JP3406118B2 - Processing equipment using laser beam - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for performing quenching or welding using a laser beam. As a conventional processing apparatus using this type of laser beam, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-91387. This disclosed technology is a laser firing torch, and this laser firing torch includes a laser head, and this laser head is composed of a laser beam focusing means (a lens and a lens holding member for holding the lens) in a rotating cylinder. ) In a rotatable manner, a reflection mirror is mounted above the lens via a reflection mirror holding member, and a through hole for a laser beam is provided in the rotating cylinder. This laser head is inserted into the workpiece. Then, the object to be fired formed on the inner diameter portion of the workpiece is irradiated with a laser beam through the through-hole and fired. [0003] In general, when machining the peripheral surface of a member to be machined, spatter, which is metal particles, and the substance evaporated by heat generated during welding are cooled into solid fine particles. If the welding fume is scattered or the oil used in the previous process remains on the surface of the workpiece, the oil may be mist-like and scattered. However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, since the through hole is provided between the workpiece and the reflection mirror, the spatter, welding fume and oil are scattered from the through hole to the hollow portion. Spattering and welding fumes can cause damage to the reflecting mirror, or welding fumes and oil can adhere to the reflecting mirror, leading to variations in the quality of workpieces due to a decrease in reflectivity and a reduction in the life of the reflecting mirror. there were. Also, if air is blown to the workpiece side of the through hole of the conventional apparatus, the spatter will bounce off the peripheral surface of the workpiece due to this air blowing, so that the penetration from the through hole is completely avoided. There is no prevention. The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems. The object of the present invention is to reduce the life of the reflecting mirror and the variation in the quality of the workpiece due to the reduced reflectance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus using a laser beam that can be prevented and that can prevent the reflection mirror from being damaged by sputtering and welding fume. In order to achieve the above object, a processing apparatus using a laser beam according to the present invention comprises a laser beam generating means for generating a laser beam and a lens for focusing the laser beam. In a processing apparatus using a laser beam including a unit and a reflection mirror that inverts a laser beam focused by the lens unit and irradiates a workpiece, the reflection mirror is held and reflected by the reflection mirror a cylindrical body having an opening for passing the laser beam, the protective gas for closing the opening of the tubular body
And an air blower for blowing air to the front of the protective glass
Lower air and air supplied by the air blowing means
The internal pressure of the cylindrical inner body maintained higher than the external pressure be supplied to low pressure air, the junction surface between the cylindrical member and the protective glass
Characterized by comprising an air filling means for sealing and. In the processing apparatus using the laser beam according to the present invention, the laser beam condensed by the condenser lens is reflected by the reflecting mirror and passes through the opening to be processed. The irradiation part is irradiated. Then, in order to air blow means, sputtering generated upon irradiation to prevent intrusions into the opening of the welding fume and oil, is further tubular body by the air filling means being maintained above the external pressure, air blow sputtering rebounding Upon peripheral surface of the workpiece by to prevent intrusion and adhesion to the reflective mirror from the opening of the welding fume. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent variations in the quality of the workpiece due to a decrease in the life of the reflecting mirror and a decrease in the reflectance. Further, it is possible to prevent the reflection mirror from being damaged by spatter and welding fume. Further, when the opening is disposed in the vicinity of the irradiated portion of the workpiece, the air blow means can prevent spatter and welding fumes from adhering to the workpiece. [0011] The laser beam converged by the condenser lens is reflected by the reflection mirror, passes through the opening, and is irradiated to the irradiation portion of the workpiece passes through the protective glass. The protective glass prevents spatter, welding fume and oil from entering the through-holes generated during irradiation. Also, since the temperature of the workpiece is increased during irradiation, it is difficult to seal the joint surface between the protective glass and the opening with a packing or the like, but spatter, welding fume and oil enter from the joint surface. The air filling means prevents the cylindrical body from being maintained higher than the external pressure. Further, the air blowing on the surface of the protective glass by the air blowing means reduces the adhesion of spatter, welding fumes and oil generated during the laser beam irradiation to the protective glass. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent spatter, welding fumes and oil from adhering to the reflecting mirror, and to prevent a reduction in the life of the mirror. And even if it adheres, it is protective glass, and since it is cheap compared with a reflective mirror, replacement | exchange and cleaning can be performed easily. Further, when the opening is disposed in the vicinity of the irradiated portion of the workpiece, it is possible to prevent spatter and welding fumes from adhering to the workpiece by air blowing. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of a laser hardening apparatus as an example of a processing apparatus using a laser beam according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the laser hardening apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of a laser hardening jig in the laser hardening apparatus. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The laser hardening apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a base 1, and a column 2 is erected on the base 1, and the column 2 is arranged in a vertical direction (Z-axis direction) via a slide mechanism 3. A Z-axis slide head 4 is provided so as to be movable to the column 2, and the Z-axis slide head 4 is provided in the column 2
Z-axis side actuating motors 5L, 5R for controlling the vertical movement of the motor
Is installed. An X-axis slide head 6 as a carrier is provided on the front surface of the Z-axis slide head 4 so as to be movable in the left-right direction (X-axis direction), and a jig is held below the Z-axis slide head 4. A member 7 is attached.
