JP5081711B2 - Laser processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, there is a laser processing apparatus that performs processing by irradiating an object to be processed with laser light. As one of the laser processing apparatuses, there is a laser marking apparatus. The laser marking device irradiates a surface of a wide variety of workpieces such as metals, resins, ceramics, semiconductor devices, paper, and figures to mark various characters, symbols, and figures.

  The laser marking device needs to adjust the power of the laser beam to be irradiated according to the material of the workpiece or according to the marking concentration. Therefore, by adjusting the rotation angle of the ½ reflector as the adjustment of the power of the laser beam, the laser processing apparatus (which can adjust the laser power of the laser beam that can be extracted as the output laser in accordance with the rotation angle ( Laser marking devices) have been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  This type of half-wave plate rotates optically within a rotation angle range of 0 ° to 45 °, so that the power of the laser beam output from the laser oscillator is optically controlled within a range of 0% to 100%. Can be adjusted. The half-wave plate is rotated by a stepping motor. Therefore, the rotation angle of the half-wave plate is changed in stages according to the step amount of the stepping motor. As a result, the power of the laser beam is adjusted in stages.

For example, when the power of the laser beam output from the laser oscillator is 18 [W] and the half-wave plate rotates 0 to 45 degrees in 18 steps of the stepping motor, as shown in FIG. The laser beam power increases or decreases in steps of 1 [W] every time one step is rotated.
JP 2007-268581 A

  By the way, in the laser processing apparatus (laser marking apparatus) described above, when laser processing is performed using the full range of the laser beam power from 0 [W] to 18 [W], the laser power is 1 [ W] is controlled in 18 steps. However, when a laser processing apparatus (laser marking apparatus) is used depending on the material of the object to be processed, the power of the laser light is in the range of 0 [W] to 18 [W], from 0 [W] to 9 [W]. May be used in a range.

  At this time, when the laser beam is used in the range of 0 [W] to 9 [W], the laser power is controlled in 9 steps in units of 1 [W]. Therefore, the laser processing apparatus (laser marking apparatus) cannot adjust the power in the range of 0 [W] to 9 [W] with high resolution (18 steps in 0.5 [W] units).

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a laser whose adjustment resolution does not change for each setting range even if the laser power usage range is changed according to the application. It is to provide a processing apparatus.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, a laser generating unit that emits a laser beam, and a first power adjusting unit that sets the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser generating unit to be changeable by an external operation. And at least one of the light passing means for emitting only laser light having a predetermined polarization direction out of the laser light incident from the laser generating means, and at least one of the laser generating means and the light passing means Rotating means for changing the relative turning angle between the laser generating means and the light passing means by rotating around the optical axis, and the laser generating means and the light by the rotating means. By rotating at least one of the passing means, the power of the laser beam for passing through the light passing means and irradiating the object to be processed can be controlled externally. And a second power adjustment means.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 2 is the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating means uses the light passing means as the rotation center with respect to the laser generating means. It was made to rotate.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 3 is the laser processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light passing means in the second power adjusting means includes light of the laser light emitted from the laser generating means. A wave plate rotated about an axis of rotation, and a first polarizing member that allows only a laser beam having a predetermined polarization direction out of the laser beams that have passed through the wave plate to be provided; , And the wave plate is rotated about the rotation axis of the optical plate, so that the processing object is moved according to the relative rotation angle between the wave plate and the first polarizing member. The power of the laser beam for irradiation is optically adjusted.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the laser generator includes a laser light source and a predetermined polarization direction among laser light from the laser light source. A second polarizing member that passes only the optical axis, and the first power adjusting means rotates at least one of the second polarizing member and the laser light source around the optical axis as an optical axis. The power of the laser beam emitted from the laser light source can be changed by changing the surrounding relative rotation angle.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 5 is the laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second polarizing member and the laser light source are each rotated by a predetermined one-step rotation angle, and the second polarizing member is provided. The one-step rotation angle and the one-step rotation angle of the laser light source are set at the same step angle, and the second polarizing member and the laser light source are ½ of the one-step rotation angle. The rotation angle is shifted.

  The laser processing apparatus according to claim 6 is the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the laser generating means is provided with a laser light source and a laser driving means for driving the laser light source, The first power adjusting means can change the power of the laser light emitted from the laser light source by changing a drive signal of the laser driving means.

