JP3865226B2 - Laser processing method, laser processing apparatus, and laser processing program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a laser processing method, a laser processing apparatus, and a laser processing program, and more particularly, to a laser processing method, a laser processing apparatus, and a laser processing program for improving the accuracy of the processing shape of a workpiece.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as processing using laser light (hereinafter referred to as laser processing), processing techniques such as welding, drilling or cutting are used in manufacturing processes in various fields such as machines, electronics, and semiconductor devices.
[0003]
By the way, in the processing of an object to be processed by laser light, particularly in cutting or drilling, an oxidation product called dross is attached to the processed surface formed by the processing and the back surface with respect to laser light irradiation. In recent years, since highly accurate processing is required, the adhesion of dross reduces the value of the object to be processed.
[0004]
Therefore, as the above-mentioned measures, a method of reducing the amount of the melt of the workpiece to be the basis of dross as much as possible, a method of blowing off the melt using an auxiliary gas called assist gas, and the like are used. In addition to the above method, there is a method in which a dross adhesion preventing agent is applied to the back surface of the object to be processed before processing.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described method, the dross attached to the back surface of the workpiece to be irradiated with the laser beam can be removed, but the dross attached to the surface formed by the processing cannot be removed. Also, when assist gas is used, dross can be blown to the vicinity of the lower part of the processed surface, but it cannot be completely removed.
[0006]
In addition, there are cases where the workpiece is processed at a plurality of processing locations, but there are some that only need to be perforated at the location of the processing location. Therefore, there is a need for a method for forming a highly accurate machining shape only at a necessary portion without increasing extra work.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and in particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing method, a laser processing apparatus, and a laser processing program for improving the accuracy of the processing shape of an object to be processed. To do.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs means for solving the problems having the following characteristics.
[0009]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a laser beam and an assist gas are emitted to a processing object placed on a gantry to process at least one processing location of the processing object. In the laser processing method for performing the processing, the laser beam and the first assist gas are emitted from substantially the same direction to the processing portion, and the processing step is performed again to remove dross at the processing portion. It has a dross removal process in which a laser beam and a second assist gas different from the first assist gas are emitted from substantially the same direction to perform dross removal.
[0010]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the laser beam and the assist gas are emitted again to the same location, so that dross attached to the machining surface formed by machining can be removed, and a highly accurate machining shape is obtained. Can be formed.
[0011]
The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the dross removing step is performed for a predetermined processing portion.
[0012]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, by performing the dross removal process only on the machining location where it is necessary to form a highly accurate machining shape, it is not necessary to perform a wasteful operation and the running cost can be suppressed. In addition, by setting in advance to perform the dross removal process on all the machining locations, it is possible to perform high-precision machining on all the machining locations of the workpiece, and to improve the product value.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a laser beam and an assist gas are emitted to a processing object placed on a gantry to process at least one processing location of the processing object. In the laser processing apparatus for performing the processing, the laser beam and the first assist gas are emitted from substantially the same direction to the processing portion, and processing is performed again to remove the dross at the processing portion. Dross removing means for removing dross by emitting laser light and a second assist gas different from the first assist gas from substantially the same direction .
[0014]
According to the invention of claim 3, by emitting the laser beam and the assist gas to the same place again, dross attached to the machining surface formed by machining can be removed, and a highly accurate machining shape is obtained. Can be formed.
[0015]
The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the dross removing means is performed for a predetermined processing portion.
[0016]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the dross removing means is provided only at the machining location where it is necessary to form a highly accurate machining shape, it is not necessary to perform a wasteful operation and the running cost can be suppressed. In addition, by having dross removal means in all the processing locations in advance, it is possible to perform highly accurate processing on all processing locations of the processing object, and to improve the product value.
[0017]
The invention described in claim 5 is a laser processing program for causing a computer to execute the laser processing method according to claim 1 or 2.
[0018]
According to the invention described in claim 5, by creating a laser processing program, it is possible to save the labor of an operator and perform laser processing efficiently.
[0019]
The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the laser processing program is created based on CAD data.
[0020]
According to the invention described in claim 6, by using CAD (Computer Aided Design) data, it is possible to easily set a machining shape, and to perform efficient laser machining.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention performs processing by emitting laser light and assist gas to a processing object placed on a gantry and then emitting laser light and assist gas again to the same location. The main purpose is to improve the accuracy of the processing shape by blowing off the dross attached on the surface.
