JP5201975B2 - Laser processing apparatus and laser processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a laser marking device, a laser machining apparatus for machining such as printing by irradiating a laser beam to the workpiece, a laser machining how.

  The laser processing apparatus scans a laser beam within a predetermined region and irradiates the surface of a processing target (work) such as a component or product with a laser beam to perform processing such as printing or marking. An example of the configuration of the laser processing apparatus is shown in FIG. The laser processing apparatus shown in this figure includes a laser control unit 1, a laser output unit 2, and an input unit 3. The excitation light generated by the laser excitation unit 6 of the laser control unit 1 is irradiated to the laser medium 8 constituting the oscillator by the laser oscillation unit 50 of the laser output unit 2 to cause laser oscillation. The laser oscillation light is emitted from the emission end face of the laser medium 8, the beam diameter is enlarged by the beam expander 53, is reflected by an optical member such as a mirror as necessary, and is guided to the laser light scanning unit 9. The laser beam scanning unit 9 reflects the laser beam L with a galvanometer mirror or the like and polarizes it in a desired direction. A condensing unit 15 is provided below the laser beam scanning unit 9. The condensing part 15 is comprised with the condensing lens for condensing so that a working area may be irradiated with a laser beam, and an f (theta) lens is used. The laser beam L output from the condensing unit 15 is scanned on the surface of the workpiece WK and performs processing such as printing.

  FIG. 75 shows details of the laser beam scanning unit 9 for scanning the laser output light on the workpiece. The laser beam scanning unit 9 includes X / Y-axis scanners 14a and 14b constituting a pair of galvanometer mirrors, and galvano motors 51a and 51b for rotating the respective galvanometer mirrors to the respective rotation axes. . As shown in FIG. 75, the X / Y-axis scanners 14a and 14b are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other, and can scan the laser beam by reflecting it in the X and Y directions.

Further, in the laser processing apparatus shown in FIG. 75, the focal position in the optical axis direction can be adjusted by adding a Z-axis scanner 14c. Thereby, not only the processing in the two-dimensional plane but also the three-dimensional processing is possible by changing the focal position of the laser beam in the height direction, that is, the Z-axis direction. The Z-axis scanner 14c includes an incident lens facing the laser oscillating unit and an exit lens facing the laser emitting side. The lens is slid with a drive motor or the like to relatively change the distance between the lenses. The focus position, that is, the working distance (WD) in the height direction can be adjusted.
JP 2000-202655 A

  In such a laser processing apparatus capable of three-dimensional processing, a laser beam is scanned based on three-dimensional laser processing data for processing. At this time, three-dimensional laser processing data can be easily created by associating the Z coordinate with the XY coordinate from the three-dimensional shape data of the workpiece. With this association, if the XY coordinates are obtained, the Z coordinate is uniquely determined. Therefore, the processing of the laser processing apparatus can be simplified as almost the same processing as that for handling two-dimensional data, and three-dimensional coordinates can be easily obtained. Can be sought. At the time of processing, when the X-axis and Y-axis scanners are driven to move the XY coordinates of the scanning position of the laser light, the Z-axis scanner is driven and the Z coordinates are moved in accordance with this.

  On the other hand, in the laser processing apparatus, the response time of the scanner driving motor, that is, the time until the actual position (current angle) of the scanner and the control position (target angle) coincide with each other does not pass. Cannot be processed into position. The response characteristics of the scanner, that is, the response time required to actually complete the operation after the operation instruction is given to the scanner varies depending on the scanner. In particular, in a laser processing apparatus capable of three-dimensional processing having an X, Y, and Z axis scanner, the response characteristics of the Z axis scanner tend to be inferior as compared with the X and Y axis scanners. For example, as shown in FIG. 75, an X / Y-axis scanner scans with a mirror that is rotated by a galvano scanner, whereas a Z-axis scanner has a mechanism that translates the lens itself in the optical axis direction. For this reason, the Z-axis scanner is disadvantageous in response characteristics of the Z-axis scanner compared to the X / Y-axis scanner due to the operation mechanism that converts the rotational motion using the motor into the parallel movement. The Z-axis scanner can be driven by a cylinder, a piston or the like without using a motor, but this case is also disadvantageous in terms of response speed compared to the X / Y-axis scanner.

  As a result, in the case of performing control in which the XY coordinate data of the processing position is associated with the Z coordinate data obtained by projecting the XY coordinate data in the vertical direction, the X · The scanning distance of the Y-axis scanner and the scanning distance on the actual processing target surface including the Z-axis do not match. For this reason, although the scanning distance differs between when the height difference in the Z-axis direction is large and small, the XY coordinates are scanned at the same scanning speed, resulting in uneven processing quality. There's a problem. In other words, even if the actual processing target surface has a three-dimensional shape, if the XY coordinates are scanned at a uniform scanning speed, the scanning speed at each position on the processing target surface changes depending on the gradient of the Z coordinate. End up. For example, consider two processing target surfaces having different height differences between adjacent coordinate positions A1 and A2 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 60 (a), when there is almost no change in the height difference between the coordinate positions A1 and A2, that is, the Z coordinate, the movement in the Z direction, that is, the scanning distance of the Z-axis scanner is small. On the other hand, when the height difference between the coordinate positions A1 and A2 changes greatly as shown in FIG. 60B, the scanning distance of the Z-axis scanner also increases. As a result, since the relative speed on the surface to be processed is increased, the processing time is shortened and the power given to the surface to be processed is reduced, so that the processing depth becomes shallow, the print density becomes thin, or The print width becomes narrow, which may cause printing failure. Further, in the case where the same processing target surface includes portions with different heights as shown in FIGS. 60A and 60B, the printing processing result becomes non-uniform, resulting in uneven processing quality.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems. One object of the present invention, in the laser processing apparatus Mixed different scanner response characteristics, the laser processing apparatus capable of processing at a constant quality regardless of the height difference between the processed surface, to provide a laser processing method is there.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

The laser processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a laser processing apparatus capable of irradiating a processing target surface with laser light to process it into a desired processing pattern, and a laser oscillation unit for generating laser light And a Z-axis capable of adjusting the focal position in the optical axis direction of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillation unit as a laser beam scanning unit for scanning the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillation unit in a work area A laser beam scanning unit comprising: a scanner; an X-axis scanner for scanning the laser beam transmitted through the Z-axis scanner in the X-axis direction; and a Y-axis scanner for scanning in the Y-axis direction; A laser drive control unit for controlling the laser beam scanning unit and the laser beam scanning unit, a laser beam output condition and a machining pattern on the XY coordinate plane as a machining condition for machining into a desired machining pattern. A machining condition setting unit for setting the three-dimensional shape, the XY coordinate position of the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit, and the XY coordinates perpendicular to the three-dimensional shape of the machining pattern. An X axis of the laser beam scanning unit in a correspondence storage unit for associating and storing a correspondence relationship with the Z coordinate position projected in the direction, and a spatial coordinate constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit In accordance with the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the direction and / or the Y-axis direction, the machining condition setting unit sets the machining amount on the surface to be machined to a constant value. A machining amount correcting means for automatically correcting the machining conditions, and the machining condition setting unit 3 is configured to paste a machining pattern for setting a three-dimensional shape onto the machining target surface in an orthogonal projection. Dimensional shape Data input means, and basic figure designation means for pasting a machining pattern on a development view in which the basic figure is developed in a planar shape, and the correspondence relation storage unit is input by the three-dimensional shape data input means. The dimensional coordinates are stored in association with the correspondence between the projection of the XY coordinates of the machining pattern in the vertical direction and the corresponding XY coordinates, and the machining amount correction unit is configured to store the XY coordinate plane on the XY coordinate plane. Each XY coordinate data of the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit based on a preset basic movement unit, which is the basis of movement control when scanning with the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner , Disassembling according to the processing order by the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner , calculating the amount of movement of the Z coordinate in each disassembled basic movement unit , the laser drive control unit, In order to adjust the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner in the basic movement unit section on the XY coordinates corresponding to the Z coordinate according to the calculated movement amount of the Z coordinate, The X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is controlled based on each XY coordinate data stored in the storage unit, and each Z coordinate data corresponding to each XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit is read out. The Z-axis scanner can be controlled so that the position of the read Z coordinate data is in focus . Thus, when the laser beam scanning unit scans the surface to be processed, the laser beam scanning unit is driven under the corrected processing condition corrected by the processing amount correcting unit according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. As such, it can be controlled by the laser drive controller. As a result, the correction processing conditions are automatically calculated and corrected so that the processing amount is constant regardless of the amount of movement in the Z-axis direction. It can be kept homogeneous. In addition, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner in the basic movement unit section on the XY coordinates on the XY coordinate where the movement amount of the Z coordinate is large is the scanning of the X / Y-axis scanner on the basic movement unit section on the XY coordinates in the section where the change amount is small. The scanning of these X / Y-axis scanners can be controlled so as to be slower than the speed, and the control of such X / Y-axis scanners makes it possible to focus on the position of the Z coordinate data corresponding to each XY coordinate data. As a result, the response speed of the Z-axis scanner can be matched, so that the Z-axis scanner can be moved to a predetermined position at the same timing as the X / Y-axis scanner regardless of the amount of movement of the Z coordinate. Can be obtained.

According to the laser machining apparatus of the second invention, the laser drive control unit controls the laser oscillation unit and the laser beam scanning unit including the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner. The processing condition setting unit processes a laser beam output condition including the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner as a processing condition for processing into a desired processing pattern, and a processing pattern on the XY coordinate plane. And a three-dimensional shape thereof , and the processing amount correction means uses the X-axis direction of the laser beam scanning unit and / or the spatial coordinates constituting the processing pattern set by the processing condition setting unit. The X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis so as to bring the machining amount on the surface to be machined to a constant value according to the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the Y-axis direction. Is for setting a correction scanning speed scanner, when the laser beam scanning unit scans the processed surface, in accordance with the amount of movement in the Z direction of the Z-axis scanner, the X-axis scanner and / or Y The laser drive control unit can be configured to control the laser beam scanning unit so that the scanning speed of the axial scanner is driven at the corrected scanning speed corrected by the processing amount correcting unit. As a result, when the movement amount of the Z-axis scanner is large, the correction scanning speed is adjusted so as to slow down the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner. The processing result can be obtained, and high quality processing with uniform processing quality is realized.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the processing condition setting unit includes a laser beam output condition including a laser irradiation power applied to the processing target surface as a processing condition for processing into a desired processing pattern, and XY A processing pattern on a coordinate plane and a three-dimensional shape thereof are set , and the laser beam scanning unit is configured so that the processing amount correction unit has spatial coordinates constituting the processing pattern set by the processing condition setting unit. In the machining condition setting unit, the machining amount on the machining target surface is brought close to a constant value according to the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction. is intended to automatically correct the set correction laser irradiation power, when the laser beam scanning unit scans the processed surface, in accordance with the amount of movement in the Z direction of the Z-axis scanner, the pressure To drive the laser beam scanning unit with the corrected corrected laser irradiation power in an amount correcting means can be controllably constituted by the laser drive controller. As a result, when the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner is large, the correction laser irradiation power is automatically reset so as to increase the laser irradiation power, thereby obtaining a constant processing result regardless of the height difference of the processing target surface. And high quality processing with uniform processing quality is realized.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the fourth invention, the basic movement unit can be made to coincide with the resolution of the XY coordinate which is the minimum movement unit on the XY coordinate plane of the X-axis scanner and the Y-axis scanner. Thereby, since the height difference in the Z-axis direction is calculated finely and the scanning speed of each section is controlled, it is possible to process with high processing quality.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the basic movement unit can be arbitrarily set. Thereby, a more flexible setting according to the required processing speed and processing quality becomes possible. For example, when priority is given to the processing speed over the processing quality, a basic movement unit longer than the resolution of the XY coordinates may be set as the basic movement unit.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the sixth invention, the processing amount correction means reads the scanning speed data corresponding to the movement amount of the Z coordinate from the correction processing amount storage unit stored in advance, thereby correcting the processing amount. Can be configured to determine. Thereby, it is possible to easily specify the corrected machining amount by the machining amount correction unit, and it is possible to reduce the processing load of the machining amount correction unit and increase the speed.

Further, according to the laser processing apparatus of the seventh invention, the processing amount correction means calculates the scanning speed data corresponding to the movement amount of the Z coordinate based on a preset arithmetic expression, thereby correcting the processing amount. Can be configured to determine. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately determine the correction processing amount based on the theoretical formula, the curve data, and the like without using a table or the like.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the processing amount correction means can calculate the movement amount of the Z coordinate in real time. Thereby, the timing which calculates scanning speed data can be made into real time, scanning.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the ninth invention, the processing amount correction means can calculate the movement amount of the Z coordinate based on the printing order and the basic movement unit in advance. As described above, when the processing pattern is positioned in the stage before processing and the processing order is fixed, the scanning speed data can be calculated in advance, and the correction processing amount held in advance as data can be set as needed. By reading, it is possible to determine the correction processing amount with low load and high speed.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the tenth aspect of the invention, the processing amount correction means is configured to change the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner according to the movement direction on the XY coordinates in addition to the movement amount of the Z coordinates. The scanning speed can be adjusted. As a result, the scanning speed can be changed in accordance with the movement of either the X-axis scanner or the Y-axis scanner or the simultaneous movement of both. For example, the scanning speed may be controlled based on ΔXY and ΔZ by setting 1 when moving vertically and horizontally on the XY coordinates and setting 1.5 when moving diagonally.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus in accordance with the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the correspondence relationship storage unit can store in advance a three-dimensional basic figure associating the correspondence relationship between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position as a machining pattern. Thereby, it is possible to automatically determine the correspondence between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position by designating the basic figure.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the twelfth aspect of the invention, the correspondence relationship storage unit can be configured to be able to read a data file that associates the correspondence relationship between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position prepared externally. As a result, a data file such as CAD data produced separately can be read to determine the correspondence between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position.