The column 2 is provided with X-axis side operation motors 8L and 8R which are moving operation means for controlling the left-right movement of the X-axis slide head 6. The Z-axis slide head 4 and the X-axis slide head 6 which is a carrier are used.
And the jig holding member 7 constitute a laser head K. A laser hardening jig 9 is shown in FIGS. The laser hardening jig 9 is roughly divided into a lens unit 10 that can be offset mounted on the X-axis slide head 6 side, and a reflection mirror mechanism that is a laser beam reflecting means held by the jig holding member 7. 11. The lens unit 10 is provided with a lens holding member 12. The lens holding member 12 is formed by forming a laser beam fiber holding portion 14 having a smaller diameter than the lens holding tube 13 above the lens holding tube 13. The axis A of this laser beam fiber holder 14 is located on the extension of the axis B of the lens holding cylinder 13, and the laser beam guide 15 is formed on these axes A and B. The lens holding cylinder 13 has a convex lens 17 on its upper side via a lens holder 16A.
A cylindrical lens 18 is mounted on the lower side via a lens holder 16B so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction. The convex lens 17 and the cylindrical lens 18 are positioned on the laser beam guide 15. The lower end surface of the lens holding cylinder 13 is formed on a sliding surface 19, and an O-ring groove portion 20 is formed on the sliding surface 19, and an O-ring 21 is attached to the O-ring groove portion 20. It is. The lens holding member 12 is provided with a mounting seat 22 at the rear. The reflecting mirror mechanism 11 has a holding cylinder 23.
A and a reflecting mirror holder 23B, which is a cylindrical body connected to the lower end of the holding cylinder 23A, and the holding cylinder 23A has a flange at its upper end as shown in FIGS. It has a portion 24, and the upper surface portion of the flange portion 24 is a sliding surface portion 25. As shown in FIG. 5, an air introduction hole forming surface 26, an air curtain forming member mounting surface 27, and a glass mounting surface 28 are formed on the front surface of the reflecting mirror holder 23B. An air introduction hole 29 is formed in the air introduction hole forming surface 26, and a lower portion of the air introduction hole 29 is a step portion 30 formed by the air introduction hole forming surface 26 and the air curtain forming member mounting surface 27. Open on the lower surface of the. As shown in FIG. 6, a closing surface portion 31 is provided on the upper portion of the reflecting mirror holder 23B. The closing surface portion 31 is positioned on the left and right sides of the axis C of the reflecting mirror holder 23B. The openings 32L and 32R are formed at equal intervals from the axis C. Further, air purge connection ports 33 are formed on the left and right sides of the reflection mirror holder 23B. As shown in FIG. 7, the lower end portion of the reflection mirror holder 23B is an inclined portion 34 inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the axis C of the reflection mirror holder 23. The reflection mirror holder 23B is directed to the rear side. And the glass mounting surface 28 which is a front site | part which is the opposite side to the inclination part 34 of the reflective mirror holder 23B.
