this reason, it is important that the distance between the micro joints is as small as possible and is a constant value that matches the machining conditions. However, depending on the type of workpiece to be machined and its thickness, the appropriate micro joint distance may not be sufficient. It may become stable.

JP-A-6-190576

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable an appropriate micro joint condition to be set on the laser processing machine side in accordance with the workpiece machining state without changing the NC machining program.

  Based on the above problems, the present invention is based on the NC machining program when the micro joint is set by selecting the selection of micro joint setting and inputting the micro joint condition by the micro joint setting program on the laser machine side. Instead of the normal cutting process conditions, a micro joint condition can be set for a part of the cutting contour line.

  Specifically, the laser processing method according to the present invention incorporates a micro joint setting program on the laser processing machine side that executes the input NC processing program, and the laser processing machine side determines whether the micro joint setting is performed. By selecting and selecting the micro joint condition, the micro joint setting program is executed by the laser processing machine when the micro joint is set, and the micro joint condition is set to a part of the cutting contour line by the NC processing program. (Claim 1).

  In the laser processing method, the micro joint condition is set by the execution distance of the preceding stage and the beam-off distance of the subsequent stage.

  In the laser processing method, the micro joint condition is set to the end point of the last block of the continuous cutting contour (Claim 3).

  In the laser processing method, the micro joint condition is set to the end point of the intermediate block of the continuous cutting contour line (Claim 4).

  In the laser processing method, the micro joint condition includes the beam output, the beam duty, the output frequency, the assist gas type, the assist gas pressure, the gap amount, and the feed speed of the processing head in addition to the execution distance of the preceding stage and the beam off distance of the subsequent stage. 1 or 2 or more conditions can be set.

  In the laser processing method, the micro joint condition can be set for each workpiece material and plate thickness.

  According to the laser processing method of the present invention, it is possible to form a micro joint by setting conditions on the laser processing machine side without changing the NC processing program, and whether or not the micro joint is set is determined on the operator side of the laser processing machine. It can be freely selected according to (Claim 1).

  In the laser processing method, when the execution distance of the previous stage and the beam-off distance of the subsequent stage are set as the micro joint conditions, the micro joint conditions can be switched to an appropriate value before forming the micro joint as the laser off. It is possible to form micro joints having ideal dimensions and shapes.

  In the laser processing method, when the micro joint is set at the end point of the final block of the cutting contour line, the laser off for forming the micro joint directly leads to the laser off at the end of the processing, so the number of times of laser oscillation on / off is reduced. Thus, the control is simplified (claim 3).

  In the laser processing method, when the micro joint condition is set at the end point of the intermediate block of the cutting contour line, the cut-out portion can be reliably prevented from warping and falling, and stable cutting can be performed.

  In the laser processing method, in addition to the preceding execution distance and the subsequent beam off distance as micro joint conditions, the beam output, the duty of the beam, the output frequency, the assist gas type, the assist gas pressure, the gap amount, and the feed rate of the processing head If one or more conditions can be set, appropriate conditions can be set from these conditions as well (claim 5).

  In the laser processing method, if the micro joint condition can be set for each material and thickness of the workpiece, the most appropriate micro joint condition can be set as an appropriate value for the material and thickness.

It is a block diagram of the system of the laser processing machine to which the laser processing method concerning the present invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing of the cutting | disconnection outline (processing path | route) by the laser processing which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the processing condition by the laser processing method which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the setting screen of the laser processing method which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation | movement by the laser processing method which concerns on this invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a laser processing system of a laser processing machine 1 to which a laser processing method according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a machining head 2 of a laser beam machine 1 is controlled by a driving device 3 that can control, for example, five axes based on a command from an NC device 4 or NC data, a movement path, a posture, a feed rate, etc. A laser beam is applied to the target workpiece 5, and the workpiece 5 is cut by fusing along a predetermined cutting path.

  The laser beam of the processing head 2 is output from the laser oscillator 6. The output of the laser oscillator 6 is controlled by a laser control device 7, and processing is performed by referring to commands from the NC device 4, NC data, and setting data from the input operation unit 8 during normal cutting and micro joint formation. Adjusted to the appropriate value for the position.