Further, according to the laser processing apparatus of the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a three-dimensional shape data input means for inputting the three-dimensional shape data of the surface to be processed, and the three-dimensional data input to the three-dimensional shape data input means Positioning means for positioning the processing position of the three-dimensional processing pattern set by the processing condition setting unit with respect to the shape data.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing apparatus of the fourteenth aspect , the Z-axis scanner can be configured so that the scanning speed can be adjusted.

Furthermore, according to the laser processing method of the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a laser processing method for processing a surface to be processed into a desired processing pattern by irradiating the processing target surface with laser light, wherein the processing conditions for processing into the desired processing pattern The laser beam output condition, the machining pattern on the XY coordinate plane, and its three-dimensional shape are set, and the XY coordinate position of the machining pattern and the XY coordinate are projected in the vertical direction with respect to the three-dimensional shape of the machining pattern. The X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis of the laser beam scanning unit that scans the laser beam in the step of setting the machining pattern associated with the corresponding relationship with the Z coordinate position, and the spatial coordinates constituting the set machining pattern In accordance with the reference value, the Z-axis scanning unit constituting the laser beam scanning unit is set so that the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the direction approaches a preset reference value. For each movement of the channel, the step of correcting the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, which also constitutes the laser beam scanning unit, to the corrected scanning rate, and the laser beam scanning unit scans the surface to be processed. The laser beam scanning unit is driven so that the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is driven at the corrected scanning speed according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. A process condition for setting a three-dimensional shape, including a control step, and pasting a processing pattern onto the surface to be processed by an orthogonal projection with a three-dimensional shape data input means or a basic figure specifying means One of the steps of pasting a processing pattern on a development view in which a figure is developed in a planar shape is included, and the association of the correspondence is for the three-dimensional shape input by the three-dimensional shape data input means, Including the step of associating the correspondence between the projection of the XY coordinates of the work pattern in the vertical direction and the corresponding XY coordinates and storing them in the correspondence storage unit, and the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner Is corrected based on a preset basic movement unit, which is the basis of movement control when scanning on the XY coordinate plane with the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner. The step of decomposing each XY coordinate data of the processing pattern set by the condition setting according to the processing order by the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, and calculating the movement amount of the Z coordinate in each decomposed basic movement unit And controlling the laser beam scanning unit in a basic movement unit section on the XY coordinate corresponding to the Z coordinate according to the calculated movement amount of the Z coordinate. Controlling the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner based on the XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit so as to adjust the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner; Reading out each Z coordinate data corresponding to each XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit and controlling the Z-axis scanner so that the position of the read Z coordinate data is in focus. it can. As a result, when the movement amount of the Z-axis scanner is large, by reducing the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, a constant processing result can be obtained regardless of the height difference of the processing target surface. High quality processing with uniform processing quality is realized.

According Furthermore laser processing apparatus according to the embodiment, by irradiating a laser beam to the processing target surface, and an operation program of a laser processing apparatus for processing a desired processing pattern, into a desired processing pattern As a processing condition to perform, a laser beam output condition, a processing pattern on the XY coordinate plane, and its three-dimensional shape are set, and the XY coordinate position of the processing pattern and the XY coordinate are perpendicular to the three-dimensional shape of the processing pattern. A function of setting a processing pattern that associates the correspondence with the Z coordinate position projected in the direction, and the X-axis direction of the laser beam scanning unit that scans the laser beam in the spatial coordinates constituting the set processing pattern and / or Alternatively, the laser beam scanning unit according to the reference value so that the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the Y-axis direction approaches a preset reference value. A function for correcting the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, which also constitutes the laser beam scanning unit, to a corrected scanning rate for each movement of the Z-axis scanner that constitutes the laser beam scanning unit, When scanning above, the laser beam is driven so that the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is driven at the corrected scanning speed according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. The function of controlling the scanning unit and the computer can be realized. As a result, when the movement amount of the Z-axis scanner is large, by reducing the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, a constant processing result can be obtained regardless of the height difference of the processing target surface. High quality processing with uniform processing quality is realized.

Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium according to the embodiment stores the above program. Recording media include CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, flexible disk, magnetic tape, MO, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD + R, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, Blu-ray, HD A medium that can store programs such as a magnetic disk such as a DVD (AOD), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like is included. The program includes a program distributed in a download manner through a network line such as the Internet, in addition to a program stored and distributed in the recording medium. Further, the recording medium includes a device capable of recording the program, for example, a general purpose or dedicated device in which the program is implemented in a state where the program can be executed in the form of software, firmware, or the like. Furthermore, each process and function included in the program may be executed by computer-executable program software, or each part of the process or hardware may be executed by hardware such as a predetermined gate array (FPGA, ASIC), or program software. And a partial hardware module that realizes a part of hardware elements may be mixed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below, the laser processing apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention are intended to illustrate the laser machining how, the present invention is a laser processing apparatus, a laser processing how below Not specific to anything. Further, the present specification by no means specifies the members shown in the claims to the members of the embodiments. In particular, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the constituent members described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to the description unless otherwise specified. It's just an example. Note that the size, positional relationship, and the like of the members shown in each drawing may be exaggerated for clarity of explanation. Furthermore, in the following description, the same name and symbol indicate the same or the same members, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, each element constituting the present invention may be configured such that a plurality of elements are constituted by the same member and the plurality of elements are shared by one member, and conversely, the function of one member is constituted by a plurality of members. It can also be realized by sharing. In addition, the contents described in some examples and embodiments may be used in other examples and embodiments.

  In this specification, the connection between the laser processing apparatus and computers, printers, external storage devices and other peripheral devices for operation, control, input / output, display, and other processing connected thereto is, for example, IEEE 1394, RS- 232x, RS-422, RS-423, RS-485, USB, PS2, etc., serial connection, parallel connection, or 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T, etc. I do. The connection is not limited to a physical connection using a wire, but may be a wireless connection using radio waves such as IEEE802.1x, OFDM, etc., Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared rays, optical communication, or the like. Furthermore, a memory card, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used as a recording medium for storing processing pattern data or settings.

  In the following embodiments, a laser marker will be described as an example of a laser processing apparatus embodying the present invention. However, in this specification, the laser processing apparatus can be used in general for laser application equipment regardless of its name. For example, laser processing such as laser oscillators and various laser processing apparatuses, drilling, marking, trimming, scribing, surface treatment, and laser processing, Other laser application fields as a light source, for example, a light source for high-density recording / playback of optical discs such as DVD and Blu-ray (registered trademark), a light source for communication, a printing device, a light source for illumination, a light source for a display device such as a display, It can be suitably used in medical devices and the like.

  In this specification, printing will be described as a representative example of processing. However, as described above, printing is not limited to printing processing, and it can be used in all types of processing using laser light such as melting, peeling, surface oxidation, cutting, and discoloration. it can. In addition, the term “printing” is used in a concept including various kinds of processing described above in addition to marking of characters, symbols, figures and the like. Furthermore, in this specification, processing patterns are used to include hiragana, katakana, kanji, alphabets and numbers, symbols, pictograms, icons, logos, graphics such as barcodes and two-dimensional codes, and even shapes such as lines and curves. To do. In particular, in this specification, a character indicated by a character or symbol means a character that can be read by an optical reader such as OCR, and is a concept that includes numerals, symbols, hiragana and katakana, as well as numbers and symbols. The symbol means a bar code or a two-dimensional code.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the laser processing apparatus 100. A laser processing apparatus 100 shown in this figure includes a laser control unit 1, a laser output unit 2, and an input unit 3.
(Input unit 3)

The input unit 3 is connected to the laser control unit 1, inputs necessary settings for operating the laser processing apparatus, and transmits them to the laser control unit 1. The setting contents are operating conditions of the laser processing apparatus, specific printing contents, and the like. The input unit 3 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a console. In addition, a display unit 82 for confirming input information input by the input unit 3 and displaying the state of the laser control unit 1 and the like can be separately provided. As the display unit 82, a monitor such as an LCD or a cathode ray tube can be used. If a touch panel method is used, the input unit and the display unit can also be used. Accordingly, the necessary setting of the laser processing apparatus can be performed at the input unit without externally connecting a computer or the like. The input unit 3 also functions as a processing condition setting unit for setting a laser beam output condition and a processing pattern as processing conditions for processing into a desired processing pattern.
(Laser controller 1)

  The laser control unit 1 includes a laser drive control unit 4, a memory unit 5, a laser excitation unit 6, and a power source 7. The memory unit 5 holds various setting contents input from the input unit 3. The laser drive control unit 4 controls the laser oscillation unit 50 and the laser beam scanning unit 9. Specifically, the setting content is read from the memory unit 5 when necessary, and the laser excitation unit 6 is operated based on a print signal corresponding to the print content to excite the laser medium 8 of the laser output unit 2. The memory unit 5 can use a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a ROM. Further, the memory unit 5 can be incorporated in the laser control unit 1, or a semiconductor memory card such as a detachable PC card or SD card, or a memory card such as a card-type hard disk can be used. The memory unit 5 composed of a memory card can be easily rewritten by an external device such as a computer. The contents set by the computer are written in the memory card and set in the laser control unit 1 so that the input unit is laser controlled. Settings can be made without connecting to the unit. In particular, a semiconductor memory is fast in reading and writing data and has no mechanical operation part, so it is resistant to vibrations and can prevent data loss accidents due to a crash like a hard disk.

  The memory unit 5 stores setting information and font data. The setting information includes information such as the type and size of characters and marks to be printed, the printing position, and the printing direction. Setting information given to the controller 1 </ b> A from the input unit 3, laser processing data setting device 180, computer or other external device 190 is temporarily stored in the memory unit 5. The laser drive control unit 4 of the controller 1A reads the setting information and generates development information when the power is turned on or when the setting is changed. That is, development information including line segment data and laser control data for defining a locus to be traced by the laser beam is generated from the setting information relating to the print contents and the font data. The generated development information is transferred from the controller 1A to the marking head 150 (FIG. 10, etc.) in accordance with a print execution command (trigger signal). In the marking head 150, the galvanometer mirror is controlled based on the line segment data included in the received development information, and laser ON / OFF control is performed based on the laser control data. Thus, the printing process is performed on the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the memory unit 5 includes a setting information memory 5a, a basic character line segment information memory 5b, and a development information memory 5c. The setting information memory 5a is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a battery-backed SRAM or EEPROM, and can retain the stored contents even when the power is turned off. The setting information stored in the setting information memory 5a includes information on printing contents such as the type, size, position, and direction of characters or marks to be printed. The basic character line segment information memory 5b is also constituted by a non-volatile memory such as SRAM or EEPROM backed up by a battery. The basic character line segment information memory 5b stores basic characters such as various characters and marks used for printing and basic line segment information (basic character line segment information). By managing this basic character / line segment information as common data for printing contents, the amount of information of each setting information can be reduced. Accordingly, the basic character line segment information stored in the basic character line segment information memory 5b is referred to when the development information is generated from the setting information. Further, as the development information memory 5c, a volatile memory such as a DRAM capable of storing a large amount of information at a low cost although the stored contents disappear when the power is turned off is used. The expansion information generated from the setting information and the basic character line segment information is temporarily stored in the expansion information memory 5c and is referred to when printing. The development information is time-series data composed of a plurality of bits including line segment data defining a locus that the laser beam should follow for printing and laser control data for laser ON / OFF control.

  Further, the memory unit 5 also functions as a correspondence storage unit for storing a correspondence relationship between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position in association with the three-dimensional shape of the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit. Here, the setting information memory 5a corresponds to a correspondence storage unit.

  Further, the laser drive controller 4 scans the laser beam scanning unit 9 of the laser output unit 2 in order to scan the laser beam L oscillated by the laser medium 8 on the print object (work) WK so as to perform the set printing. A scanning signal to be operated is output to the laser beam scanning unit 9. The power source 7 applies a predetermined voltage to the laser excitation unit 6 as a constant voltage power source. The print signal for controlling the print operation is a PWM signal corresponding to one pulse of the laser light L that is oscillated by switching on / off of the laser light L according to the HIGH / LOW. Although the laser intensity of the PWM signal is determined based on a duty ratio corresponding to the frequency, the laser intensity may be changed depending on the scanning speed based on the frequency.