  The laser processing device according to claim 7 is the laser processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein for each of the plurality of materials, data on the optimum power of the laser beam for irradiating the material is obtained. Storage means for storing, and material selection means for selecting the plurality of materials, wherein at least one of the first and second power adjustment means stores in the storage means for the material selected by the material selection means. Read out the optimum power data, and the laser beam emitted from the laser generating means based on the read optimum power data, or a laser for irradiating the workpiece through the light passing means Set the light power.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the first aspect, the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser generating unit can be changed by the first power adjusting unit, for example, according to the application. The power of the laser light variously changed depending on the application is optically adjusted when the second power adjusting means adjusts the laser generating means and the light passing means via the rotating means. Therefore, even if the user changes the laser power use range according to the application, the adjustment resolution does not change for each set range.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of claim 2, the rotating means rotates the light passing means with respect to the laser generating means about the optical axis of the laser beam as a rotation center, thereby providing a laser beam power. Is optically adjusted.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the third aspect, when the second power adjusting unit rotates the wave plate via the rotating unit, the relative rotation between the laser generating hand and the first polarizing member is achieved. The power of the laser beam emitted from the laser generating means is optically adjusted according to the angle.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the laser light emitted from the laser light source is allowed to pass through the second polarizing member before passing through the light passing means. Then, the power of the laser beam is optically adjusted by the second adjusting means by changing the rotation angle around the optical axis of either the second polarizing member or the laser light source by the second power adjusting means. Apart from this, the power of the laser light emitted from the laser light source can be changed.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, since the relative arrangement of the second polarizing member and the laser light source is shifted by a half rotation angle of one step, the second polarizing member. And the relative rotation angle of the laser light source can be increased or decreased for each rotation angle that is ½ of the one-step rotation angle. As a result, the increase / decrease in the power of the laser light emitted from the laser light source can be finely changed accordingly.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the laser driving means, the driving signal for driving the laser light source is changed by the first power adjusting means in the laser driving means for driving the laser light source. As a result, the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator is electrically adjusted and controlled via the laser driving means for driving the laser light source, so that the adjustment control becomes very easy.

  According to the laser processing apparatus of the seventh aspect, when a material is selected by the material selecting means, data on the optimum power of the laser beam emitted from the laser generating means for the selected material stored in the storage means is read out. The first or second power adjusting unit emits laser light with the optimum power based on the read optimum power data.

  Therefore, the user can emit laser light with the optimum power for each material simply by selecting and inputting the material, and the process prior to the laser processing operation that requires advanced and skilled skills can be performed in a short time with high accuracy. It can be carried out.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a laser processing apparatus of the present invention is embodied in a laser marking apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a laser marking device 1 includes a laser generator 2 as a laser generation means or a laser light source, a half-wave plate 3 constituting a light passage means, a polarization constituting a light passage means or a first polarizing member. Beam splitter 4, damper 5, rotating device 6 as rotating means, laser driving device 7 as laser driving means, control device 9 constituting first power adjusting means or second power adjusting means, first device A first input device 8a constituting a power adjustment means, a second input device 8b constituting a second power adjustment means, and a storage device 10 as a storage means are provided.

  The laser oscillator 2 includes a semiconductor laser that emits excitation light. The laser oscillator 2 receives the excitation light emitted from the semiconductor laser, resonates based on the excitation light, and emits laser light. The laser oscillator 2 controls the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 by adjusting the power of the excitation light. The power of the pumping light is controlled by a driving current (pulse width, peak value, etc.) as an electric driving amount supplied to the semiconductor laser that emits the pumping light. In the present embodiment, the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 can be adjusted in the range of 0 to 18 [W].

  The half-wave plate 3 is provided so as to be perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 and rotatable about the optical axis, and the rotation angle (laser oscillator 2 The polarization direction (orientation) of the laser light is changed according to the relative rotation angle. For example, the half-wave plate 3 is rotated from 0 ° to 45 °, thereby polarizing the angle of the polarization plane of linearly polarized light (laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2) to 0 ° to 90 °. Convert horizontal linear polarization to vertical linear polarization.