[0022]
Even if the dross attached to the back surface of the object to be processed cannot be removed by emitting the laser beam and the assist gas again, the dross can be easily obtained by performing the conventional back surface polishing process. Can be removed.
[0023]
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0024]
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a laser processing apparatus.
[0025]
The laser processing apparatus of FIG. 1 is configured to include a laser oscillator 11, a reflection mirror 12, a condenser lens 13, an assist gas emitting device 14, a pedestal 15, and a control device 16.
[0026]
In FIG. 1, first, when laser light is emitted from the laser oscillator 11, it is reflected by the mask reflecting mirror 12 toward the condenser lens 13. The condensing lens 13 condenses the input laser light, and processes the processing object 17 by irradiating the processing surface of the processing object 17 placed on the gantry 15 with the laser light. Further, the assist gas extraction device 14 can blow off the dross generated during processing by the emitted assist gas. As the assist gas, oxygen gas, compressed air, nitrogen gas, or the like is generally used.
[0027]
The gantry 15 is an XYZθ table, and can move in the front-rear and left-right directions (X and Y directions) and the vertical direction (Z direction) with respect to the condenser lens 13. Can be inclined by an inclination angle θ. By moving the gantry 15 in this way, various processed shapes can be formed. The control device 16 controls the oscillation timing of the laser beam from the laser oscillator 11, the emission timing of the assist gas from the assist gas emission device 14, and the timing of movement of the gantry 15.
[0028]
Here, FIG. 2 shows an example of the processing state of the processing object in the present invention.
[0029]
In FIG. 2, FIG. 2A is a diagram showing normal (first) processing. In FIG. 2 (a), the process of emitting the laser beam and the assist gas at the same time becomes very high when the workpiece 17 is irradiated with the laser beam, and dross is just generated and is not solidified. Therefore, dross can be removed from the workpiece 17 by spraying the assist gas on the machining surface simultaneously with the machining with the laser beam.
[0030]
However, a part of the dross is attached to the vicinity of the back surface (lower part) of the processing object 17 depending on the processing shape, the material, the thickness, and the like of the processing object 17. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the dross attached to the machining surface can be blown off by emitting the laser beam and the assist gas to the same location of the machining object 17 again after the machining process is completed. A minute dross can be attached to the position where the assist gas on the back surface does not reach.
[0031]
The processed object 17 in the state of FIG. 2B can remove dross attached to the position where the assist gas on the back surface does not reach due to the conventional back surface polishing operation or the like, and forms a highly accurate processed shape. can do.
[0032]
It should be noted that the timing of the dross removal process in which the laser beam and the assist gas are emitted again to the same location may be immediately after the processing of FIG. The dross removal process may be performed after the process of (a) is completed. In addition, the laser beam and assist gas are emitted during the dross removal process according to the shape (circle, square, etc.) and thickness of the processing hole, so that the dross can be accurately removed and the processing shape accuracy can be improved. be able to.
[0033]
Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of the machining shape of the workpiece 17, the dross removal process is usually performed at all machining locations. However, in the usage of the machining location, the machining shape can be simply cut regardless of the accuracy. In some cases, it may be sufficient. In such a case, by performing control so that the dross removal process is performed only at a necessary portion, it is possible to perform laser processing that is efficient and suppresses the running cost.
[0034]
Here, an example of a computer system configuration of the control device 16 will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0035]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer system of the control device according to the present invention.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 3, the computer system of the control device 16 according to the present invention includes an input device 31, an output device 32, a drive device 33, a recording medium 34, an auxiliary storage device 35, a memory device 36, and an arithmetic operation. The processor 37 is connected to each other by a bus B.
[0037]
The input device 31 includes a keyboard and a mouse that are operated by a user of the computer system. The output device 32 has a display for displaying various windows and data necessary for operating the computer system.
[0038]
The recording medium 34 is set in the drive device 33, and various electronic data necessary for laser processing can be input to the control device 16. The auxiliary storage device 35 accumulates control information data that is input or set. The memory device 36 emits the laser beam and the assist gas again in order to remove the dross and the machining process in at least one machining location of the workpiece to be machined input from the input device 31 by the user of the laser machining device. The information set for the presence or absence of the dross removal process is stored, and the arithmetic processing unit 37 creates a laser processing program based on the setting information stored in the memory unit 36. The laser oscillator 11, the assist gas emission device 14, and the gantry 15 are controlled by the created laser processing program to process the processing object 17.