In addition, the laser drive control unit 4 has a relative position in the Z-axis direction with respect to the movement amount of the laser beam scanning unit in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction in the spatial coordinates constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit. It can also function as a machining amount correction means for automatically correcting the machining conditions set by the machining condition setting unit so that the machining amount on the machining target surface approaches a constant value according to the ratio of the amount of movement. it can.
(Laser excitation unit 6)

The laser excitation unit 6 includes a laser excitation light source 10 and a laser excitation light source condensing unit 11 that are optically bonded. An example of the inside of the laser excitation unit 6 is shown in the perspective view of FIG. The laser excitation unit 6 shown in this figure has a laser excitation light source 10 and a laser excitation light source condensing unit 11 fixed in a laser excitation unit casing 12. The laser excitation unit casing 12 is made of a metal such as copper having good thermal conductivity, and efficiently radiates the laser excitation light source 10 to the outside. The laser excitation light source 10 includes a semiconductor laser (Laser Diode: LD), an excitation lamp, and the like. In the example of FIG. 2, a laser diode array in which a plurality of semiconductor laser diode elements are arranged in a straight line is used, and laser oscillation from each element is output in a line. Laser oscillation enters the incident surface of the laser excitation light source condensing unit 11 and is output as laser excitation light condensed from the emission surface. The laser excitation light source condensing unit 11 is composed of a focusing lens or the like. Laser excitation light from the laser excitation light source condensing unit 11 is incident on the laser medium 8 of the laser output unit 2 through an optical fiber cable 13 or the like. The laser excitation light source 10, the laser excitation light source condensing unit 11, and the optical fiber cable 13 are optically coupled via a space or an optical fiber.
(Laser output unit 2)

The laser output unit 2 includes a laser oscillation unit 50. The laser oscillation unit 50 that generates the laser light L includes a laser medium 8, an output mirror and a total reflection mirror that are arranged to face each other at a predetermined distance along the optical path of the stimulated emission light emitted from the laser medium 8, and Apertures disposed between the Q switch 19 and the like. The Q switch 19 is disposed facing one end surface so as to be positioned on the optical axis of the laser emitted from the laser medium 8. By using the Q switch 19, continuous oscillation can be changed to high-speed repetitive pulse oscillation with a high peak output value (peak value). The Q switch 19 is connected to a Q switch control circuit that generates an RF signal to be applied thereto. The laser oscillation unit 50 amplifies the stimulated emission light emitted from the laser medium 8 by multiple reflection between the output mirror and the total reflection mirror, and cuts off the aperture in a short period by the operation of the Q switch 19. The mode is selected by the above, and the laser beam L is output through the output mirror. The laser medium 8 is excited by the laser excitation light incident from the laser excitation unit 6 via the optical fiber cable 13 and is oscillated. The laser medium 8 employs a so-called end pumping excitation method in which laser excitation light is input from one end surface of the rod shape and is excited, and laser light L is emitted from the other end surface.
(Laser medium 8)

In the above example, a rod-shaped Nd: YVO ₄ crystal is used as the laser medium 8. The wavelength of the pumping semiconductor laser of the solid laser medium was set to 808 nm, which is the center wavelength of the Nd: YVO ₄ absorption spectrum. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and other solid-state laser media such as rare earth doped YAG, LiSrF, LiCaF, YLF, NAB, KNP, LNP, NYAB, NPP, GGG, etc. can also be used. Moreover, the wavelength of the laser beam L to be output can be converted into an arbitrary wavelength by combining a wavelength conversion element with the solid laser medium. The present invention can also be applied to a so-called fiber laser that uses a fiber as an oscillator instead of a bulk as a solid laser medium. Furthermore, it is also possible to use a wavelength conversion element that does not use a solid laser medium, in other words, does not constitute a resonator that oscillates laser light, and performs only wavelength conversion. In this case, wavelength conversion is performed on the output light of the semiconductor laser.

Examples of the wavelength conversion element include KTP (KTiPO ₄ ), organic nonlinear optical materials and other inorganic nonlinear optical materials such as KN (KNbO ₃ ), KAP (KAsPO ₄ ), BBO (β-BaB ₂ O ₄ ), LBO ( LiB ₃ O ₅ ) and bulk-type polarization inversion elements (LiNbO ₃ (Periodically Polled Lithium Niobate: PPLN), LiTaO _3, etc.) can be used. Further, a semiconductor laser for an excitation light source of a laser by up-conversion using a fluoride fiber doped with rare earth such as Ho, Er, Tm, Sm, and Nd can be used. Thus, in this embodiment, various types can be appropriately used as a laser generation source.

Furthermore, the laser oscillator unit 50 is not limited to the solid-state laser, CO ₂ and helium - it neon, argon, also use a gas laser using a gas such as nitrogen as a medium. For example, when a carbon dioxide laser is used, the laser oscillation unit is filled with carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) inside the laser oscillation unit and has an electrode built in. The laser oscillation is based on a print signal given from the laser control unit. The carbon dioxide in the unit is excited to cause laser oscillation.
(Bidirectional excitation method)

  As a configuration for exciting the solid-state laser medium, a so-called end-pumping one-way excitation method is used in which excitation light for exciting the solid-state laser medium is incident from only one end face to be excited, and laser light is emitted from the other end face. it can. Also, a two-way excitation method in which excitation light is irradiated from the front and rear end faces of the solid-state laser medium can be employed. In the bi-directional excitation, in addition to a configuration in which LDs serving as excitation light sources are arranged on each end surface, a configuration in which excitation light from a single LD is branched by an optical fiber or the like and pumped from both end surfaces of a solid laser medium Is available.

In particular, in a laser processing apparatus that excites a solid laser medium, 30% to 40% of the excitation power is lost due to heat due to the limit of quantum efficiency. Therefore, in order to exhibit the extreme performance, it is necessary to solve various thermal problems such as thermal birefringence, thermal lens, thermal doublet lens, and destruction due to heat, which are manifested by strong excitation. In particular, in an LD-pumped solid-state laser processing apparatus, heat generated by the absorption of pumping light of the solid-state laser medium induces a lens effect on the crystal itself, thereby generating a thermal lens. The thermal lens significantly impedes the stability of the laser resonator and becomes a major obstacle to the resonator design. By adopting the two-way excitation method, such a problem can be reduced. Further, in the two-way excitation method, it is possible to suppress the generation of a thermal lens or the like by using a single excitation light source as a laser excitation unit and branching it from each end face. In addition, the effect of improving the stability with respect to the excitation wavelength and the rise characteristic can be obtained.
(Laser beam scanning unit 9)

  The laser oscillation obtained by the laser oscillation unit 50 is scanned by the laser beam scanning unit 9. The laser beam scanning unit 9 is shown in FIGS. In these drawings, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the laser beam scanning unit 9 of the laser processing apparatus, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3 viewed from the reverse direction, and FIG. 5 is a side view. Yes. The laser processing apparatus shown in these drawings includes a beam expander 53 having a built-in Z-axis scanner whose optical path coincides with a laser oscillation unit 50 that generates laser light L, an X-axis scanner 14a, and an X-axis scanner 14a. And a Y-axis scanner 14b arranged to do so. The laser beam scanning unit 9 causes the laser beam L emitted from the laser oscillation unit 50 to scan two-dimensionally in the work area WS by the X-axis scanner 14a and the Y-axis scanner 14b, and further the height by the Z-axis scanner 14c. The working distance, that is, the focal length can be adjusted in the direction, and printing can be performed three-dimensionally. Needless to say, the X-axis scanner, the Y-axis scanner, and the Z-axis scanner can function similarly even if they are interchanged. For example, the laser beam emitted from the Z-axis scanner may be received by the Y-axis scanner, or the Y-axis may be controlled by the X-axis scanner and the Z-axis may be controlled by the Y-axis scanner. In the figure, the fθ lens which is a condensing lens is not shown.

  In general, in a laser processing apparatus, an fθ lens is disposed between the second mirror and the work area in order to focus the laser light reflected by the second mirror (Y-axis scanner) so as to irradiate the work area. A condensing lens called is arranged. The fθ lens performs correction in the Z-axis direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, correction is performed such that the focal position is extended toward the end of the work area WS and positioned on the workpiece processing surface. Since the focal position of the laser beam is an arc-shaped trajectory, when the surface to be processed is a flat surface, the focal position is set so that the focal position is at a position vertically below, the center of the plane WM indicating the surface to be processed in FIG. Then, the further away from the center, that is, the closer to the periphery of the work area WS, the farther the focal position is from the surface to be processed (laser light L ′), the focus is not adjusted, and the processing accuracy decreases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, correction is performed by the fθ lens so that the focal position of the laser light L becomes longer as the end of the work area WS is approached. The focal position of the laser beam L can be positioned on the plane WM by virtually converting the plane WM of the processing target surface into a convex curved correction surface indicated by WM ′.

  In the laser marker, for example, when it is desired to form a beam having a spot diameter smaller than about 50 μm, it is preferable to arrange an fθ lens. On the other hand, when a beam diameter larger than the small spot diameter described above and having a spot diameter of about 100 μm (usually used spot diameter) is adopted, the Z-axis assembly provided in the beam expander on the Z-axis scanner side is used. By moving the optical lens in the Z-axis direction, correction in the Z-axis direction that should be performed by the fθ lens can be performed as correction control. Thereby, when the spot diameter is large, the fθ lens can be omitted. In the example of FIG. 6A described above, correction in the Z-axis direction to be performed by the fθ lens is performed by correction control of the Z-axis scanner. On the other hand, when the spot diameter is small, the focus position is not sufficiently adjusted by the correction by the Z-axis scanner, so the fθ lens is used as described above. In the present embodiment, three types of small spot, standard, and wide spot are prepared as laser beam spot diameters, and only the small spot type among them is used to correct distortion at the end of the work area WS with the fθ lens. In standard and wide spots, the fθ lens is not used, and correction is performed by a Z-axis scanner.

  Even when correction control in the Z-axis direction is performed by the Z-axis condenser lens provided in the beam expander of the Z-axis scanner, correction similar to the correction by the fθ lens described above is performed. The height of the correction surface WM ′ described in FIG. 6B, that is, the Z coordinate is uniquely determined by the XY coordinate. Therefore, by associating the corrected Z coordinate for each XY coordinate, if the Z-axis scanner is moved to the associated Z-coordinate according to the movement of the X / Y-axis scanner, processing at the focal position is always performed. It becomes possible. The association data is stored in the storage unit 5A shown in FIG. Alternatively, the data can be stored and transferred to the memory unit 5 provided in the laser control unit of the laser processing apparatus. As a result, the corrected Z coordinate is determined following the movement of the XY coordinates in the work area, so that it is possible to irradiate laser light whose focal position is adjusted almost uniformly in the work area.

Each scanner has a galvano mirror which is a total reflection mirror as a reflecting surface for reflecting light, a galvano motor for rotating with the galvano mirror fixed to the rotating shaft, and a position where the rotating shaft rotates. A position detector for outputting as a signal is provided. The scanner is connected to a scanner drive circuit 52 that drives the scanner . Scanner drive circuit 52 is connected to the laser drive control unit 4 receives a control signal for controlling the scanner from the laser drive control unit 4 drives the scanner based on this. For example, the scanner drive circuit 52 adjusts the drive current for driving the scanner based on the control signal. The scanner drive circuit 52 also includes an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the temporal change in the rotation angle of each scanner with respect to the control signal. The adjustment mechanism is configured by a semiconductor component such as a variable resistor that adjusts each parameter of the scanner drive circuit 52 .
(Z-axis scanner 14c)

  The Z-axis scanner 14c constitutes a beam expander 53 that adjusts the spot diameter of the laser light L and thereby adjusts the focal length. That is, by changing the relative distance between the entrance lens and the exit lens by the beam expander, the beam diameter of the laser beam can be enlarged / reduced, and the focal position can also be changed. The beam expander 53 is arranged in front of the galvanometer mirror as shown in FIG. 3 and adjusts the beam diameter of the laser beam L output from the laser oscillation unit 50 in order to effectively collect light on a small spot. In addition, the focal position of the laser beam L can be adjusted. A method for adjusting the working distance by the Z-axis scanner 14c will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are side views of the laser beam scanning unit 9. FIG. 7 illustrates a case where the focal length of the laser beam L is increased, and FIG. 8 illustrates a case where the focal length is decreased. FIG. 9 shows a front view and a sectional view of the Z-axis scanner 14c. As shown in these drawings, the Z-axis scanner 14c includes an incident lens 16 facing the laser oscillating unit 50 and an exit lens 18 facing the laser emitting side, and the distance between these lenses is relatively set. It can change. 7 to 9, the exit lens 18 is fixed, and the entrance lens 16 can be slid along the optical axis direction by a drive motor or the like. FIG. 9 omits the illustration of the exit lens 18 and shows the drive mechanism of the entrance lens 16. In this example, the movable element can be slid in the axial direction by a coil and a magnet, and the incident lens 16 is fixed to the movable element. However, the incident lens side can be fixed and the exit lens side can be moved, or both the entrance lens and the exit lens can be moved.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the distance between the entrance lens 16 and the exit lens 18 is made closer, the focal position becomes farther and the focal distance (working distance) becomes larger. Conversely, when the distance between the incident lens 16 and the outgoing lens 18 is increased as shown in FIG. 8, the focal position approaches and the focal length decreases.

  Note that the laser processing apparatus capable of three-dimensional processing, that is, processing in the height direction of the workpiece, is not limited to the method of adjusting the Z-axis scanner as shown in FIGS. It is possible to use other methods such as moving the laser output unit or the marking head itself.