  The polarization beam splitter 4 is provided perpendicular to the optical axis of the laser beam that has passed through the half-wave plate 3 and is incident on the laser beam that has passed through the half-wave plate 3. The polarization beam splitter 4 changes the polarization direction (orientation) of the laser beam in accordance with the relative rotation angle with the half-wave plate 3 (the relative rotation angle of the polarization plane with the half-wave plate 3). Of the laser light, only laser light having a predetermined polarization direction is allowed to pass. That is, the polarization beam splitter 4 reflects the laser light in a preset reflection direction without passing the laser light in a direction other than the predetermined polarization direction. In this embodiment, the polarization beam splitter 4 is a needle crystal supported (sandwiched) by a transparent base, and the base is made of glass.

  The damper 5 is disposed in a reflection direction in which the laser beam is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 4, and absorbs the laser beam reflected by the polarization beam splitter 4. The damper 5 is made of, for example, a matte black metal in order to absorb the laser beam well.

  The rotation device 6 includes a stepping motor and controls the rotation of the half-wave plate 3 that is supported so as to be rotatable about the axis along the optical axis. The rotation device 6 is supplied with a drive current, and in this embodiment, the rotation device 6 rotates the half-wave plate 3 in units of one step within a range of 0 ° to 45 ° to a predetermined rotation angle. It is designed to rotate. In the present embodiment, one step by the rotation device 6 (stepping motor) is 2.5 degrees. Therefore, the rotation position can be set in 18 steps in the range of 0 ° to 45 ° in units of 2.5 degrees.

  The laser driving device 7 drives the laser oscillator 2 to oscillate. The laser driving device 7 is generated based on a control signal for designating a pulse width and a peak value for determining the power of the excitation light from the control device 9 for the semiconductor laser that emits the excitation light provided in the laser oscillator 2. Supply a driving signal. Then, based on the drive current supplied from the laser driving device 7 to the semiconductor laser, the power of the excitation light is controlled, and the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is changed.

  The first input device 8a includes an operation switch for the user to set an upper limit value of the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 (in the present embodiment, a range of 0 [W] to 18 [W]). The first set value (power upper limit value) set by operating the switch is output to the control device 9. The second input device 8b includes an operation switch for the user to set the rotation angle of the half-wave plate 3 (in the present embodiment, a range of 0 to 45 degrees), and is set by operating the operation switch. The second set value (rotation angle value) is output to the control device 9.

  The control device 9 includes a central processing unit (CPU), and inputs the first setting value output from the first input device 8a and the second setting value output from the second input device 8b. The control device (CPU) 9 controls the rotation of the half-wave plate 3 and the drive control of the laser oscillator 2 via the rotation device 6 and the laser drive device 7 in accordance with the control program and application program stored in the storage device 10. Etc., various processing operations are executed.

  More specifically, the control device (CPU) 9 drives the rotation device 6 (stepping motor) based on the second set value (rotation angle value) input from the second input device 8b, and 1 / The two-wave plate 3 is rotated to the second set value (rotation angle value) designated by the second input device 8b. That is, the half-wave plate 3 is rotated, and the relative rotation angle of the half-wave plate 3 with respect to the polarization beam splitter 4 is set to the rotation angle specified by the second setting value (rotation angle value). .

  Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is 18 [W] at the maximum, if the rotation angle is increased or decreased by a unit of 2.5 degrees, the laser The power of the laser beam emitted from the oscillator 2 increases or decreases in units of 1 [W]. As a result, in the range of 0 [W] to 18 [W], the desired power is adjusted step by step in 18 steps of 1 [W] units.

  On the other hand, the control device (CPU) 9 changes the semiconductor laser that emits the excitation light of the laser oscillator 2 from the laser driving device 7 based on the first set value (power upper limit value) input from the first input device 8a. A drive current corresponding to the first set value (power upper limit value) designated by the first input device 8a is supplied, and the first set value (power upper limit value) designated by the first input device 8a from the laser oscillator 2 is supplied. The laser beam with the power can be emitted.

  Therefore, the power upper limit value of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 can be adjusted in the range of 0 [W] to 18 [W]. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the power upper limit value of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 can be changed from the maximum 18 [W] to 9 [W], which is half of the maximum.

  At this time, the half-wave plate 3 has 18 steps in the range of 0 ° to 45 ° in the unit of 2.5 degrees as in the case of 18 [W] when the power upper limit value is 9 [W]. The rotation angle is set stepwise. Accordingly, the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 increases or decreases in units of 0.5 [W]. As a result, in the range of 0 [W] to 9 [W], the desired power is adjusted stepwise in 18 steps of 0.5 [W] units.