Includes left and right laser beam outlets 35L and 35 which are openings.
R is formed. A reflecting mirror 36 is attached to the inclined portion 34 of the reflecting mirror holder 23B. That is, the reflecting mirror 36 includes a plate-like mirror main body 36A as shown in FIG. 8, and two mounting holes 36a are formed in the center of the surface of the mirror main body 36A. A glass holding part 37 is provided at the lower part of 36A. The glass holding portion 37 is configured by forming a holding groove 39 in a holding piece 38 protruding from the left and right of the lower edge portion of the mirror main body 36A. The reflection mirror 36 is
The mounting hole 36a is fixed to the inclined portion 34 of the reflecting mirror holder 23B by a screw member 36b. Further, laser beam exits 35L, 35 are provided on the glass mounting surface 28 of the reflection mirror holder 23B.
A protective glass 40 is attached so as to block R from the outside. This mounting is performed by inserting the lower edge portion of the protective glass 40 into the holding groove 39 of the holding piece 38 of the glass holding portion 37. An air curtain forming member 41 is mounted on the air curtain forming member mounting surface 27 of the reflecting mirror holder 23B. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the air curtain forming member 41 has an arcuate surface on the front side and a flat surface 41a on the back side. The flat surface 41 a of the member main body 42 </ b> A is formed with a recessed portion 43 that is released downward, and an air introduction groove portion 44 is formed on the upper portion of the recessed portion 43. A mounting hole 45 is formed at the center of the air curtain forming member 41. The air curtain forming member 41 constructed as described above is attached to the air curtain forming member mounting surface 27 by screws using the mounting holes 45. In this case, the flat surface 41a is in contact with the air curtain forming member mounting surface 27, and the air curtain forming member mounting surface 27 and the recessed portion 43 constitute an air chamber 42. An air introduction port 46 formed by the air introduction groove 44 is formed in the upper portion, and a slit-shaped air curtain formation port 47 is formed in the lower portion.
The air introduction port 46 of the air chamber 45 communicates with the outlet of the air introduction hole 29, and these constitute air blow means. An air supply pipe 48b is connected to the right and left air purge connection ports 33 of the reflection mirror holder 23B, and an air supply pipe 48a is connected to the air introduction hole 29. These constitute air filling means. In the laser hardening jig 9 configured as described above, the lens unit 10 is attached to the X-axis slide head 6 by its mounting seat portion 22, and the laser beam fiber holding of the lens unit 10 is held. The end portion of the laser beam fiber 49 led out from the output side of a laser oscillation device (YAG laser oscillator) 70 which is a laser beam generating means is fixedly held on the portion 14. The reflecting mirror mechanism 11 is fixedly held on the jig holding member 7. And the sliding surface 19 of the lower end surface of the lens holding cylinder 13 of the lens unit 10.
Is in contact with the sliding surface portion 25 at the upper end of the holding cylinder portion 23A of the reflecting mirror mechanism portion 11 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction,
A stopper 50 is provided at the front lower portion of the lens holding cylinder 13.
Is fixed, and the stopper 50 is provided with the holding cylinder 23.
It is in sliding contact with the front surface of A. A turntable 51 is installed on the base 1, and a workpiece fixing jig 52 is provided on the upper surface of the turntable 51. The workpiece W is, for example, a carrier 60 of a planetary gear device as shown in FIG. 10, and a spline 6 formed on the boss portion 61 of the carrier 60 on the inner peripheral portion.
2 is quenched. Next, quenching of the workpiece W by the laser quenching apparatus constructed as described above will be described. From the air supply pipe 48b, an air introduction hole 29 is provided.
The air chamber 42 is supplied with air having a pressure of about ² kg / cm ² , and the air is blown downward from the air curtain forming port 47 at the bottom of the air chamber 42, and the protective glass An air curtain E is formed on the front surface of 40. Further, 0.5 kg / cm ^{2 to 1} K is introduced into the internal space H of the reflection mirror holder 23B of the reflection mirror mechanism 11 from the air supply pipe 48a through the connection port 33.