  The NC device 4 and the laser control device 7 operate based on an NC machining program and commands and setting data from an interactive input controller 8 by an operator. The input contents and setting contents can be visually confirmed on the screen of the display 9 of the input operation device 8.

  The control device 10 creates an NC machining program based on the NC data input by the creator of the NC machining program while referring to the program command from the automatic programming device 11 in order to operate the NC device 4. The created NC machining program is sent to the NC device 4.

  FIG. 2 shows the cutting contour 12 of a continuous cutting path. The cutting outline 12 is a completely closed shape composed of various free curves or a combination of one or more free curves and straight lines, but FIG. 2 shows a rectangle in which four straight lines are combined as an example. A cutting contour line 12 composed of four corner points P1, P2, P3, and P4 is shown.

  In order to start cutting, the laser beam of the machining head 2 performs, for example, a piercing process (drilling process) at a start point P0 on the extension line of the sides P1 and P2, and then the sides P0 and P1, sides P1 and P2, Cutting is continuously performed over the distance A of the sum in the order of movement of the sides P2 and P3, sides P3 and P4, and sides P4 and P1.

  For this cutting process, the creator of the NC machining program refers to the program command from the automatic programming device 11 and the path from the piercing process starting point P0 to the point P1 and the cutting contour line 12 (rectangular point P1). , P2, P3, P4) of the XYZ coordinates and data of various machining conditions are set as NC data in the NC machining program.

  FIG. 3 shows the formation position of the micro joint 13 on the workpiece 5. The micro joint 13 is generally formed at the end point of the final block (blocks of the sides P4 and P1) of the closed continuous machining contour 12. The setting is set as the beam-off distance C (distance between the point P1 and the point p2), but the execution distance B (distance between the point p1 and the point p2) is also set in the preceding stage in the processing direction at that time. Is done. For this reason, the setting conditions of the micro joint 13 are set by the preceding stage execution distance B and the following stage beam-off distance C at least at the end point position of the final block of the distance A. Thus, since the micro joint 13 is formed on the machining outline 12, the NC data of the NC machining program does not change regardless of whether the micro joint is set.

  The preceding execution distance B as the micro joint condition is a distance necessary for preparation for forming the micro joint 13, and the beam off distance C is a distance for turning off the laser beam and preventing the workpiece 5 from fusing. This corresponds to the formation length of the micro joint 13. These execution distance B and beam-off distance C can be set as appropriate values for each material and thickness of the workpiece 4.

  The laser processing method according to the present invention incorporates a micro joint setting program on the side of the laser processing machine 1 that executes the NC processing program input from the control device 10, for example, inside the laser control device 7. On the processing machine 1 side, the presence or absence of the micro joint setting is selected by the input operation unit 8 so that the micro joint condition can be set.

  In order to set the micro joint condition in the NC machining program, the micro joint setting program is a block corresponding to the NC machining program execution distance B and beam-off distance C. According to the example of FIG. In the end block of P1, the XYZ coordinate data of the NC machining program is not changed, and the laser beam of the machining head 2 is changed to a micro beam instead of the normal cutting machining conditions in the section of the preceding execution distance B and the subsequent beam off distance C. Set joint conditions.

  In addition to the effective distance B and the beam-off distance C, the micro-joint conditions include beam output, beam duty ratio, output frequency, assist gas type, assist gas pressure, and gap amount depending on the material and thickness of the workpiece 4. One or two or more necessary conditions can be set from the feed speed of the machining head.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the display screen 14 by the display 9 of the input operation device 8. On the display screen 14, the material and thickness of the workpiece 5 can be displayed in the display columns 15 and 16, and the normal cutting processing conditions (approach number, nozzle type and assist gas type) are displayed. In the column 20, the edge No. It can be displayed in the display column 17 in correspondence with (processing path No.).