  The galvanometer mirror 11 is disposed between the polarization beam splitter 4 and the workpiece 12. The galvanometer mirror 11 is driven by a drive source such as a motor (not shown). The driving speed is configured to accelerate from the start of driving until reaching a preset constant driving speed, that is, at the writing portion at the time of marking.

  When the rotation device 6 described above is in the middle of acceleration until the drive speed of the galvano mirror 11 reaches a constant drive speed, the power of the laser beam gradually increases to a set value set by the user. The half-wave plate 3 is rotated.

  That is, when the rotation device 6 is in the middle of acceleration until the driving speed of the galvanometer mirror 11 reaches a constant driving speed, the marking density on the workpiece 12 is uniform in all locations. The half-wave plate 3 is rotated. As a result, the laser output that has passed through the polarization beam splitter 4 is irradiated onto the workpiece 12 via the galvano mirror 11, and a wide variety of characters, symbols, figures, etc. are marked.

Next, effects of the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
(1) According to the above embodiment, the rotation angle (second set value) of the half-wave plate 3 is designated, and the power of the laser beam output from the laser oscillator 2 is adjusted stepwise. In addition to the first input device 8a, the first input device 8a for specifying the power upper limit value (first set value) of the power of the laser beam output from the laser oscillator 2 is provided.

  Then, based on the power upper limit value set by the first input device 8a, the control device 9 drives and controls the laser oscillator 2 via the laser drive device 7, and is set by the first input device 8a from the laser oscillator 2. The laser beam with the power upper limit value was emitted.

  Therefore, the power upper limit value of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 can be changed by the first input device 8a according to the material of the workpiece 12. For example, when the workpiece 12 is a metal, the upper power limit of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is 18 [W], and when the workpiece 12 is a resin, the laser emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is used. The optical power upper limit value can be set to 9 [W].

  At this time, even if the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is 18 [W] or 9 [W], respectively, the power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is changed to the second input device 8b. Can be optically adjusted step by step in 18 steps.

  In addition, when the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is in a large range of 0 [W] to 18 [W], 0 [W] to 9 [W] in steps of 1 [W]. In the case of a small range, adjustment can be made in steps of 0.5 [W]. Accordingly, since the unit that can be adjusted stepwise is changed according to the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2, even if the material of the workpiece 12 is changed, high-precision machining can be performed.

  (2) According to the above embodiment, the driving current is output from the laser driving device 7 to the semiconductor laser that emits the excitation light provided in the laser oscillator 2, and the power of the excitation light emitted from the semiconductor laser is adjusted. Thus, the laser beam having the specified upper limit power is emitted from the laser oscillator 2. Therefore, since laser beams of various powers can be emitted from the laser oscillator 2 by electrical control, the power adjustment control can be performed very easily.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, the half-wave plate 3 is rotated by the rotation device 6 with respect to the polarization beam splitter 4 in order to optically adjust the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2. This may be performed by rotating the polarization beam splitter 4 with respect to the half-wave plate 3 by, for example, the rotation device 6.

  In the above embodiment, the maximum power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is 18 [W]. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the maximum power of the laser light exceeds 18 [W]. Or the maximum power of the laser beam may be less than 18 [W].

  In the above embodiment, the drive current is output from the laser driving device 7 to the semiconductor laser that emits the excitation light provided in the laser oscillator 2 to adjust the power upper limit value of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2. I did it. This may be changed by using one polarizing plate for the power upper limit value of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a polarizing plate 31 as a second polarizing member is disposed between the laser oscillator 2 and the half-wave plate 3 (not shown in FIG. 4). The polarizing plate 31 is provided so as to be perpendicular to the optical axis C of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 and to be rotatable about the optical axis C.

  The laser oscillator 2 and the polarizing plate 31 are rotated about the optical axis C by the respective stepping motors (not shown). Each stepping motor is driven and controlled by the control device 9 via a motor drive circuit. The control device 9 outputs a control signal based on the power upper limit value designated by the first input device 8a to each motor drive circuit, drives each stepping motor via each motor drive circuit, and drives the laser oscillator 2 and the polarizing plate 31. Is set to the desired rotation angle.