Air with a pressure of about g / cm ² is filled. As shown in FIG. 10, the workpiece W is fixed to the upper surface of the turntable 51 via a workpiece fixing jig 52 with the boss 61 facing upward.
In this case, the axis line H passing through the center of the workpiece W coincides with the axis line C of the reflection mirror holder member 23B of the reflection mirror mechanism 11. And the turntable 5
By the rotation of 1, the workpiece W rotates around the axis line E. Further, by driving and controlling the Z-axis side operating motors 5L and 5R, the Z-axis slide head 4 is moved in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) via the slide mechanism 3, and the laser hardening treatment is performed. The tool 9 can be moved in the vertical direction, and the X-axis slide head 6 is moved in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) by driving and controlling the X-axis operation motors 8L and 8R, so that the laser The lens unit 10 of the quenching jig 9 can be moved in the left-right direction, and the center X of the laser beam U can be offset left and right (the offset amount is L on the left and right). The laser beam U output from the laser oscillation device is guided to the laser beam fiber 49 and travels straight through the laser beam guide path 15 from its end.
After being converted into a parallel beam by the convex lens 17, it is condensed in one direction by the cylindrical lens 18 (having an elliptical focal point), reaches the reflection mirror 36, is reflected by the reflection mirror 36, and is reflected by the laser beam exit. 35
It is emitted from L (or 35R). Therefore, the Z-axis side operating motor 5L
By driving and controlling (or 5R), the Z-axis slide head 4 is moved downward via the slide mechanism 3, the laser quenching jig 9 is moved downward, and the reflection mirror mechanism section 11 is moved. The lower part of the reflection mirror holder 23B is inserted into the boss 61 of the workpiece W. Next, the X-axis side drive motor 8L (or 8R) is driven and controlled to move the X-axis slide head 6 in the left direction, so that the laser quenching jig 9 is moved.
The lens unit 10 is moved to the left, and the center X of the laser beam U is offset to the left by L. As shown in FIG. 11, in order to quench the tooth surface 61A uniformly, the laser beam U is used as much as possible.
It is necessary to approach A at a right angle. Therefore, it is better to increase the offset amount L. Therefore, the offset amount L
When the laser beam U is output from the laser oscillation device with the maximum value, the laser beam U passes through the convex lens 17 and the cylindrical lens 18 as described above, reaches the reflection mirror 36, and is reflected by the reflection mirror 36. The laser beam is emitted from the laser beam outlet 35L and irradiates the tooth surface 61A of the spline 62 of the workpiece W. In this state, the turntable 51 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 11 at a predetermined peripheral speed, and the right tooth surface 61A of the spline 62 is quenched by the laser beam U. When the quenching of the right tooth surface 61A of the spline 62 is completed in this way, the X-axis side operating motor 8R is driven and controlled to move the X-axis slide head 6 in the right direction, and the laser. The lens unit 10 of the quenching jig 9 is moved rightward, and the laser beam U
Is offset to the right by L. Also in the case of the right offset, the offset amount L is set to the maximum value as in the case of the left offset. And
When a laser beam is output from the laser oscillation device, the laser beam U passes through the convex lens 17 and the cylindrical lens 18 as described above, reaches the reflection mirror 36, is reflected by the reflection mirror 36, and is output from the laser beam outlet 35R. The left tooth surface 61A of the spline 62 of the workpiece W is emitted. In this state, the turntable 51 is rotated counterclockwise at a predetermined peripheral speed, and the tooth surface 61A on the left side of the spline 62 is quenched by the laser beam U. As described above, the laser hardening jig 9
Is moved downward, and the lower part of the reflection mirror holder 23B of the reflection mirror mechanism 11 is inserted into the boss portion 61 of the workpiece W, and during the quenching, the workpiece W is sputtered and welded fume. Will occur. This spatter,
Adhesion of welding fumes to the reflection mirror 36 is prevented by the reflection mirror holder 23B because the reflection mirror 36 is held by the reflection mirror holder 23B, and because the protective glass 40 is present. ,
Adhering of the stapper and welding fume to the reflection mirror 36 is prevented. Further, since the air curtain E is formed on the front surface of the protective glass 40, adhesion of the stupper and welding fume to the protective glass 40 is reduced. In addition, air having a pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ² to ¹ kg / cm ² is filled into the internal space H of the reflection mirror holder 23B of the reflection mirror mechanism 11 from the air supply pipe 47 through the connection port 33. Therefore, there is no intrusion of the stapper, the welding fume, and the mist into the internal space H, and the reflection mirror 3 of the stapper, the welding fume, and the mist is provided.