  When the operator inputs the micro joint condition on the display screen 14, the edge No. For each execution distance B, beam-off distance C, and condition no. (Beam output, beam duty ratio, output frequency, assist gas type, assist gas pressure, gap amount, and machining head feed speed) are set in the input field 18 as a number (parameter No.), or an input controller The actual numeric value is set by the numeric keypad 8 or the numeric keypad displayed by the pop-up operation on the display screen 14, and valid / invalid (presence / absence of micro joint setting) is selected by the touch key 19. Parameter No. Data corresponding to is stored as a data table, and although not shown, it can be confirmed on the display 9 by switching the display screen 14 as necessary.

  FIG. 5 shows the order of processing operations. When the operator operates the input operation unit 8 to bring the laser processing machine 1 into an operation start state, the NC device 4 starts an NC processing program, and in step S1, takes NC data from the control device 10, and step S2 Then, the presence / absence (effective / invalid) of the micro joint setting as the micro joint condition is determined.

  If the result of determination in step S2 is that there is no micro joint setting (N), the NC device 4 executes the NC machining program in step S4, performs piercing based on the set piercing conditions, Then, the workpiece 4 is cut along the cutting contour line 12 over the distance A based on the cutting processing conditions, and the inside of the cutting contour line 12 is cut out from the workpiece 4 to finish the processing.

  As a result of the determination in step S2, when the micro joint setting is present (Y), the laser processing machine 1 sets the micro joint condition input in advance in the NC processing program, and then performs NC processing in step S4. The program is executed, piercing is performed, and then the workpiece 5 is cut along the machining path of the cutting outline 12 in the order of the sides P1, P2, sides P2, P3, sides P3, P4, and sides P4, P1.

  Then, when the processing head 2 reaches the position of the point p1 during the cutting of the sides P4 and P1 of the final block, the laser processing machine 1 replaces the cutting processing conditions up to now with a preset micro. After adjusting an appropriate micro joint condition in the section of the execution distance B based on the joint condition, when the processing head 2 reaches the position of the point p2, the laser beam is turned off (the oscillation output of the laser oscillator 6 is turned off) The micro-joint 13 is accurately formed by leaving a stable size in the section of the beam-off distance C. Note that when the laser beam is off, the shutter of the machining head 2 may remain open and the assist gas may remain on.

  In this way, the micro joint 13 does not change the NC machining program or the NC machining data, in other words, without changing the machining path of the cutting contour 12, the micro joint condition on the laser beam machine 1 side is changed according to the machining situation. The micro joint 13 can be formed on a part of the cutting outline 12 by setting.

  The above example is a cut contour line of a straight path, but as described above, the cut contour line can be set as a combination of various curves and straight lines. In addition to the end point of the final block, the formation of the micro joint 13 can be set to the end point of the intermediate block as necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser processing machine 2 Processing head 3 Driving device 4 NC device 5 Work piece 6 Laser oscillator 7 Laser control device 8 Input operation device 9 Display 10 Control device 11 Automatic programming device 12 Cutting outline 13 Micro joint 14 Display screen 15 Display column 16 Display Field 17 Display field 18 Input field 19 Touch key 20 Display field A Distance B Execution distance C Beam off distance P0 Start points P1, P2, P3, P4, p1, p2 Points S1, S2, S3, S4 Step

Claims (6)

  The micro joint setting program is installed on the laser processing machine side that executes the entered NC processing program, and the micro joint setting is entered on the laser processing machine side by selecting whether or not to set the micro joint setting and inputting the micro joint conditions. A laser processing method, comprising: executing a micro joint setting program by a laser processing machine when the presence of the micro joint condition is set, and setting the micro joint condition to a part of a cutting contour line by the NC processing program.   2. The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein the micro-joint condition is set by an execution distance at a preceding stage and a beam-off distance at a subsequent stage.   3. The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein the micro joint condition is set to an end point of a final block of a continuous cutting contour line.   4. The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein the micro joint condition is set to an end point of an intermediate block of a continuous cutting outline.   As micro-joint conditions, in addition to the preceding stage effective distance and the following stage beam-off distance, one or more conditions from the beam output, beam duty, output frequency, assist gas type, assist gas pressure, gap amount, and machining head feed speed The laser processing method according to claim 2, wherein the laser beam can be set.   6. The laser processing method according to claim 2, wherein the micro joint condition can be set for each material and thickness of the workpiece.

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