  At this time, the one-step rotation angle θ1 of the polarizing plate 31 by one step by the stepping motor of the polarizing plate 31 is the same as the one-step rotation angle θ2 of the laser oscillator 2 by one step by the stepping motor of the laser oscillator 2 It is set to be.

In addition, the relative positions of the laser oscillator 2 and the polarizing plate 31 in the rotational direction are arranged with the phase shifted by an angle (= θ1 / 2) that is ½ of the one-step rotational angle θ1 (= θ2). .
And if the relative rotation position of the laser oscillator 2 and the polarizing plate 31 is changed in the range of 0 degrees to 90 degrees, the power upper limit value of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 to the half-wave plate 3 is changed. Can do.

  In addition, the relative position in the rotation direction of the laser oscillator 2 and the polarizing plate 31 is rotated by shifting the phase by an angle (= θ1 / 2) that is ½ of the one-step rotation angle θ1 (= θ2). Therefore, the power can be adjusted stepwise with a resolution twice that of the case where the power is adjusted stepwise without shifting.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a new polarizing member 32 is provided between the polarizing plate 31 and the half-wave plate 3 (not shown in FIG. 5). Then, the polarizing plate 31 and the polarizing plate 32 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the optical axis C of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 and to be rotatable about the optical axis C.

  Similarly to the above, each of the polarizing plates 31 and 32 is rotated from the laser oscillator 2 to the half-wave plate 3 by rotating the optical axis C about the rotation center by a stepping motor (not shown). It is possible to change the power upper limit value of the laser beam emitted to the laser beam.

  Further, the polarizing plate 32 is omitted, the polarizing beam splitter 4 is used instead of the polarizing plate 32, and the polarizing beam splitter 4 cooperates with the polarizing plate 31 to set the power upper limit value of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2. It may be changed. In this case, first, after setting the relative rotation position between the polarizing plate 31 and the polarizing beam splitter 4 and setting the power upper limit value of the laser light, the half-wave plate 3 is rotated to rotate the polarized beam. If the relative rotation position with respect to the splitter 4 is adjusted, the number of parts can be reduced and the power of the laser beam can be optically adjusted.

In the above embodiment, the user operates the operation switch of the first input device 8a to change the power upper limit value of the laser beam.
This data is stored in advance in the storage device 10 for each of the plurality of workpiece materials 12 for the optimum power of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 2 (power upper limit data). The first input device 8a can appropriately select and input the material of the workpiece 12 as material selection means.

  For example, optimal power upper limit data is stored in advance in the storage device 10 for each of stainless steel (SUS), anodized, polycarbonate, and the like. On the other hand, the first input device 8a is provided with a switch in which the material name of the workpiece 12 such as stainless steel (SUS), alumite, polycarbonate or the like is indicated.

  And if the material name of the workpiece 12 is input with the 1st input device 8a, the control apparatus 9 will read the data of the power upper limit value with respect to the material input with the 1st input device 8a. Based on the optimum power upper limit data read from the storage device 10, the control device 9 emits from the laser oscillator 2 a laser beam that becomes the optimum power upper limit value of the workpiece input by the first input device 8 a. A control signal for this is output to the laser driving device 7. Based on this control signal, the laser driving device 7 supplies the laser oscillator 2 with a driving current for emitting from the laser oscillator 2 a power upper limit value for the material name input by the first input device 8a.

  Therefore, the user can emit laser light having an optimum power upper limit value for each material of the processing object from the laser oscillator 2 only by selecting and inputting the material of the processing object, which requires a high degree of skill. It is possible to perform the pre-process of the laser processing operation to be performed in a short time and with high accuracy.

  The material selection may be performed by the second input device 8b. In this case, the rotation device 6 is driven and controlled to optically adjust the power. Furthermore, the power of the laser may be adjusted by appropriately controlling both the rotating device 6 and the laser driving device 7.

In the above embodiment, the half-wave plate 3 is set to 2.5 degrees for one step. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be implemented with appropriate changes.
In the above embodiment, the half-wave plate 3 is used as the wave plate. However, other wave plates such as a quarter-wave plate may be used. In this case, the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is changed between 0% and 100% by rotating the quarter wavelength plate in the range of 0 degree to 90 degrees.