In this example, the Z-axis scanner functions as a focus position adjusting unit that can adjust the focus position of the laser light emitted from the Q switch 19 in the optical axis direction. The X-axis scanner and the Y-axis scanner are Z-axis scanners. It functions as a laser beam two-dimensional scanning system that two-dimensionally scans the laser beam emitted from the laser beam.
(Distance pointer)

  In addition, in order to adjust the focal position at the center of the work area of the laser marker that can be three-dimensionally processed, a guide pattern indicating the irradiation position when the laser beam is scanned into the work area WS can be displayed. The laser light scanning unit 9 of the laser marker shown in FIGS. 3 to 4 serves as a distance pointer and a guide for aligning the guide light source 60 and the guide light G from the guide light source 60 with the optical axis of the laser light scanning unit 9. A half mirror 62 is provided as one form of the optical optical system, and a pointer light source 64 for irradiating pointer light P as a pointer light adjustment system, and a pointer as a third mirror formed on the back surface of the Y-axis scanner 14b. And a fixed mirror 66 for further reflecting the pointer light P from the pointer light source 64 reflected by the pointer scanner mirror 14d and irradiating it toward the focal position. The distance pointer is adjusted by irradiating the pointer light P indicating the focal position of the laser light from the pointer light source 64 and irradiating the pointer light P almost at the center of the guide pattern displayed by the guide light G. The focal position of the laser beam is indicated.

In the above example, the laser beam scanning unit 9 is provided with a mechanism capable of adjusting the focal length of the laser beam, thereby enabling three-dimensional processing. However, by controlling the stage height so that the position of the stage on which the workpiece is placed can be adjusted in the vertical direction, the height of the stage is adjusted so that the focal point of the laser beam is connected to the work surface of the workpiece. Dimensional processing can also be performed. Further, by making the stage movable in the X-axis or Y-axis direction, the corresponding scanner of the laser beam scanning unit can be omitted. These configurations can be suitably used not only in a form in which the workpiece is conveyed on the line but also in a form in which the work is placed on the stage and processed.
(System configuration of laser marker)

  Next, FIG. 10 shows a system configuration of a laser marker capable of three-dimensional printing. The laser processing system shown in this figure is capable of data communication with the marking head 150 constituting the laser output unit 2, the controller 1A constituting the laser control unit 1 connected to and controlling the marking head 150, and the controller 1A. A laser processing data setting device 180 that is connected and sets a print pattern as three-dimensional laser processing data for the controller 1A is provided. The laser processing apparatus 100 is configured by the marking head 150 and the controller 1A. In the example of FIG. 10, the laser processing data setting device 180 installs a laser processing data setting program in a computer to realize a laser processing data setting function. The laser processing data setting device can use a programmable logic controller (PLC) connected with a touch panel, other dedicated hardware, etc. in addition to a computer. The laser processing data setting device can also function as a control device that controls the operation of the laser processing device. For example, a function as a laser processing data setting device and a function as a controller of a marking head including a laser output unit may be integrated into one computer. Further, the laser processing data setting device is constituted by a member different from the laser processing device, and can also be integrated into the laser processing device, for example, a laser processing data setting circuit incorporated in the laser processing device.

Furthermore, various external devices 190 can be connected to the controller 1A as necessary. For example, an image recognition device such as an image sensor for confirming the type and position of a workpiece conveyed on the line, a distance measuring device such as a displacement meter for obtaining information on the distance between the workpiece and the marking head 150, and a device according to a predetermined sequence It is possible to install a PLC that controls the above, a PD sensor that detects the passage of a workpiece, and other various sensors, and to be connected so that data communication is possible.
(Laser processing data setting device)

  Laser processing data, which is setting information for printing planar print data in a three-dimensional form, is set by a laser processing data setting device 180. FIG. 11 shows a block diagram as an example of the laser processing data setting device 180. A laser processing data setting device 180 shown in this figure stores an input unit 3 for inputting various settings, a display unit 82 for displaying setting contents and post-calculation laser processing data, and various setting data. Storage unit 5A. Further, the storage unit 5A includes a reference table 5B that holds a plurality of combinations of processing parameters in association with each other. Further, the reference table 5B is a three-dimensional shape of a processing pattern set by a correction amount storage means and a processing condition setting unit in which a focal position correction amount in the optical axis direction due to the thermal lens effect is recorded in advance corresponding to the laser light output condition. , It also functions as a correspondence storage unit for storing the correspondence between the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position in association with each other. The display unit 82 is a processing image display unit 83 that can display an image of the processing target surface in three dimensions, and an image of the marking head when the processing image display unit 83 displays the processing target surface image in three dimensions. Is provided.

The input unit 3 inputs profile information indicating the three-dimensional shape of the print surface of the workpiece as a processing condition setting unit 3C for setting a laser beam output condition and a processing pattern, which are processing conditions for processing with a desired processing pattern. Machining surface profile input means 3A for processing, machining pattern input means 3B for inputting print pattern information, and a machining block in which a plurality of machining blocks are set in the work area and a machining pattern can be set for each machining block In addition to the setting means 3F, group setting means for setting a machining group in which a plurality of machining blocks set by the block setting means 3F are set, and a machining pattern capable of adjusting the position of the machining pattern arranged on the machining target surface The function of the position adjusting means is realized. The machining surface profile input means 3A further includes basic graphic designating means 3a for designating a basic graphic representing the machining target surface, and three-dimensional shape data input means for inputting three-dimensional shape data representing the machining target surface from the outside. The function of the positioning means 3c for positioning the processing position of the three-dimensional processing pattern set by the processing condition setting unit with respect to the three-dimensional shape data input by the 3b and three-dimensional shape data input means 3b is realized. The storage unit 5A corresponds to the memory unit 5 in FIG. 1 and stores information such as profile information and print pattern information set by the input unit 3. As such a storage unit 5A, a storage medium such as a fixed storage device, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used. In addition to providing a dedicated display, the display unit 82 may use a computer monitor connected to the system.
(Calculation unit 80)

  On the other hand, the controller 1 </ b> A of the laser processing apparatus 100 includes a calculation unit 80 that configures a processing data generation unit 80 </ b> K that generates laser processing data based on information input from the input unit 3. The calculation unit 80 includes a machining data generation unit 80K for generating machining data for performing actual machining based on the machining conditions set by the machining condition setting unit 3C, and a laser set by the machining condition setting unit 3C. A correction amount specifying means 80B for specifying a shift in the focal position in the optical axis direction caused by the thermal lens effect generated based on the light output condition as a focus position correction amount, and a space constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit In terms of coordinates, the processing amount on the processing target surface is brought close to a constant value in accordance with the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction of the laser beam scanning unit. The processing amount correction means 80M for automatically correcting the processing conditions set by the processing condition setting unit, and when the three-dimensional laser processing data is displayed on the display unit 82, laser processing is performed on the processing target surface. An initial position setting means for determining an initial position for arranging data, a processing failure area detection means for detecting a processing failure area that cannot be processed because laser light cannot be irradiated in the work area, or a processing failure area detection means that detects processing failure. When the processing pattern is set by the highlight processing means for performing a highlight process for displaying the detected processing defect area in a mode different from the processable area, the processing condition setting unit 3C sets the processing defect area. The function of the setting warning means for issuing a warning by detecting that some kind of processing is set to the included area is realized. Further, if necessary, the processing condition adjusting means for adjusting the processing conditions in the processing defect area so that the processing can be performed, and the print pattern information from the planar shape to the three-dimensional space so as to virtually match the print pattern with the print surface. Functions such as a coordinate conversion means for converting to coordinate data can also be realized. The calculation unit 80 is configured by an FPGA, an LSI, or the like.

  In the example of FIG. 11, the laser processing data setting device 180 is configured by dedicated hardware, but these members can also be executed by software. In particular, as shown in FIG. 10, a laser processing data setting program can be installed in a general-purpose computer to function as the laser processing data setting device 180. In the example of FIG. 11, the laser processing data setting device 180 and the laser processing device 100 are separate devices, but they can also be integrated as shown in FIG.

The machining data generation unit 80K is disposed on the controller 1A side of the laser machining apparatus 100. However, as shown in FIG. 13, the machining data generation unit 80K may be provided on the laser machining data setting device 180 side. For example, a laser processing data setting program is installed in a general-purpose computer, and the function of the processing data generation unit 80K is realized by a computer that functions as the laser processing data setting device 180. Alternatively, by providing the processing data generation unit on the laser processing device 100 side and the laser processing data setting device 180 side, it is possible to generate laser processing data in either the laser processing device 100 or the laser processing data setting device 180, Laser processing data can be exchanged, edited, and displayed individually.
(Laser processing data setting program)

  Next, a procedure for generating a processing pattern based on character information input from the processing condition setting unit 3C using the laser processing data setting program will be described based on the user interface screens shown in FIGS. In the examples of user interface screens of these programs, it goes without saying that the layout, shape, display method, size, color scheme, pattern, etc. of each input field and button can be changed as appropriate. By changing the design, the layout can be made easier to display, easier to evaluate and judge, and easy to operate. For example, the detailed setting screen can be displayed as a separate window, or a plurality of screens can be displayed within the same display screen. On the user interface screens of these programs, ON / OFF operations for numerically provided buttons and input fields, designation of numerical values and command inputs, etc. are performed by the input unit 3 connected to the computer in which the program is incorporated. . In this specification, “pressing” includes not only physically touching and operating buttons, but also clicking or selecting with an input unit and pseudo-pressing. Input / output devices constituting the input unit or the like are connected to a computer by wire or wirelessly, or are fixed to the computer or the like. Examples of typical input units include various pointing devices such as a mouse, keyboard, slide pad, track point, tablet, joystick, console, jog dial, digitizer, light pen, numeric keypad, touch pad, and accu point. These input / output devices are not limited to program operations, but can also be used for hardware operations such as laser processing equipment. Furthermore, a touch screen or a touch panel is used for the display itself of the display unit 82 that displays the interface screen, so that the user can directly input or operate the screen by hand, or voice input or other existing input is possible. Means can be used, or these can be used in combination.

  The laser processing data setting program can edit three-dimensional laser processing data. However, considering users who are not good at editing 3D data, a “2D editing mode” is available, which allows only setting on a plane and cannot be edited on 3D. It may be possible to switch to a possible “3D editing mode”. When such a plurality of edit modes are provided, an edit mode display field 270 indicating the current edit mode and an edit mode switching button 272 for switching the edit mode are provided. In the example of FIG. 14, the “2D editing mode” is set when the laser processing data setting program is started, and the editing mode display field 270 provided at the upper right of the screen indicates that the current editing mode is “2D editing in progress”. I am letting. By setting the two-dimensional editing mode, which is relatively easy to operate, as the default editing mode at the time of activation, even a user who is not good at editing three-dimensional laser processing data can operate without confusion. Further, the editing mode at the time of activation can be configured to be changeable by the user, and it can also be set so that a user who has mastered the operation can edit the three-dimensional laser processing data without switching the editing mode.

  The edit mode switching button 272 provided on the right side of the edit mode display field 270 displays “3D” characters indicating that switching to the 3D edit mode is possible. When the edit mode switch button 272 is pressed from this state, the mode is switched to “3D edit mode” and the display in the edit mode display field 270 is changed to “3D editing in progress”. Further, the edit mode switching button 272 displays “2D” characters indicating that switching from the 3D editing mode to the 2D editing mode is possible. In this way, by providing a “2D editing mode” that restricts or eliminates 3D display and editing, when the user wants to set and edit machining data for a two-dimensional machining surface, machining data for a two-dimensional machining surface By providing a user interface capable of only setting / editing, it is possible to simplify the user interface and improve the operability associated therewith. In addition, even when the user wants to set / edit machining data for a three-dimensional machining plane, it is not suddenly unfamiliar 3D display, but the two-dimensional editing is performed in the above-described “2D editing mode”. Set and edit the machining data for the machining surface, and further process and edit the 2D machining data set and machined in this “2D editing mode” into the desired 3D machining data in “3D editing mode”. By taking the correction process, the “3D editing mode” can improve the user interface that is easy to understand for the user and the operability associated therewith.

  An example of the processing condition setting unit 3C will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 shows an example of the user interface screen of the laser processing data setting program. The edit display column 202 displays the image of the processing pattern printed on the workpiece on the left side of the screen, and the specific processing conditions on the right side. A print pattern input field 204 for specifying various data is provided. In the print pattern input field 204, a “basic setting” tab 204h, a “shape setting” tab 204i, and a “detailed setting” tab 204j can be switched as tabs for selecting setting items. In the example of FIG. 14, a “basic setting” tab 204h is selected, and a processing type designation field 204a, a character data designation field 204d, a character input field 204b, and a detailed setting field 204c are provided. The processing type designation field 204a designates whether the operation as a printing pattern including a character string, a symbol, a logo, a pattern, an image such as a figure, or a processing machine is performed as a processing pattern type. In the example of FIG. 14, a character string, a logo / diagram, and a processing machine operation are selected from the processing type designation field 204a by radio buttons. The character data designation field 204d designates the type of character data. Here, any one of a character, a barcode, a two-dimensional code, and an RSS / composite code (CC) is selected from a pull-down menu. Further, according to the type of the selected character data, a more detailed type is selected in the type designation field 204q. For example, if you select a character, select a font type. If you select a barcode, select CODE39, ITF, 2 of 5, NW7, JAN, Code 28, etc. RSS-14, RSS-14 CC-A, RSS Stacked, RSS Stacked CC-A, RSS Limited, RSS Limited CC- when selecting 2D code type such as Micro QR Code, DataMatrix, RSS / Composite Code Specifies an RSS code type such as A or an RSS composite code type. In the character input field 204b, character information to be printed is input. The inputted character is printed as it is as a character string when a character is selected in the character data designation field 204d. On the other hand, when a symbol is designated, a processing pattern in which a character string input according to the type of the selected symbol is encoded is generated. The machining pattern may be generated by the machining data setting unit in addition to the machining condition setting unit 3C. In this example, the calculation unit 80 performs. The detailed setting column 204c switches the tabs and designates details of printing conditions such as a “printing data” tab 204e, a “size / position” tab 204f, and a “printing conditions” tab 204g. In the “print condition” tab 204g, the print power, the scan speed, and the like are set.