6 is prevented, and the lifetime of the mirror can be prevented from being reduced. Moreover, even if it adheres, the protective glass 4
Since it is 0 and is less expensive than the reflecting mirror 36, replacement and cleaning can be easily performed. Further, when the through hole is disposed in the vicinity of the irradiated portion of the workpiece, it is possible to prevent spatter and welding fumes from adhering to the workpiece by air blowing. The processing apparatus using a laser beam according to the present invention comprises a laser beam generating means for generating a laser beam,
A processing apparatus using a laser beam, comprising: a lens unit that focuses the laser beam; and a reflection mirror that reflects the laser beam focused by the lens unit and irradiates the workpiece. a cylindrical body having an opening for passing the laser beam reflected on the reflecting mirror, busy the opening of the tubular body
Protective glass and air is blown to the front of the protective glass
Air blowing means and the air blowing means
The internal pressure of the cylindrical inner body higher maintenance than the external pressure by supplying low pressure air than the air, and the cylindrical body and the protective glass
The joint surface from further comprising an air filling means for sealing of spatter protective glass occurs during irradiation, prevents the intrusion of the opening of the welding fume and oil. Further, since the temperature of the workpiece is increased on irradiation, the bonding surface of the protective glass and the opening it is difficult to seal in a packing or the like, sputtering, from the welding fumes and oil joint surfaces
The to intrusion, surely prevented by the tubular body is kept higher than the external pressure by the air filling means. Furthermore, the air blowing to the protective glass surface by the air blowing means reduces the adhesion of spatter, welding fume and oil to the protective glass generated during the laser beam irradiation. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent spatter, welding fume, and oil from adhering to the reflecting mirror, and it is possible to prevent the life of the mirror from being shortened. And even if it adheres, it is glass, and since it is cheap compared with a reflective mirror, replacement | exchange and cleaning can be performed easily. Further, when the through hole is disposed in the vicinity of the irradiated portion of the workpiece, it is possible to prevent spatter and welding fumes from adhering to the workpiece by air blowing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a laser hardening apparatus as an example of a processing apparatus using a laser beam according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the laser hardening apparatus. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laser hardening jig in the laser hardening apparatus. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of a reflection mirror holder of the reflection mirror mechanism. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the reflection mirror holder. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 8A is a plan view of a reflecting mirror. (2) is sectional drawing which follows the CC line of (1). FIG. 9 (1) is a front view of an air curtain forming member. (2) is a plan view of the air curtain forming member.
(3) is sectional drawing which follows the DD line of (1). FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a set state of a workpiece. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a relationship between an offset amount in a laser hardening jig and a laser beam with respect to a tooth surface. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lens unit 11 Reflection mirror mechanism part 23B Reflection mirror holder (cylindrical body) 36 Reflection mirror 35L, 35R Laser beam exit (opening part) 70 Laser beam oscillator K Laser head U Laser beam W Workpiece member W1 Quenching part

Claims (1)

(57) Claims 1. A laser beam generating means for generating a laser beam, a lens unit for focusing the laser beam, and a workpiece to be processed by inverting the laser beam focused by the lens unit. in the processing apparatus using a laser beam and a reflection mirror to be irradiated to a tubular body having an opening for passing the laser beam reflected on the holding and the reflecting mirror the reflection mirror, of the tubular body Protective glass for closing the opening, and air blowing means for blowing air to the front surface of the protective glass
And air at a lower pressure than the air supplied by the air blowing means
Supplying the internal pressure of the cylindrical inner body maintained higher than external pressure
Te, the processing apparatus using a laser beam comprising the an air filling means for sealing <br/> the junction surface between the tubular body and the protective glass.