  In the above embodiment, the half-wave plate 3 is rotated with respect to the polarization beam splitter 4. However, the polarization beam splitter 4 is rotated with respect to the half-wave plate 3. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the laser processing apparatus of the present invention is embodied as a laser marking apparatus, but may be applied to, for example, a laser processing apparatus that forms a groove on the surface of an object to be processed. In this case, a highly accurate groove can be formed.

The schematic block diagram of the laser marking apparatus of this embodiment. The figure explaining the power of the laser beam radiate | emitted from the laser oscillator with respect to the rotation angle of a 1/2 wavelength plate when the power of the laser beam radiate | emitted from a laser oscillator is 18 [W]. The figure explaining the power of the laser beam radiate | emitted from the laser oscillator with respect to the rotation angle of a 1/2 wavelength plate when the power of the laser beam radiate | emitted from a laser oscillator is 9 [W]. The principal part schematic block diagram of the laser marking apparatus for demonstrating another example of this invention. The principal part schematic block diagram of the laser marking apparatus for demonstrating another example of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the power of the laser beam radiate | emitted from the laser oscillator with respect to the rotation angle of a 1/2 wavelength plate for demonstrating the past.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser marking apparatus, 2 ... Laser oscillator, 3 ... 1/2 wavelength plate, 4 ... Polarization beam splitter, 5 ... Laser drive apparatus, 6 ... Turning apparatus, 8a ... 1st input device, 8b ... 2nd Input device, 9 ... control device, 10 ... storage device, 11 ... galvanomirror, 12 ... workpiece, 31,32 ... polarizing plate, C ... optical axis.

Claims (7)

Laser generating means for emitting laser light;
First power adjusting means for setting the power of laser light emitted from the laser generating means to be changeable by an external operation;
Of the laser light incident from the laser generating means, light passing means for emitting only laser light having a predetermined polarization direction;
At least one of the laser generating unit and the light passing unit is rotated about the optical axis of the laser beam, and the relative rotation angle between the laser generating unit and the light passing unit is changed. Rotation means for,
By rotating at least one of the laser generating means and the light passing means by the turning means, the power of the laser light for passing through the light passing means and irradiating the object to be processed is optically controlled. A laser processing apparatus comprising: a second power adjusting unit operable from outside to be adjustable. In the laser processing apparatus of Claim 1,
The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating means rotates the light passing means with respect to the laser generating means about the optical axis of the laser beam as a rotation center. In the laser processing apparatus of Claim 2,
In the light passing means in the second power adjusting means,
A wave plate rotated about the optical axis of the laser beam emitted from the laser generating means;
A first polarizing member that passes only laser light having a predetermined polarization direction out of the laser light that has passed through the wave plate; and
By driving the rotating means and rotating the wavelength plate about the optical axis as a rotation center, the relative rotation angle between the wavelength plate and the first polarizing member is determined. A laser processing apparatus for optically adjusting the power of a laser beam for irradiating a processing object. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The laser generating means includes
A laser light source;
A second polarizing member that passes only a predetermined polarization direction of the laser light from the laser light source is provided;
The first power adjusting means rotates at least one of the second polarizing member and the laser light source around the optical axis to change a relative rotation angle around the optical axis, thereby changing the relative rotation angle around the optical axis. A laser processing apparatus capable of changing the power of laser light emitted from a laser light source. In the laser processing apparatus of Claim 4,
The second polarizing member and the laser light source are each rotated at a predetermined one-step rotation angle,
The one-step rotation angle of the second polarizing member and the one-step rotation angle of the laser light source are set at the same step angle,
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the second polarizing member and the laser light source are disposed with a rotation angle shifted by a half of the one step rotation angle. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The laser generating means includes
A laser light source;
Laser driving means for driving the laser light source, and
The laser processing apparatus characterized in that the first power adjusting means can change the power of laser light emitted from the laser light source by changing a drive signal of the laser driving means. In the laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Storage means for storing data of optimum power of laser light for irradiating the material for each of a plurality of materials;
Material selection means for selecting the plurality of materials,
At least one of the first and second power adjustment means reads the optimum power data stored in the storage means for the material selected by the material selection means, and based on the read optimum power data A laser processing apparatus that sets the power of laser light emitted from a laser generating means or the power of laser light that passes through the light passing means and irradiates a workpiece.

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