JP2012170956A - Laser processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser processing machine for conducting laser processing by guiding a laser beam oscillated from a fiber laser oscillator to a plurality of laser processing heads.SOLUTION: A laser beam guiding means 19 is arranged between a feeding fiber 15 provided in the fiber laser oscillator 11 and respective process fibers 17A, 17B optically connected to the plurality of laser processing heads 7A, 7B, and separately guides the laser beam emitted from an emission end of the feeding fiber 15 to the respective process fibers 17A, 17B. The laser beam guiding means 19 includes a collimater lens 21 for turning the laser beam emitted from the emission end of the feeding fiber 15 to a parallel beam, and a condensing lens 23 for condensing the laser beam. Incident ends of the respective process fibers 17A, 17B supported by a fiber holder 25 for supporting emission end sides of the respective process fibers 17A, 17B are freely positioned in a focal position of the condensing lens 23.

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser beam machine, and more particularly, a laser beam guide means that includes a fiber laser oscillator as a laser oscillator and individually guides laser beams emitted from the fiber laser oscillator to a plurality of laser processing heads. The present invention relates to a laser processing machine provided.

  Conventionally, a laser processing machine has a configuration in which laser beams oscillated from the same laser oscillator are distributed to a plurality of laser processing heads to simultaneously perform a plurality of types of laser processing, and a plurality of laser beams oscillated from a laser oscillator A configuration has been developed in which laser processing is individually guided to each laser processing head and laser processing is performed individually (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-6-344170 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-20216

  The configuration described in Patent Document 1 is a configuration in which laser light oscillated from a YAG laser oscillator is directly incident on a beam splitter, and then laser light condensed by a condenser lens is incident on an optical fiber. In the configuration described in Patent Document 2, the laser light oscillated by a laser oscillator is guided to a position corresponding to the optical fiber holder by a plurality of reflection mirrors, and the laser light condensed by the condenser lens is held in the optical fiber holder. It is the structure which injects into the incident end of each optical fiber made. When the laser light is incident on the incident end of each optical fiber held by the optical fiber holder, the optical fiber holder is moved and positioned in the X, Y, and Z axis directions with respect to the condenser lens. That is, the configurations described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured to guide the laser light oscillated from the laser oscillator to the condenser lens for entering the optical fiber as it is.

  However, the fiber laser oscillator is configured as a high-power laser oscillator by fusing fibers from a plurality of fiber laser modules that oscillate laser light to a single feed fiber by a beam combiner. Therefore, when the laser processing head is directly connected to the output end of the feed fiber via the fiber connector, only one connected laser processing head is used, and there is no problem.

  However, when the feed fiber is connected to a plurality of laser processing heads, or when the laser light emitted from the exit end of the feed fiber is individually guided (guided) to the plurality of laser processing heads, as described above. There is a problem that the conventional configuration cannot be used as it is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is a laser processing machine including a plurality of laser processing heads that can be optically connected to a laser oscillator via an optical fiber. A laser that is a fiber laser oscillator, and is emitted from an exit end of the feeding fiber between a feeding fiber provided in the fiber laser oscillator and each process fiber optically connected to a plurality of laser processing heads. Laser light guide means for guiding light separately to each process fiber, the laser light guide means comprising a collimator lens for collimating the laser light emitted from the exit end of the feeding fiber A condensing lens for condensing the collimated laser beam, And a fiber holder that supports an incident end side of each process fiber, and an incident end of each process fiber supported by the fiber holder is provided so as to be freely positioned at a focal position of the condenser lens. To do.

  Further, in the laser processing machine, the fiber holder is composed of a rotatable rotating member, and the incident end side of each process fiber is supported at a position on the same radius of the rotating member. It is a feature.

  In the laser processing machine, a damper for absorbing laser light is provided at a position on the same radius of the rotating member.

  In the laser processing machine, an end holder having a circular cross section supporting the end of the process fiber on the incident end side or the emission end side of the process fiber is rotatably provided. Is.

  In the laser processing machine, the diameters of the cores in the process fibers are different.

  According to the present invention, the laser beam emitted from the exit end of the feeding fiber in the fiber laser oscillator is collimated by the collimator lens, the collimated laser beam is condensed by the condenser lens, and the laser processing head Since the light beams are incident on the incident ends of a plurality of process fibers that are optically connected to each other, even when a plurality of laser processing heads are provided, it can be easily handled.

1 is a perspective explanatory view conceptually and schematically showing an overall configuration of a laser beam machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally and schematically the structure of a laser beam guide means. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing of the structure which changes the guide of a laser beam. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing of the structure which changes the guide of a laser beam. It is a perspective explanatory view showing another embodiment of a laser beam machine.

  As conceptually and schematically shown in FIG. 1, a laser beam machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a machining table 3 that supports a plate-like workpiece W. A carriage 5 that is long in the Y-axis direction, which is the front-rear direction, is provided on the processing table 3 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, which is the left-right direction. For example, an appropriate movement positioning means (not shown) such as a linear motor is provided.