When the processing machine operation is selected from the processing type designation field 204a, the processing type can be selected from the pull-down menu, and fixed points, straight lines, broken lines, counterclockwise circles / ovals, clockwise circles / ovals, trigger ON fixed points, etc. You can choose. In the processing machine operation, a line segment coordinate designation field is provided as a machining pattern instead of a character input field, and a locus such as a straight line or an arc is designated by coordinates. The laser processing apparatus is not limited to character strings, and can print image data such as logos and drawings.
(Processing block setting means 3F)

  As described above, the print pattern information relating to one print block is set. A plurality of print blocks can be set. That is, a plurality of printing blocks can be set in the processing area, and printing can be performed under different printing conditions. In addition to setting a plurality of printing blocks for one workpiece or a processing (printing) target surface, it is also possible to set each of a plurality of printing blocks for a plurality of workpieces existing in the processing area.

  The machining block is set by machining block setting means 3F. In the example of FIG. 14, a block number selection field 216 is provided above the print pattern input field 204 as one form of the processing block setting unit 3F. The block number selection field 216 is provided with a number display field for displaying a block number, and a “>” button, a “>>” button, a “<” button, and a “<<” button as number designation means. When the “>” button is pressed, the block number is incremented by 1, and a new print block can be set. Similarly, when changing the setting of a set printing block, the user can select the block number by operating the “>” button and call the setting of the corresponding printing block. If the “>>” button is pressed, the program jumps to the last block number. If the “<” button is further pressed, the block number is returned by one, and if the “<<” button is pressed, the program jumps to the first block number. Furthermore, a block number can be designated by directly inputting a numerical value in the numerical value display field of the block number selection field 216. In this way, a print block is selected in the block number selection field 216, and print pattern information is designated for each print block. In this example, the block number can be set from 0 to 255.

In addition, regarding the arrangement of the print blocks, adjustment of the arrangement position (centering with respect to the central axis, right alignment, left alignment, etc.), the stacking order when a plurality of print blocks overlap, and the layout such as alignment can be set. Furthermore, the arrangement of each print block can be specified by coordinates or the like. For example, the X and Y coordinates of the block coordinates are designated by numerical values from the “size / position” tab 204f constituting the processing pattern position adjusting means. From this screen, the character height, character width, character spacing, etc. can be specified as the character size. Further, as the block shape, horizontal writing, vertical writing, cylinder inner circumference, outer circumference, etc. at the time of three-dimensional printing are designated.
(Print block setting list)

It is also possible to display a list of print block setting items set in this way. In the example of FIG. 14, the block list screen 217 of FIG. 16 is displayed in a separate window by selecting “Block List” from the “Edit” menu as shown in FIG. From this list screen, set print blocks can be deleted, or new print blocks can be added by copying. Alternatively, a desired print block may be selected and the setting items may be adjusted.
(Delay operation)

  In general, the laser excitation unit 6, the Q switch 19, the X-axis scanner 14a, the Y-axis scanner 14b, and the like are excellent in response speed, while the Z-axis scanner 14c has a slower response speed than these, and receives an operation command from the laser drive control unit. After that, there is a delay time until the instructed operation is completed by the Z-axis scanner. Especially when changing machining conditions such as laser power and Q switch frequency for each machining block, the Z-axis scanner is operated for each machining block, and the movement distance between the preceding and following machining blocks is large. Such a delay time becomes apparent. For this reason, if the operation of each member is executed immediately after receiving the operation command, the irradiation of the laser beam is started from the stage where the adjustment of the focal position by the Z-axis scanner is not completed, and the processing starts. The part is processed with the focus position shifted, and the processing quality may deteriorate. Therefore, such a problem can be solved by performing a delay operation so as to operate each member in consideration of the time required for the operation of the Z-axis scanner.

Specifically, the delay time of the Z-axis scanner is unique to the Z-axis scanner, and the delay time can be calculated if the coordinate position and movement distance of the movement start position and end position, or the machining pattern is determined. Therefore, the delay time of the Z-axis scanner is calculated by the laser drive control unit or the like according to the processing pattern, and the laser drive control unit is controlled so as to wait for the start of laser light output by the calculated delay time. Thus, processing is performed with the focus position adjusted accurately, and high-quality processing results can be maintained.
(Work profile information)

Next, returning to FIG. 14, a procedure for setting workpiece profile information will be described. The example of FIG. 14 shows an example of printing on a planar workpiece. In this laser processing data setting program, the processing target surface is not limited to a planar shape, and a three-dimensional processing target surface can be set. Profile information relating to the three-dimensional shape of the workpiece surface to be machined is set from the machining surface profile input means 3A in FIG. The following method can be considered as a method for specifying the profile information.
(1) A method for drawing and specifying a workpiece from a program capable of inputting a three-dimensional shape (2) A method for allowing a user to input parameters for specifying the shape of the workpiece in an interactive manner (3) A basic figure Method to select

Further, the method is not limited to the interactive format, and a method may be used in which a basic graphic is selected and parameters relating to the basic graphic are designated. In other words, two-dimensional data can be easily obtained by letting the user select a basic figure such as a cylinder, cone, or sphere prepared in advance, presenting parameters for specifying the selected basic figure, and allowing the user to input a numerical value. The shape can be converted into a three-dimensional shape. By pseudo-representing a workpiece with a basic figure, there is an advantage that designation can be performed easily and accurately.
(4) A method of inputting and converting a 3D data file created in advance into the shape of the workpiece

A work data file created in advance by another program such as three-dimensional CAD is converted and used. In this method, since already created data can be used, work shape designation work can be greatly saved. Various general-purpose formats such as DXF, IGES, STEP, STL, and GKS can be used as the readable data file format. It is also possible to directly input a special format of a specific application such as DWG for conversion.
(5) Directly specifying height information as two-dimensional information (6) Method of actually reading and acquiring the shape of a workpiece with an image recognition device such as an image sensor

Of these, the methods (3) and (4) are adopted here. Specifically, means for selecting from basic figures prepared in advance and means for inputting a file in which a three-dimensional shape is recorded can be used. Furthermore, it can be provided with positioning means 3c for positioning the processing position of the three-dimensional processing pattern set by the processing condition setting unit with respect to the three-dimensional shape data input to the three-dimensional shape data input means 3b. This state will be described with reference to FIGS. When the tab for selecting the setting item of the print pattern input field 204 is switched from the “basic setting” tab 204h to the “shape setting” tab 204i on the screen of FIG. 14, the screen shown in FIG. 17 is displayed, and a method for inputting profile information is selected. A profile designation field 205 is displayed as profile input selection means. In the profile designation field 205 of FIG. 17, one of the basic figure, ZMAP, and processing machine operation is selected with a radio button.
(Basic figure designation means 3a)

In the method of selecting from the basic figure, the shape of the basic figure prepared in advance is selected. Basic figures include planes, cylinders, spheres, cones, and the like. In the example of FIG. 17, as a form of the basic figure specifying means 3a, a basic figure is selected in the profile designation column 205, and “plane” is selected in the shape selection column 206 provided in the lower column. Here, when a cylinder is selected as shown in FIG. 18, the two-dimensional display in the edit display field 202 is switched from a planar shape to a cylindrical shape. That is, since the XY coordinate plane view of the QR code printed on the cylindrical workpiece is displayed, the QR code is deformed and displayed so as to become narrower toward the right side of the QR code.
(3D display)

  In addition, the processing target surface can be displayed three-dimensionally. In this example, the display format of the edit display field 202 can be switched between a two-dimensional display and a three-dimensional display as a processed image display unit. When the display switching button (3D) 207 provided on the screen of FIG. 18 is pressed, the edit display field 202 is switched to three-dimensional display as shown in FIG. 19, and the three-dimensional shape of the processing target surface can be confirmed three-dimensionally. . When the display switching button (2D) 207 is pressed from the screen of FIG. 19, the screen is switched to the screen of FIG. Thus, every time the display switching button 207 is pressed, the 2D display and the 3D display are switched, and the display of the display switching button 207 is switched to 2D and 3D indicating the other display form accordingly. Also in the 3D display screen of FIG. 19, the region of the processing pattern is displayed surrounded by a frame K, similarly to the 2D display screen of FIG. 18.

In the example of FIG. 19, the display switching button 207 for 2D display and 3D display is provided on the floating toolbar. The floating toolbar can be moved to any position. Further, the display / non-display of the floating toolbar may be switched, or the floating toolbar may be incorporated into a normal toolbar.
(Change of viewpoint of 3D display screen)

  On the 3D display screen, it is possible to change to an arbitrary viewpoint. FIGS. 20 to 27 show examples in which the print surface for printing the QR code shown in FIG. 18 on a cylindrical workpiece is displayed on the 3D display screen from various viewpoints. When the display switch button (3D) 207 of the floating toolbar is pressed from the 2D display screen of FIG. 18, the screen is switched to the 3D display screen of FIG. By operating the scroll bar 209 from the 3D display screen, the viewpoint of the 3D display screen can be freely changed as shown in FIGS. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the work area as viewed obliquely from above, and FIG. 21 shows an example in which the work area is rotated from the state of FIG. 20 and the work is displayed from the back side. In order to change the viewpoint, in addition to using a scroll bar, the work may be rotated by dragging an arbitrary point on the 3D display screen with a mouse.

  Further, when the “scroll bar movement / rotation switching” provided in the floating toolbar is pressed, the use of the scroll bar is switched from the rotation of the workpiece to the movement of the screen. When the horizontal scroll bar is operated from the screen of FIG. 20, the visual field can be translated from side to side while maintaining the display angle of the three-dimensional display as shown in FIGS. When the vertical scroll bar is operated, the visual field can be moved in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Thus, by using the scroll bar by switching between screen movement and rotation, even a user unfamiliar with 3D display operation can change the field of view relatively easily.

Further, the 3D display screen can be switched to display from a specified viewpoint. In the example of FIG. 20, a “display position” change field 207B is provided in the floating toolbar, and the viewpoint can be changed to a specified display such as an XY plane. For example, FIG. 25 shows an example in which the print surface is displayed on the XY plane, and a plan view corresponding to the 2D display screen shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. FIG. 26 shows a display example on the YZ plane, and FIG. 27 shows a display example on the ZX plane. In addition, the viewpoint of display can be changed from each screen by operating a scroll bar or the like. As described above, even in the three-dimensional display, it is possible to quickly switch to a display screen viewed from a specified direction, which is useful for display change, restoration, confirmation, and the like.
(3D viewer 260)

  In the above example, the edit display field 202 is switched to either 2D display or 3D display. However, there are cases where it is desired to display two-dimensional display and three-dimensional display of the same workpiece side by side. In order to meet such a demand, a three-dimensional viewer 260 that opens in a separate window is prepared. FIG. 28 shows an example in which a three-dimensional viewer 260 is displayed. In the example of FIG. 18 described above, a two-screen display button 207C is provided in the floating toolbar as a three-dimensional screen calling means for opening the three-dimensional viewer 260. When the two-screen display button 207C is pressed while two-dimensional display is performed in the edit display field 202 as shown in FIG. 18, a three-dimensional viewer 260 is displayed in a separate window as shown in FIG. The three-dimensional viewer 260 can be dragged and placed at an arbitrary position. You can also change the window size. Furthermore, operations such as changing the posture and angle of the work W displayed on the three-dimensional viewer 260, and rotating the work W may be possible. In these three-dimensional displays, grids and scales are displayed to make it easy to grasp the viewpoint. These grids and scale display can be turned ON / OFF.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the state where 3D display is performed in the edit display field 202, there is no need to open the 3D display screen, so the 2 screen display button 207C of the floating toolbar for calling the 3D viewer 260 is grayed out. Therefore, it cannot be selected, and erroneous operation is prevented. However, when it is desired to display the two-dimensional display on a separate screen, a separate two-dimensional viewer field can be displayed. Note that these displays are merely examples, and it goes without saying that the layout, size, positional relationship, and the like of each column can be arbitrarily changed. For example, each field including the setting field may be displayed in a separate window. As described above, the edit display field 202, the three-dimensional viewer 260, and the like can be used as the processing image display unit 83 that displays the three-dimensional shape image of the processing target surface on the display unit 82.
(3D shape data input means 3b)

  On the other hand, an example in which three-dimensional shape data that prescribes the shape of a work is prepared in advance using a three-dimensional CAD or the like, and this data file is input is shown in FIGS. In this method, two-dimensional print pattern information is pasted on three-dimensional shape data input from the outside. First, the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM” is input to the character input field 204b from the screen of FIG. 29, and when ZMAP is selected from the profile specification field 205 which is the three-dimensional shape data input means 3b on the screen of FIG. Instead, a ZMAP file name input field 292 is displayed. Here, the ZMAP file is one of three-dimensional shape data files, and has a file format having one Z coordinate information in the height direction for each XY coordinate. When a “reference” button 293 provided on the right side of the ZMAP file name input field 292 is pressed, a file selection screen 294 shown in FIG. 31 is displayed, from which a ZMAP file that defines a work shape to be printed is selected. It is assumed that the ZMAP file has been created in advance. As a result, ZMAP (dolphin.M3D in this example) is designated in the ZMAP file name input field 292 as shown in FIG. In this state, the edit display column 202 displays a state where the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM” is pasted on the three-dimensional shape data defined by the ZMAP file.