[0039]
Regarding the dross removal process, not only the presence / absence of the dross removal process, but also the laser beam and assist gas emission shape (circle, square, etc.) used for removing the dross are set to draw the same trajectory as in the machining process. Therefore, only dross can be removed accurately, and the accuracy of the processed shape can be further improved.
[0040]
A recording medium 34 such as a CD-ROM to which CAD data relating to the workpiece is input is set in the drive device 33, read, and then stored in the memory device 36. By creating a laser processing program from the information of the 36 CAD data, the user of the laser processing apparatus can perform laser processing easily and accurately without having a setting operation.
[0041]
The above-described method for setting the machining process and the dross removal process from the CAD data is based on the condition that the dross is likely to adhere depending on the size of the diameter included in the CAD data, the thickness of the workpiece, etc. It is possible to add a dross removal process only at a necessary portion by accumulating the data in 35 and comparing the condition with CAD data.
[0042]
The control device 16 can control the laser oscillator 11, the assist gas 14, and the gantry 15 by the laser processing program created by the arithmetic processing device 37.
[0043]
Next, the result of laser processing using the laser processing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to facilitate the explanation of the results, a description will be given in comparison with the results of the conventional laser machining performed only in the machining process.
[0044]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a metal mask laser processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[0045]
The metal mask processing apparatus of FIG. 4 includes a laser oscillator 41, a trepanning head 42, a gas nozzle 43, an XY table 44, an X linear motor 45, a Y linear motor 46, a Z-axis operating unit 47, and a fixed surface. And a board 48.
[0046]
It is assumed that the laser oscillator 41 has functions of a control device and an assist gas emission device. The trepanning head 42 is generally used for drilling a perfect circle on the workpiece 17 placed on the XY table 44. The gas nozzle 43 can emit the assist gas to an accurate position with respect to the workpiece 17. The X linear motor 45 and the Y linear motor 46 can be set at a plurality of machining locations of the workpiece 17 with high speed and high accuracy. Since the Z-axis operating unit 47 can move up and down, the imaging position of the workpiece 17 can be adjusted. Each device described above is installed on the stone surface plate 48.
[0047]
Next, specific processing conditions will be described.
[0048]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing portion of the processing object. 5 is a SUS304 steel plate and has a thickness of 0.15 mm. Further, 400 holes are formed in the A region in FIG. 5 with Φ120 μm and a pitch of 240 μm, 1600 holes are formed in the B region with Φ80 μm and a pitch of 160 μm, and 1600 holes are formed in the C region with a Φ80 μm and a pitch of 480 μm. Form. That is, drilling with a total machining location (number of holes) of 3600 holes is performed.
[0049]
Next, the processing results of each region based on the above-described processing conditions will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0050]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing result for each region in which only the processing process is performed in the present invention. The laser beam conditions in FIG. 6 are as follows: an 800 Hz laser beam is emitted at an energy of 5.90 J, 900 V (10 W), a processing time is 21 minutes 22 seconds, and a laser beam with a processing capacity of 10140 holes / h is used. Use. Further, oxygen is used as the assist gas.
[0051]
6A shows the processing result of the A region, FIG. 6B shows the processing result of the B region, and FIG. 6C shows the processing result of the C region.
[0052]
Further, Top is the surface (front surface) from which the laser beam and assist gas are emitted from the workpiece 17, and Bottom is the opposite surface (back surface) from which the laser beam and assist gas are emitted.
[0053]
X represents the size (μm) of the diameter of the surface processed hole in the X-axis direction, and Y represents the size of the diameter (μm) of the surface processed hole in the Y-axis direction. Moreover, x represents the size (μm) of the diameter in the X-axis direction of the processed hole on the back surface, and y represents the size (μm) of the diameter in the Y-axis direction of the processed hole on the back surface. Moreover, FIG. 6 extracted 9 data arbitrarily in each area | region.