  The carriage 5 is provided with a plurality of laser processing heads 7A and 7B that can be moved and positioned in the Y-axis direction, and a moving positioning means for moving and positioning the laser processing heads 7A and 7B in the Y-axis direction. (Not shown) is provided. In each of the laser processing heads 7A and 7B, condensing lenses 9A and 9B are provided so that their positions can be adjusted in the Z-axis direction which is the vertical direction. In addition, since the structure of this kind of laser processing head 7A, 7B is a well-known structure, the detailed description about the structure of laser processing head 7A, 7B is abbreviate | omitted.

  The laser processing machine 1 is provided with a laser oscillator 11. The laser oscillator 11 is a fiber laser oscillator. The fiber laser oscillator includes a plurality of fiber laser modules 13 that oscillate laser light. Each fiber from each fiber laser module 13 is fused to one feed fiber (feeding fiber) 15 via a beam combiner (not shown). In addition, since this kind of fiber laser oscillator is well-known, the description about the more detailed structure of a fiber laser oscillator is abbreviate | omitted.

  Between the emission end of the feed fiber 15 and the process fibers 17A and 17B optically connected to the laser processing heads 7A and 7B, the laser light emitted from the emission end of the feed fiber 15 is Laser light guiding means 19 for separately guiding each of the process fibers 17A and 17B is provided. As conceptually and schematically shown in FIG. 2, the laser light guiding means 19 includes a collimator lens (collimation lens) 21 for collimating the laser light LB emitted from the emission end of the feed fiber 15. And a condensing lens 23 for condensing the collimated laser beam LB. A fiber holder 25 that supports the incident ends of the process fibers 17A and 17B is provided at a position corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23. The fiber holder 25 is configured so that the incident ends of the process fibers 17A and 17B supported by the fiber holder 25 can be positioned at the focal position of the condenser lens 23.

  More specifically, as schematically shown in FIG. 3, the fiber holder 25 is composed of a disc-shaped rotating member 26 that can freely reciprocate, and a position on the same radius of the rotating member 26. The incident ends of the process fibers 17A and 17B are supported, and the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B are directed to the condenser lens 23 side. The rotating member 26 is configured to be position adjustable in the optical axis direction of the laser beam so that it can be positioned corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23.

  Therefore, when the rotating member 26 is rotated to move and position the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B to positions corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23, the incident ends 27A and 27B are It faces the condenser lens 23. The emission end sides of the process fibers 17A and 17B are supported by end holders 29A and 29B (see FIG. 2) provided in the laser processing heads 7A and 7B. The end holders 29A and 29B have a circular cross section, and are rotatably supported by the laser processing heads 7A and 7B.

  Therefore, if the rotating member 26 is slightly rotated in order to position the incident ends 27A and 27B at a position corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23, the process fibers 17A and 17B tend to twist. However, since the end holders 29A and 29B are rotatable, the twists of the process fibers 17A and 17B can be alleviated. The incident end sides of the process fibers 17A and 17B are also supported by end holders similar to the end holders 29A and 29B, and the end holders are rotatably supported with respect to the rotating member 26. It is also possible.

  As described above, when the rotating member 26 is rotated and the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B are positioned at positions corresponding to the focal positions of the condensing lens 23, the condensing lens 23 condenses light. The laser beam thus made is incident on a core (not shown) provided in each of the process fibers 17A and 17B. The laser light is transmitted through the process fibers 17A and 17B and emitted from the emission end.

  The laser beams emitted from the emission ends of the process fibers 17A and 17B are converted into parallel rays by collimator lenses 31A and 31B provided in the laser processing heads 7A and 7B. Then, the light is incident on the condenser lenses 9A and 9B via a bend mirror or the like, for example, and is condensed by the condenser lenses 9A and 9B and irradiated onto the workpiece W.

  Incidentally, the rotating member 26 which is the fiber holder 25 is provided with a damper 32 for absorbing laser light. The damper 32 is a water-cooled damper 32 through which cooling water can enter and exit, and is provided at a position on the same radius where the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B are arranged. Therefore, by rotating the rotating member 26, the damper 32 can be positioned at a position corresponding to the optical axis position of the condenser lens 23, and laser light can be absorbed.

  In other words, the rotating member 26 individually positions the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B at positions corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23, so that the laser beam is emitted from the laser processing head 7A. Or it has a function to guide to 7B. Further, when the damper 32 is positioned at a position corresponding to the optical axis position of the condenser lens 23, the laser beam is absorbed and the transmission of the laser beam to the laser processing heads 7A and 7B is interrupted. The member 26 also has a shutter function.

  In order to index and position the incident ends 27A and 27B and the damper 32 to positions corresponding to the condenser lens 23, index positioning means 33 is provided. As the configuration of the indexing positioning means 33, as shown conceptually and schematically in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the rotating member 26 and the servo motor 35 are connected to an appropriate power transmission mechanism such as a gear mechanism, for example. It can be set as the structure linked | linked by.