  Further, when the display switching button (3D) 207 provided at the left end of the floating toolbar is pressed from this state, the edit display field 202 is switched from the two-dimensional display to the three-dimensional display as shown in FIG. The three-dimensional shape can be confirmed three-dimensionally. As shown in this figure, the state where the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM” is pasted at a specified position on the three-dimensional shape data included in the ZMAP file is displayed three-dimensionally. Thereby, the printing state on the printing surface of the workpiece can be confirmed two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally in the machining image display unit.

  Furthermore, at the stage where ZMAP is specified, the check box in the “ZMAP display” column 207D provided at the right end of the floating toolbar is switched to be selectable (see FIG. 32). When the check box in the “ZMAP display” field 207D is turned on in the state of FIG. 33, the three-dimensional shape defined by the ZMAP file is displayed on the three-dimensionally displayed print target surface in the edit display field 202 as shown in FIG. The data is displayed overlaid. As a result, not only the print target surface but also the entire shape of the work can be displayed in a three-dimensional manner, so that the user can visually confirm the entire print image.

  When a character string, which is a print pattern, is affixed to ZMAP that defines the shape of the work, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, the print pattern is orthogonally projected onto a three-dimensional print target surface, and the unidirectional ( In this example, the print pattern is correctly reproduced when the print target surface is viewed from the upper surface. That is, even if the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM” is displayed in the edit display field 202 in FIG. 29 from the two-dimensional display to the three-dimensional shape (FIGS. 33 and 34), the plan view is as shown in FIG. Does not change. Here, the plane information (XY coordinates) of the print pattern is used as it is, and the height information (Z coordinate) at the XY coordinate position of ZMAP corresponding to the XY coordinates of the print pattern is added as the three-dimensional information of the print pattern. ing. In this method, only the height information is referred to the ZMAP, and the plane information is used as it is, so that data processing when converting a two-dimensional print pattern to three dimensions is easy, and an advantage that the speed can be increased with a light load can be obtained. It is done. Especially when the shape of the workpiece is complicated, this method is advantageous in terms of processing capacity and speed. Further, in applications where the printing result is viewed from one direction, there is an advantage that an accurate shape can be reproduced. For example, even when a symbol such as a barcode is printed on a curved surface, by setting the reading direction accurately, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of a reading error due to a change in the narrow width at the end of the barcode. Similarly, in OCR, character distortion can be reduced, and high-precision printing with a high reading rate can be realized.

  On the other hand, in the conversion method to the three-dimensional laser processing data using the basic figure described above, a printing pattern is pasted on a developed view in which the basic figure is developed in a planar shape. That is, the two-dimensional display of the print pattern in the edit display field 202 changes as shown in FIGS. In this case, it is suitable when the viewing direction is not determined in one direction, and for example, when a character string such as a product manufacturing date or a serial number is printed, it is possible to perform easy-to-read printing.

As described above, the designation of the basic figure by the basic figure designation means 3a and the designation of the ZMAP file by the three-dimensional shape data input means 3b can be switched in the profile designation column 205. It functions as a switching means between the means 3a and the three-dimensional shape data input means 3b.
(Create ZMAP data)

  Next, a procedure for creating ZMAP data from a general-purpose three-dimensional shape data file created in advance will be described. As a means for creating a three-dimensional shape data file, a 3D-CAD program, a 3D-CG program, or the like can be used. Data formats created and saved by these 3D shape data creation programs include general-purpose formats such as DXF, IGES, STEP, STL, and GKS, and specific applications such as DWG, DWF, CDR, and AI. There are special formats. In the present embodiment, an STL (Stereo Lithography) file format is used. STL is data in which all surfaces are constructed with a triangular plane, and has the advantage of being easy to handle. Therefore, STL data that defines the shape of the workpiece is created in advance by a 3D-CAD program or the like. The laser processing data setting program may have a three-dimensional shape data creation function such as STL.

  The STL data created in this way is read into a laser processing data setting program. When “Create ZMAP” is selected from the edit menu of the program, a ZMAP creation screen 300 shown in FIG. 35 is displayed. The ZMAP creation screen 300 is provided with a viewer screen 301 for displaying three-dimensional shape data three-dimensionally in the left column, and an adjustment column 302 for adjusting the posture of the three-dimensional shape data displayed on the viewer screen 301 in the right column. Yes. When “Open STL file” is selected from the file menu on this screen, an STL file selection dialog box is opened. An STL that specifies the shape of a desired workpiece by designating the storage location of the created STL file. Select a file. FIG. 36 shows a ZMAP creation screen 300 in a state where the STL file is opened. In this state, the “STL display” button 303 provided on the right column is pressed, indicating that the STL file is displayed on the viewer screen 301. In this example, the initial position of the three-dimensional shape data on the viewer screen 301 with the STL file opened is set such that the vertex of the three-dimensional shape data is located at the origin. Note that the initial position may be arbitrarily set.

  Next, the STL file is manipulated to determine the posture to be transformed into ZMAP. Here, in the adjustment column 302 provided in the right column of FIG. 36, the coordinates and rotation angle of the three-dimensional shape data defined by the STL file are adjusted. For example, when the coordinate adjustment field 304 is moved by −60 mm in the X coordinate direction, the three-dimensional shape data displayed on the viewer screen 301 is translated as shown in FIG. Similarly, the three-dimensional shape data can be vertically moved in the height direction as shown in FIG. 39 (Z coordinate 10 mm) and FIG. 40 (Z coordinate −10 mm) from the state of FIG. As shown in FIG. 41, the Y coordinate direction (Y coordinate 50 mm) can also be adjusted. The designation of these coordinate positions can be performed by directly inputting a numerical value from the numerical value input field of the coordinate adjustment field 304 or by pressing an arrow button 305 provided on the right side. The arrow button 305 adjusts the XY coordinates with the button 305 a arranged in a cross shape, and adjusts the Z coordinate with the up and down arrow buttons 305 b provided on the right side of the Z coordinate adjustment field 304 below. As a result, the user can visually move the three-dimensional shape data.

  Furthermore, the three-dimensional shape data displayed on the viewer screen 301 can be rotated by specifying the rotation angle from the rotation angle adjustment field 306. The rotation angle adjustment field 306 includes an X rotation field, a Y rotation field, and a Z rotation field, and designates the rotation angle with a numerical value or a slider. 42 shows an example of X rotation, FIG. 43 shows an example of Y rotation, and FIG. 44 shows an example of Z rotation.

  In addition, a printable area can be displayed on the viewer screen 301. By turning on the check boxes in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction in the print area display field 307 provided in the adjustment field 302, the boundary surface KM in each direction of the printable area can be displayed. FIG. 45 shows an example of displaying the boundary surface KM in the X direction, FIG. 46 in the Y direction, and FIG. 47 in the Z direction. A plurality of these boundary surfaces KM can be displayed simultaneously. Thereby, the user can adjust while visually recognizing whether or not the three-dimensional shape data is appropriately arranged in the printable area.

  In the ZMAP creation screen 300, the viewpoint can be changed by rotating or scrolling the screen, and the ZMAP creation screen 300 is operated by a scroll bar. By pressing the “rotate / scroll” button 308, the function of the scroll bar can be switched between the rotation of the three-dimensional shape data and the screen scroll.

  Note that the ZMAP creation screen 300 may have a simple deformation function of the STL file. For example, it is possible to change the enlargement / reduction ratio of the STL file, trimming, or the like.

  When the posture of the three-dimensional shape data is determined in this way, it is converted into ZMAP. When the “ZMAP display” button 310 provided in the right column of the ZMAP creation screen 300 is pressed from the screen of FIG. 38, a confirmation dialog box such as “Convert to ZMAP? Are you sure?” Is displayed. When “OK” is pressed, the conversion from the STL file to the ZMAP file is executed, and the ZMAP data is generated as shown in FIG. Since the ZMAP file has only one point of height information, the data below the XY coordinate plane of the three-dimensional shape data displayed on the viewer screen 301 is cut, and only the upper half surface is formed. Since the laser processing apparatus cannot irradiate the back side of the workpiece with laser light, it is sufficient to use data for only one side of the workpiece, that is, only the upper half.

  If printing is desired on the back side of the workpiece, as shown in FIG. 42, the three-dimensional shape data is rotated to adjust the posture so that the back side is on the upper side, and converted to ZMAP in this state. In the example of FIG. 42, the ZMAP data shown in FIG. 49 is obtained by converting into ZMAP with the rotation angle 180 ° from the state of FIG. In this way, the back side of the workpiece can be printed by rotating the workpiece.

  During the ZMAP display, the “ZMAP display” button 310 is pressed, indicating that the display on the viewer screen 301 is switched to the ZMAP display. As described above, the button for executing the file conversion also has the function of displaying the display contents displayed on the viewer screen 301. If the “STL display” button 301 is pressed during ZMAP display, the ZMAP display returns to the STL before conversion. As a result, it is possible to return to the STL file before conversion, and it is possible to redo, re-set, and re-save the operation.

  After confirming on the viewer screen 301 that the three-dimensional shape data defined by the converted ZMAP correctly represents the machining surface of the workpiece, this ZMAP file is saved. Specifically, “Save as ZMAP” is selected from the file menu, and a desired storage location is named and saved.

By specifying the ZMAP data created in this way as three-dimensional shape data indicating the print surface of the workpiece, the print pattern can be converted into a three-dimensional shape. Next, a procedure for converting a print pattern into a three-dimensional shape based on designated ZMAP data will be described.
(Procedure for converting the print pattern into a three-dimensional shape)

  As shown in FIG. 49, the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM” is entered into the character entry field 204b, and ZMAP (dolphin.M3D) is selected from the profile designation field 205 on the screen of FIG. 32, and the above-mentioned from the ZMAP file name entry field 292 Specify the ZMAP file created in. As a result, the character string “ABCDEFGHIJKLM”, which is a print pattern, is converted into a three-dimensional shape, and the print pattern on the XY plane is displayed in FIG. When the display switching button (3D) 207 is pressed in this state, the edit display field 202 is switched from the two-dimensional display to the three-dimensional display as shown in FIG. 33, and the three-dimensional shape of the print target surface can be confirmed three-dimensionally. As shown in these drawings, the character string is deformed so as to be mapped onto the print target surface so that the print pattern seen from the observation direction (upper surface) is equal to that in FIG.

Further, when the check box in the “ZMAP display” column 207D is turned ON, the three-dimensional shape of the work specified by the ZMAP file is displayed in the edit display column 202 as shown in FIG. Overlaid. Similarly, when the ZMAP file of FIG. 49 is selected as the three-dimensional shape data, the print pattern is transformed into a three-dimensional shape as shown in FIG. In this way, the user can perform the setting operation by switching only the printing target surface or the three-dimensional display of the entire shape of the workpiece. From this state, the user adjusts the position where the print pattern is pasted in the three-dimensional shape data.
(3D display when setting the work area)

  When the work area (printing area) is set to a three-dimensional workpiece and the printing area including the workpiece shape is displayed three-dimensionally, the printing area can be printed appropriately on the workpiece as follows. It is configured so that it can be visually observed that it is in a proper position.

  First, for the workpiece, when the laser beam is emitted from the emission position of the marking head of the laser marker, the angle formed by the laser beam and the print target surface is within a predetermined angle range (a predetermined angle range in which it can be determined that printing can be appropriately performed). In some cases, printing is possible, but there is a possibility that the print quality may be deteriorated (when the angle is equal to or less than the predetermined angle), and color classification is performed on the print target surface. Specifically, the angle range in which it can be determined that printing can be appropriately performed is not colored, and printing is possible, but the angle range in which print quality may be degraded is colored red. As a result, it is possible to visually check from the three-dimensional display screen whether the set print area is set to an appropriate range or which part of the print area is red (angle range where print quality may be degraded). Can be determined.

  Also, when looking at the print area set on the workpiece from the laser emission position of the marking head, if the work surface of the workpiece (print area setting area) is located on the back side, it is determined that printing is impossible and the workpiece is set. The print area (print contents) is not displayed on the 3D display screen. As a result, the user can quickly grasp the state (positional relationship, etc.) of the print area set by the user with respect to the workpiece, and can easily correct the position of the print area.

Also, it is not limited to means for displaying on a three-dimensional display screen, but “an angle range that can provide an optimal printing state” by any method, “a printing defect area” that indicates a printing quality deterioration angle range, “an unprintable area”, etc. A visually observable method can be adopted as appropriate. For example, text on the user interface screen indicating that it corresponds to “angle range that can provide the optimal print state”, “printing failure area”, “printing impossible area”, etc., voice, warning sound, dialog Boxes can also be used. It is also possible to display only one of the items. For example, for a user who only needs to be able to print regardless of print quality, it is sufficient to provide only information on the “non-printable area”.
(Laser processing data setting procedure)

  A procedure for setting a printing condition from the processing condition setting unit 3C and generating a processing pattern by the processing data generation unit 80K using the above laser processing data setting program will be described. First, a processing pattern is set. Here, a character string is input from the processing condition setting unit 3C, and the type of symbol to be encoded is specified. In the example of FIG. 14, a character string is selected in the processing type designation field 204a, “ABCDE” is input as a character string from the character input field 204b, and a type is selected from the “character data type” field in the character data designation field 204d. "Character" is selected and the font type is specified. Based on the information specified in this way, the calculation unit 80 generates a machining pattern. Since a character string is selected here, an image of a character print pattern is displayed in the edit display column 202.