[0054]
As shown in FIG. 6, there is an error in the size of the x and y diameters of the Bottom in each region. This error indicates that the machined shape is not a perfect circle, and since the error is larger in the bottom, it is presumed that the cause is due to adhesion of dross.
[0055]
Next, FIG. 7 shows the result of processing including the dross removal process in the present invention. The laser beam conditions in FIG. 7 are as follows: an 800 Hz laser beam is emitted at an energy of 5.90 J, 900 V (10 W), the processing time is 26 minutes and 15 seconds, and the processing capability is 8228 holes / h. Is used. Further, compressed air is used as the assist gas.
[0056]
FIG. 7A shows the processing result of the A region, FIG. 7B shows the processing result of the B region, and FIG. 7C shows the processing result of the C region.
[0057]
Further, Top, Bottom, X, Y, x, and y in FIG. 7 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 7 as well, data were arbitrarily extracted at nine locations in each region.
[0058]
As shown in FIG. 7, by using the laser processing method of the present invention in each region, the error in the magnitudes of the x and y diameters of the Bottom is clearly reduced as compared with FIG. This is because the dross attached to the position of the bottom can be blown away by performing a dross removing process, and a process close to a perfect circle can be formed.
[0059]
As described above, by using a laser processing method having a dross removal process of emitting laser light and assist gas again to the same processing location, the accuracy of the processing shape of the processing object can be improved. In addition, when forming a plurality of machining shapes on the workpiece, by performing the dross removal process only on the machining points set in advance as necessary, it is not necessary to perform a wasteful machining operation and reduce the running cost. Suppressing and efficient processing can be performed.
[0060]
In addition, by setting the emission shape of the laser beam and assist gas used in the dross removal process to a circle or square, etc., it is possible to draw the same trajectory as during the machining process, so only dross can be removed accurately. The accuracy of the processed shape can be further improved.
[0061]
Also, CAD data or the like is input to the laser processing apparatus, and a place for performing a dross removal process of the processing shape and a processing shape of the laser beam and assist gas at the time of execution are set based on the contents of the input CAD data. Thus, dross removal can be performed at an accurate position while reducing the burden on the operator.
[0062]
Furthermore, by creating a laser machining program related to the dross removal process and adding it to the machining process, the laser machining operation can be easily performed.
[0063]
In addition, the laser processing in the present invention can improve the accuracy of the processing shape by using the same laser processing method not only in the above-described drilling processing but also in the cutting processing and welding processing.
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, in order to remove the dross generated in the machining process, by using a laser machining method having a dross removal process of emitting laser light and assist gas again to the same machining location, The accuracy of the machining shape can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a laser processing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing state of a processing object in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer system of a control device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a metal mask laser processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing portion of a processing object.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing result for each region in which only a processing step is performed in the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a result of processing including a dross removal process in the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 41 Laser oscillator 12 Reflection mirror 13 Condensing lens 14 Assist gas emitting device 15 Base 16 Control device 17 Work object 31 Input device 32 Output device 33 Drive device 34 Recording medium 35 Auxiliary storage device 36 Memory device 37 Arithmetic processing device 42 Trepanning head 43 Gas nozzle 44 XY table 45 X linear motor 46 Y linear motor 47 Z-axis operating part 48 Stone surface plate

Claims (6)

In a laser processing method of emitting laser light and assist gas to a processing object placed on a gantry and processing at least one processing location of the processing object,
A processing step of performing processing by emitting the laser beam and the first assist gas from substantially the same direction to the processing location;
In order to remove the dross at the processing location, a dross removal step is performed in which the laser beam and the second assist gas different from the first assist gas are emitted again from substantially the same direction to remove the dross. A featured laser processing method.   The laser processing method according to claim 1, wherein the dross removing step is performed for a predetermined processing portion. In a laser processing apparatus that emits laser light and an assist gas to a processing object placed on a gantry and processes at least one processing location of the processing object,
Processing means for performing processing by emitting the laser beam and the first assist gas from substantially the same direction to the processing location;
In order to remove the dross at the processing location, dross removing means for removing dross by emitting a second assist gas different from the laser beam and the first assist gas from substantially the same direction again. A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the dross removing unit performs a predetermined processing portion.   A laser processing program for causing a computer to execute the laser processing method according to claim 1.   6. The machining program according to claim 5, wherein the laser machining program is created based on CAD data.

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