  In the above description, the fiber holder 25 that supports the incident ends 27A and 27B of the process fibers 17A and 17B and the damper 32 is exemplified as the disk-shaped rotating member 26. However, the incident ends 27A and 27B and the damper 32 are illustrated. Can be arranged in a straight line so that the fiber holder 25 reciprocates linearly.

  As understood from the above description, the feeding fiber (feed fiber) 15 provided in the fiber laser oscillator 11 and the process fibers 17A and 17B optically connected to the plurality of laser processing heads 7A and 7B are provided. The laser beam guiding means 19 provided in the middle includes a collimator lens 21 for collimating the laser beam emitted from the exit end of the feed fiber 15, and collects the laser beam collimated by the collimator lens 21. An incident end 27A, 27B of each of the process fibers 17A, 17B supported by the fiber holder 25 is indexed and positioned to a position corresponding to the focal position of the condensing lens 23. Therefore, the laser beam is applied to each laser processing head 7A, 7B. Those capable of performing easily be individually guided.

  As described above, when the incident ends 27A and 27B are indexed and positioned to a position corresponding to the focal position of the condenser lens 23, the fiber holder 25 supporting the incident ends 27A and 27B is constituted by the rotating member 26. By rotating the rotating member 26 and indexing and positioning the incident ends 27A and 27B, it is possible to perform quick indexing and positioning, and to make the overall configuration compact. It can be done.

  As already understood, the laser beam oscillated from the fiber laser oscillator 11 is individually guided to the plurality of laser processing heads 7A and 7B to perform laser processing. With the focal lengths or focal positions of the optical lenses 9A and 9B being different, one laser processing head 7A can be appropriately used for thin plate cutting processing and the other laser processing head 7B can be used for laser processing head for thick plate cutting processing. Is. Therefore, for example, by providing a thin plate portion and a thick plate portion, it is possible to easily cope with laser cutting of a plate-like workpiece having a step portion, and in the step portion, from the thin plate portion It is possible to quickly perform switching when laser cutting is performed on the thick plate portion or vice versa. Also, one laser processing head 7A can be appropriately used for laser cutting, and the other laser processing head 7B can be used as a laser processing head for welding.

  When the laser processing heads 7A and 7B have the same configuration, instead of changing the focal lengths and focal positions of the condenser lenses 9A and 9B in the laser processing heads 7A and 7B, respectively. When the diameters of the cores (fiber diameters) of the process fibers 17A and 17B are made different, the condensed diameters of the laser beams condensed by the condenser lenses 9A and 9B provided in the laser processing heads 7A and 7B are made different. It is also possible to make it.

  That is, the focal length of the collimator lenses 31A and 31B is fc, the focal length of the condenser lenses 9A and 9B is f, the focal diameter of the condenser lenses 9A and 9B is d, and the fiber diameter of the process fibers 17A and 17B is Df. Then, it is known that the focal diameter d is given by the equation d = f / fc × Df. Therefore, when the focal diameters of the condensing lenses 9A and 9B in the laser processing heads 7A and 7B are different and the usage pattern is different, the fiber diameters of the process fibers 17A and 17B are different. Is also compatible.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in other forms by making appropriate changes. That is, as schematically shown in FIG. 5, the laser light guide means 19 may be provided in the fiber laser oscillator 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser processing machine 7A, 7B Laser processing head 9A, 9B, 23 Condensing lens 11 Laser oscillator (fiber laser oscillator)
15 Feed fiber
17A, 17B Process fiber 19 Laser light guiding means 21 Collimator lens (collimation lens)
25 Fiber holder 26 Rotating member 27A, 27B Incident end 29A, 29B End holder 32 Damper 33 Indexing positioning means

Claims (5)

  A laser processing machine including a plurality of laser processing heads optically connectable to a laser oscillator via an optical fiber, wherein the laser oscillator is a fiber laser oscillator, and a feeding fiber included in the fiber laser oscillator And laser light guide means for separately guiding the laser light emitted from the exit end of the feeding fiber to each process fiber between each of the process fibers optically connected to a plurality of laser processing heads. The laser beam guiding means includes a collimator lens for collimating the laser beam emitted from the exit end of the feeding fiber, and condensing the collimated laser beam. A lens provided with a lens and supporting the incident end side of each process fiber. Comprising a Ibahoruda, laser processing machine, characterized in that the entrance end of the process the fiber that is supported by the fiber holder comprises freely positioned to the focal position of the condenser lens.   2. The laser processing machine according to claim 1, wherein the fiber holder includes a rotatable rotating member, and an incident end side of each process fiber is supported at a position on the same radius of the rotating member. A laser beam machine characterized by   3. The laser beam machine according to claim 2, further comprising a damper for absorbing laser light at a position on the same radius of the rotating member.   4. The laser processing machine according to claim 2, wherein an end holder having a circular cross-section supporting the end of the process fiber on the incident end side or the emission end side of the process fiber is rotatably provided. A laser processing machine characterized by that.   The laser beam machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a diameter of a core in each process fiber is different.

Images