  In this example, the calculation unit 80 automatically generates a processing pattern based on the character information input from the processing condition setting unit 3C, but it is also possible to input a symbol directly. For example, it is possible to adopt means such as selecting and inputting image data of already created symbols in the processing condition setting unit, or pasting symbols created by other programs from the processing condition setting unit.

  Next, profile information is input from the machining condition setting unit 3C. In the example of FIG. 14, the tab of the print pattern input field 204 is switched from the “basic setting” tab 204h to the “shape setting” tab 204i, and a basic figure is selected from the profile designation field. Thereby, the display of the edit display column 202 is switched to the designated shape. In addition, when the display format of the edit display field 202 is switched to 3D display, the three-dimensional shape of the processing target surface can be confirmed three-dimensionally. The shape can be specified for each character string, that is, for each print block, but the shape may be specified for a plurality of character strings.

  In this way, after specifying the print pattern information and displaying the plan view of this processed pattern in the edit display column 202, the profile information is specified and converted into a three-dimensional processed pattern and confirmed in the edit display column 202. Thus, the change of the processing pattern can be visually confirmed. The order of the above procedures may be changed. That is, the print pattern information can be specified after the shape of the surface to be processed is specified first.

  As described above, after the three-dimensional spatial coordinate data is obtained as the processing data, adjustment work is performed as necessary. For example, adjustment of the layout and fine adjustment in the height direction (z direction) can be mentioned. For fine adjustment, means such as slider adjustment and mouse wheel rotation provided on the user interface of the program can be used.

  After the final laser processing data is generated and the setting operation is completed by the above procedure, the obtained laser processing data is transferred from the laser processing data setting program to the controller 1A of the laser processing apparatus shown in FIG. To execute the transfer, a “transfer / read” button 215 provided at the lower left of the screen of the laser processing data setting program is pressed. As a result, the setting data is transferred from the storage unit 5A to the memory unit 5 in the controller 1A, expanded and switched, and the new printing conditions are reflected. The laser processing data developed in the memory unit 5 and other processing conditions are referred to during the processing operation.

  The laser processing apparatus performs printing processing based on the laser processing data. Further, test printing may be performed prior to the start of actual processing. Thereby, it can be confirmed in advance whether or not printing of a desired printing pattern can be obtained. Further, the laser processing data can be reset based on the test print result.

In the above example, an example in which one print pattern is designated for one work has been described. However, a plurality of print patterns can be designated for one work by repeating the same procedure. Further, the present invention is not limited to the configuration in which only one workpiece is displayed on one screen of the laser processing data setting program, and a plurality of workpieces can be displayed on one screen and a print pattern can be designated for each workpiece.
(Defocus amount setting)

  The above machining data generation unit 80K generates machining data based on the machining conditions set by the machining condition setting unit 3C so that the basic setting conditions coincide with the three-dimensional machining target surface. However, it is also possible to set the defocus amount so that it does not coincide with the processing target surface.

  In order to intentionally set a specific defocus amount for the print surface, the defocus amount is designated with respect to a basic setting condition in which the print surface is focused. FIG. 51 shows an example of a processing parameter setting screen for performing such setting. In FIG. 51, a defocus setting field 204o for specifying a defocus value is provided in the processing parameter setting field 204n, and the user inputs a desired value. For example, if a positive value is input as the defocus value, the focal position is set at a position away from the laser processing apparatus by a value set from the printing surface. Conversely, if a negative value is input, the focal position is set closer to the laser processing apparatus by a value set further than the printing surface.

  Further, as setting items when setting the machining conditions, machining parameters such as a spot diameter as a defocus amount of the laser beam, a workpiece material, and the like can be set. At this time, by automatically changing other machining conditions in accordance with the change of one designated machining parameter, the user can easily create a condition by changing only a specific set item. In the screen of the laser processing data setting program shown in FIG. 51, a setting column for a working distance, a defocus amount, a spot diameter, and a workpiece to be processed is provided in the lower part of the “detail setting” tab 204j on the right side of the screen. Since the working distance is determined by the laser processing apparatus, it is usually set automatically. The defocus amount designates an offset amount from the focal position (working distance) of the laser beam. The spot diameter is specified as a ratio based on the spot diameter at the focal position. Furthermore, the workpiece to be machined is adjusted to the power density of the laser beam suitable for machining the selected workpiece by selecting the material and machining purpose of the workpiece to be machined from the options 204k. In this example, black printing on iron, black printing on stainless steel, ABS resin, polycarbonate resin, phenolic resin work materials, and processing purposes such as resin welding and surface roughening are listed. Select the radio button according to the purpose.

  These setting items are related to each other. That is, by adjusting the defocus amount, the power density of the laser beam can be adjusted, but the spot diameter also changes at the same time. When the material of the workpiece and the processing purpose are selected, the power density of the laser beam that matches the purpose is selected, so the defocus amount and the spot diameter change. For this reason, when it is desired to adjust the power density of the laser beam while maintaining the spot diameter constant, conventionally, not only the defocus amount is set, but in order to find a combination of processing parameters that does not change the spot diameter, It was necessary to adjust other setting items such as the output value of the laser beam and the scanning speed. This work involves repeated trial and error of adjusting each item value while observing the result of actually scanning the workpiece with laser light and finding the optimum combination of machining parameters, which is extremely complicated and laborious. It takes.

Therefore, a combination of other machining parameter values to be changed in advance corresponding to one machining parameter is registered in the reference table 5B, and when adjusting one machining parameter, the reference table 5B is referred to. By extracting a combination of other processing parameters to be performed and automatically setting this value, it is possible to change only necessary setting items. Specifically, when any one of the defocus amount, the spot diameter, and the workpiece to be processed is set from the screen of FIG. 51, corresponding values are automatically input to the other setting items. Even if the defocus amount is changed from this state, other processing parameters (for example, laser output and scanning speed) are automatically adjusted so that the spot diameter and the workpiece to be processed are maintained constant. Thereby, since the user can change only a desired item rapidly, it can adjust to a desired process result very easily.
(Continuous change in defocus amount)

  Furthermore, the processing parameters can be continuously changed during laser processing. Thereby, it is possible to form an inclined surface in the engraving process of the work surface, or to print a logo in a handwritten style on the work surface. Such processing can be realized by setting the defocus amount and spot diameter of the laser beam to be continuously changed. At this time, similarly to the above, the machining data generation unit 80K also continuously adjusts other machining parameters so as to follow the continuous change of the defocus amount and the spot diameter, and only the designated setting items continuously change. To be automatically adjusted. As a result, the setting items that do not need to be changed, such as the processing position and size, are processed so that the previous values are maintained, and processing conditions that change only the setting items desired by the user can be easily set.

  FIG. 52 shows an example of a processing parameter setting field 204l for setting such a continuous change in laser processing. In the example of FIG. 52, when the check box of the “perform continuous change” column provided in the machining parameter setting column 204l is turned on, the screen is switched to the continuous change setting screen. Here, the range where the continuous change is performed is designated by the coordinate position. When the check box of a setting item to be changed is turned ON, a range input field is displayed, and a numerical value can be designated. In the example of FIG. 52, the defocus setting column 204m is displayed by selecting the defocus amount check box, and the defocus amount at the start position and the defocus amount at the end position are designated. The designated defocus amount is automatically set so as to continuously change evenly within the designated range. It is also possible to specify only the start value or the end value, and specify the increment / decrement of change and the rate of change. When the defocus amount is set, a numerical value corresponding to the spot diameter column is also referred to from the reference table 5B and automatically input to the input column. In this way, when any setting item is specified, the corresponding value is automatically input to the other setting items, so the user is not aware of the correlation between the processing parameters of each setting item. It is possible to change to desired processing conditions by setting only necessary items.

As described above, the setting items such as the material of the workpiece to be machined, the machining pattern, the finishing state, and the machining time can be easily changed in a short time by freely changing the beam diameter of the laser beam.
(Save / Load settings)

  Furthermore, the processing parameters of the processing conditions once set can be saved as setting data and recalled when necessary. For example, by selecting “Save As” from the File menu and saving the setting information with an arbitrary name, the saved setting data can be recalled when performing the same processing on the same workpiece in the future. As a result, the time and labor required for the setup change can be greatly simplified. Moreover, by registering frequently used settings in advance, even if a beginner can use them, machining conditions can be easily set. Also, by making adjustments based on the setting conditions of registered / stored data, the labor of setting can be greatly saved. As described above, enabling the reuse of the setting information can greatly contribute to labor saving of the setting work.

As described above, the basic flow of the laser processing data setting method using the laser processing data setting program is as follows. First, using a two-dimensional setting user interface, as a two-dimensional print pattern information, a print character string and a layout are arranged. And then setting 3D information and layout for converting the print pattern into a 3D shape on the 3D setting user interface. This procedure will be described in detail. First, the setting in the two-dimensional setting user interface is performed by specifying the character string to be printed, the barcode, the two-dimensional code, or information specifying the user-defined figure and the size thereof. Input data related to a planar layout such as the inclination and line width for each character. Regarding data input, it is possible to directly input numerical values or to edit directly from an image displayed in a two-dimensional form on the processed image display unit. For example, size adjustment and layout can be adjusted by operating the mouse. These settings can be made in a two-dimensional display.
(Processing conditions)

  The processing conditions include processing pattern information indicating the content of processing and three-dimensional shape information for deforming the processing pattern into a three-dimensional shape according to the shape of the processing target surface. The processing pattern is a character string, a bar code, a symbol such as a two-dimensional code, or image data such as a logo. In a batch processing mode such as pallet printing, variables such as a manufacturing date and a serial number may be included in the processing pattern. As the variable, in addition to a predetermined value specified at the time of processing, such as a processing date, a value that is incremented according to a processing position, a processing order, or the like such as a serial number is used. By adding such information to the workpiece, three-dimensional printing corresponding to traceability can be realized. Note that the processing order by the X-axis scanner and the Y-axis scanner depends on the processing pattern. For example, when a character is input as a processing pattern using the input unit, the writing order is preset by the font. On the other hand, in the case of external character input, the user can specify the writing order in units of line segments.

The machining conditions set by the laser machining condition setting program and the laser machining condition setting device as described above are held in the storage unit 5A (FIG. 11). After the machining conditions are set, the memory unit 5 (FIG. 11) of the controller 1A is set. It is transferred to 1) and expanded, and is referred to during the machining operation.
(Thermal lens effect correction function)

  The laser marker also has a thermal lens effect correction function that corrects a focal position shift caused by the thermal lens effect by a focal position adjusting unit that can adjust the focal position of the laser light in the optical axis direction. Specifically, the correction amount specifying unit 80B specifies a focus position correction amount for correcting the generated thermal lens effect from the processing conditions set by the processing condition setting unit 3C, and according to the focus position correction amount. The laser drive controller controls the Z-axis scanner to adjust the focal position and scans the laser beam. This realizes highly reliable laser processing capable of maintaining high quality processing without degrading the processing quality even when the thermal lens effect occurs. The focus position correction amount by the correction amount specifying unit 80B is automatically calculated according to the processing conditions set by the processing condition setting unit 3C when setting the laser marker. In accordance with this focal position correction amount, the laser light scanning unit 9 is controlled by the laser drive control unit so that processing is performed at the corrected focal position during laser beam irradiation.

  As described above, the Z-axis scanner having the function of adjusting the focal position can be used not only for three-dimensional processing but also for correcting the thermal lens effect at the time of setting. In particular, the correction of the thermal lens effect has conventionally been very troublesome because it is necessary to manually adjust the working distance of the laser marker in the field according to the focal position shift due to the thermal lens effect. Further, if the laser processing conditions such as the laser power and the Q switch frequency are changed, the degree of the focal position shift also changes, and it is necessary to reset each time accordingly. In addition, many laser markers can change the processing conditions such as laser power and Q switch frequency for each processing block, but changing the processing conditions also changes the degree of the thermal lens effect. When continuously irradiating laser beam to the machining block, it is impossible to adjust the focal position accurately in all machining blocks, resulting in the result that machining quality is not constant for each machining block. It was. According to the present embodiment, since the adjustment of the processing position can be changed for each processing block, such a problem can be solved and extremely high quality processing is realized.

  Hereinafter, the thermal lens effect correction function will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 53 shows how the focal position fluctuates due to the thermal lens effect. FIG. 53 (a) shows a solid line when the laser power is large or the Q switch frequency is small with reference to FIG. 53 (b). FIG. 53C shows a state in which the focal length is shortened as indicated by a solid line when the laser power is low or the Q switch frequency is high.

For example, in a solid-state laser such as YVO ₄ or YAG, when the solid-state laser medium is heated, a thermal lens effect is generated, and a phenomenon in which the focal position shifts from the original position occurs. The shift amount of the focal position is proportional to the amount of heat staying inside the laser oscillator. This is equivalent to (input power) − (laser average output), and the input power is a set value of the laser power, and the laser average output is a function of the Q switch frequency. Therefore, the focal position deviation amount ΔVspot is ΔVspot = f. (P, Q). Here, P is a power setting value, and Q is a Q switch related parameter (Q switch frequency, ON / OFF duty, etc.).

  On the other hand, the laser marker is equipped with a Z-axis scanner as the laser beam scanning unit 9 that can adjust the focal position in the optical axis direction. Therefore, the Z-axis scanner is used to perform control so as to cancel out this deviation amount. For example, when the laser power is large, the Q switch frequency is small, or the ON / OFF duty ratio is large as indicated by the solid line in FIG. 53A, the focal position changes so as to be far. Therefore, in order to correct this, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 53A, the Z-axis scanner is controlled to adjust the focal position to the near side, that is, to reduce the spot diameter. Conversely, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 53 (c), when the laser power is small, the Q switch frequency is large, or the ON / OFF duty ratio is small, the focal length is shortened. The Z-axis scanner is controlled so as to bring the focal position closer, that is, to increase the spot diameter.

  Further, not only the laser oscillation unit itself but also a wavelength conversion element such as LBO generates a thermal lens effect as in the case of the solid laser medium, and thus such a thermal lens effect correction function is effective. Further, since the divergence angle changes depending on the intensity of the beam that has passed through the wavelength conversion element, a Z-axis scanner, which is a focal position adjustment means, can also be used to correct this.

Furthermore, even in a laser processing apparatus that does not use a solid-state laser medium such as a CO ₂ laser, when an optical element such as an external lens is heated by the power of a laser beam that passes through the optical element, thermal expansion or distortion of the optical element causes The focal position changes. Also in the correction in such a case, a Z-axis scanner which is a focal position adjusting unit can be used.
(Transition period until thermal equilibrium)

  Further, a design in which it takes a long time for the thermal lens effect to reach a thermal equilibrium state after changing the laser power or the Q switch frequency is also conceivable. For example, when the solid laser medium is large, the solid laser medium may be in contact with a member having a large heat capacity. In this case, it is possible to perform appropriate correction even in such a transient period by dynamically changing the focal position correction amount. For example, it can be expressed as ΔVspot = f ″ (P, Q, t) (t: time) as a focus position correction amount considering the time change.

Further, the degree of the thermal lens effect may be different depending on the solid laser medium. In this case, the coefficients and constants of the function f ″ (P, Q, t) can be adjusted and corrected for each individual. In addition, the focal position correction amount can be adjusted in consideration of changes with time.
(Defocus amount superimposition)

In addition, a laser marker capable of three-dimensional processing provided with a Z-axis scanner has a defocus function for processing by shifting the focal position intentionally as described above. That is, the user changes the spot position in the optical axis direction for each processing block from the processing condition setting unit 3C, specifically, the defocus setting field 204m in FIG. It is possible to print finely by reducing the spot diameter. Even in such a case, control is performed in consideration of the focus position correction amount described above. Specifically, if the user's desired spot position is ΔYspot, ΔYspot + ΔVspot obtained by adding this value to the focal position correction amount is controlled as the focal position. Thus, when defocus is set, appropriate processing is realized by offsetting the defocus amount and controlling the focus position adjusting means.
(Delay amount control according to focus position)

It is also possible to control so as to change the above-described delay operation in accordance with the adjustment amount of the focal position. As described above, when the machining conditions are changed for each machining block, the Z-axis scanner is operated for each machining block. The amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner at this time depends on the processing pattern of the preceding processing block and the focal position correction amount. Therefore, an appropriate delay operation according to the actual movement amount of the Z-axis scanner can be executed by controlling the delay amount, that is, the delay time, in consideration of the difference between the preceding and following machining blocks.
(Correction amount specifying means 80B)

  Next, a procedure for determining the focal position correction amount in the optical axis direction by the thermal lens effect by the correction amount specifying unit 80B will be described. The focal position correction amount can be easily determined by referring to a reference table that is a form of correction amount storage means that records the deviation amount due to the thermal lens effect, that is, the focal position correction amount, in advance according to the laser processing conditions. it can. The correction amount specifying means 80B displays the focal position information according to the laser light output conditions set by the processing condition setting unit 3C, for example, parameter values such as laser power, Q switch frequency, ON / OFF duty, etc., in a two-dimensional array table. The data is stored in the correction amount storage means as data, and the corresponding focal position correction amount can be read out according to the parameter value. As a result, the processing of the correction amount specifying unit 80B is reduced in load and speeded up.

  Or it can also obtain | require by calculation from the set laser processing conditions, without utilizing a table. In this case, an arithmetic expression for calculating the focal position shift amount due to the thermal lens effect generated according to the laser light output condition is set in the correction amount specifying means 80B in advance, and correction is performed based on this arithmetic expression. The amount specifying means 80B calculates a focus position correction amount for each laser processing condition. With this method, the focal position correction amount can be appropriately determined without using a storage element such as a table. Also, a plurality of arithmetic expressions can be prepared and used by switching. As an arithmetic expression, ΔVspot = aP−f ′ (Q) + c (a, b, c are constants; P is laser power; Q is a Q switch related parameter (Q switch frequency, ON / OFF duty, etc.)), etc. it can. By using this arithmetic expression, ΔVspot can be calculated as the parameter values of P and Q are changed, and the Z-axis scanner can be controlled in real time so as to focus on the workpiece based on this value.

Further, in any case, the correction amount storage means and the correction amount specifying means 80B can be arranged on the controller 1A side. For example, the development position memory 5c provided in the memory unit 5 of FIG. 1 holds such a focal position correction amount and refers to it during processing.
(Processing condition setting data flow)

FIG. 54 is a block diagram illustrating the flow of data in processing from the input of machining condition settings by the user to the start of machining. 54, the print setting input value 401 corresponds to the processing condition setting information set by the processing condition setting unit 3C in FIG. 11 and the like and stored in the storage unit 5A. Here, the user inputs the laser power, the Q switch frequency, the defocus amount ΔYspot, and the like from the screen of FIG. The basic character line segment information 402 is information stored in the basic character line segment information memory 5b of FIG. From these pieces of information, character coordinate information 403, printing power / speed information 404, and post-processing character line segment information 405 are generated by development processing. The development information including these pieces of information is stored in a print time reference memory 406 corresponding to the development information memory 5c in FIG. The expanded information stored in the print reference memory 406 is transferred to the register 407 and the FIFO memory 408 of the controller unit in accordance with the print start command.
(Procedure for determining the focal position correction amount)

  Next, the procedure for determining the focal position correction amount to be given to the Z-axis scanner will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, processing conditions are set. Specifically, the user sets the laser power emitted from the Q switch 19, the Q switch frequency, or the ON / OFF duty ratio of the Q switch as the laser light output condition from the processing condition setting unit 3C. If necessary, the defocus amount ΔYspot is set in step S2. Next, in step S3, processing pattern position information is set. Thereby, the XYZ coordinates of the machining position are determined. In addition, setting information including system information, setting common information, and block information is input. When the setting information is input in this way, the machining data is calculated in step S4. At this stage, the focus position correction amount is added by the correction amount specifying means 80B, and the final Z coordinate position Z = z (x, y) + ΔYspot + f (P, Q) is determined. Then, a print information expansion process is performed, and the print order is determined. At this time, the character coordinate information 403, the printing power / speed information 404, and the processed character line segment information 405 shown in FIG. 54 are generated. More specifically, according to the character size, run length, and bold line width entered by the user, enlargement / reduction of characters defined by basic character line segment information, addition of run-up line segments, and thickening processing (when necessary) Execute. The expansion information generated in this way is temporarily stored in the printing reference memory 406 (development information memory 5c). Thereafter, it waits for the user to input a print start command.

  If there is an input of a print execution command, print data is output in step S5, and the process proceeds to execution of print processing. At this time, the update information is transferred to the register 407 and the FIFO memory 408 after determining update characters such as time, date, and rank as necessary. If the update content is not included in the print content, the expanded information read from the reference memory 406 at the time of printing is transferred to the register 407 and the FIFO memory 408 as they are. The update character is a print character such as time, date, rank, serial number, etc. For example, it corresponds to a case where serial numbers printed on a plurality of works increase by one. If there is an update character, the user explicitly instructs when inputting the processing condition setting, and development processing is performed for all characters (for example, numbers 0 to 9) that may be used for printing. The time and deadline printing is calculated when a print start command is input. When the development information is transferred to the register 407 and the FIFO memory 408 as described above, printing is started. Specifically, when the storage of the development information in the register 407 and the FIFO memory 408 is completed, or when there is no free space in the FIFO memory 408, a print start command in the hardware is issued and printing is started. . If there is a remaining development information when there is no free area in the FIFO memory 408, the transfer of the development information is temporarily interrupted, and the development information is displayed when the empty area of the FIFO memory 408 is halved as a result of printing. Transfer is resumed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the existing Z-axis scanner is used for controlling the focal position including the calibration of the thermal lens effect, it can be realized at a low cost and with a simple configuration. This is extremely effective especially when it is desired to change the processing conditions for each processing block.
(Processing amount correction function)

  Further, the laser processing apparatus includes a processing amount correction that keeps the processing quality constant regardless of the height difference by automatically correcting the processing conditions according to the height difference of the processing target surface. This function will be described below with reference to FIGS. In a laser processing apparatus capable of three-dimensional processing, data associated with a Z coordinate corresponding to an XY coordinate is held in a memory unit, and the Z coordinate stored in the memory unit is referred to when controlling the XY coordinate. , XYZ coordinates are determined. Thereby, the Z coordinate is also output only by controlling the XY coordinates. Further, the scanning speed of the laser beam scanning unit is changed according to the change in the XYZ directions so that the energy density applied to the processing target surface is uniform. Here, the scanning speed of the X / Y / Z-axis scanner is controlled by controlling the reading time from the memory unit. For example, when a three-dimensional machining pattern is designated using ZMAP, the Z coordinate is stored in the ZMAP memory 410 (FIG. 61). The ZMAP memory 410 functions as a correspondence storage unit that associates Z coordinates 412 corresponding to XY coordinates 411. The ZMAP memory 410 is held in the storage unit 5A (FIG. 11) when processing conditions are set, and is expanded in the memory unit 5 (FIG. 1) of the controller 1A after the processing conditions are set, and is referred to during processing. With this method, three-dimensional data including the Z coordinate can be handled in substantially the same manner as two-dimensional data, so that internal processing can be simplified.

For example, the user interface screen of the laser processing data setting program shown in FIG. 56 shows an example in which processing data is displayed on a two-dimensional, that is, XY coordinate setting screen. In this screen, the processing pattern is the print character “A”, which is two-dimensional. Therefore, even if the screen of FIG. 56 is switched to the three-dimensional display, a planar processing pattern is displayed on the XY plane as shown in FIG. In this case, the Z coordinate is zero. In this state, the Z coordinate data associated with the XY coordinates in advance is referred to from the ZMAP memory. As a result, three-dimensional machining data including the Z coordinate is generated and displayed in a three-dimensional manner as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 58, the machining surface is an inclined surface for the sake of simplicity. Here, the Z coordinate Z = aY (a is a constant) is expressed.
(Correspondence relationship storage unit)

  Further, FIG. 59 shows a memory space of the ZMAP memory 410 as a correspondence storage unit corresponding to this example. As shown in this figure, Z coordinate information is stored in a table shape according to the XY coordinates. In the example of FIG. 59, for the print character “A” shown in FIG. 56 and the like, the Z coordinate at the position of coordinates (x, y) = (0x80, 0x7f) refers to the memory value stored in the cell at this position. Is determined.

In this method, since the Z coordinate can be easily determined, there is an advantage that the data processing inside the laser processing apparatus can be simplified. On the other hand, if the Z coordinate is obtained only by controlling the XY coordinates, the difference in the Z coordinate, that is, the distance in the height direction, is not reflected, so the relative scanning speed at the time of machining when the height difference is large and small There is a problem that changes. That is, even if the distance is the same on the XY plane, the length of the line segment to be processed changes if the distance in the Z-axis direction is different. For example, as shown in FIGS. 60A and 60B, in a processing pattern having a height difference, the larger the height difference (FIG. 60B) naturally becomes longer. In the examples of FIGS. 58 and 59, there is no difference in height as long as the movement is in the horizontal direction of the inclined surface, that is, the Y-axis direction intersecting the inclination angle, but the vertical direction of the inclined surface, that is, the X axis along the inclination angle. If the movement is in the direction, a difference in height occurs, and the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner increases. When the amount of movement increases, the scanning speed relatively increases, so the density of the laser irradiation power applied to the surface to be processed decreases, resulting in unevenness in the degree of processing such as density, thickness, and depth. Become. (Note that the laser irradiation power refers not to the output of the laser beam in the laser oscillation unit but to the output of the laser beam that is finally irradiated onto the surface to be processed.)
(Correction scanning speed)

  Therefore, in order to correct machining unevenness due to such height differences, a parameter (machining amount control parameter) that influences the degree of machining, that is, a machining amount is corrected to determine a corrected machining amount, and this corrected machining amount The processing is controlled based on the above. First, as an example of the correction processing amount, consider a case where control is performed by correcting the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner to the correction scanning speed by the processing amount correction means 80M. Here, the movement speed is determined in consideration of the movement amounts Δx, Δy, Δz of the XYZ coordinates, not simply the control of the XY coordinates, and thereby the relative distance or the difference in the scanning speed due to the change in the height difference is determined. Control to reduce. FIG. 61 is a block diagram illustrating processing of the machining amount correction control. Here, it is assumed that the three-dimensional data of the machining pattern has already been set as the machining conditions. First, the Z coordinate 412 corresponding to the memory space associated with each XY coordinate 411 is determined with reference to the ZMAP memory 410 from the XY coordinate 411 of the set processing pattern. These XYZ coordinate data are stored in the FIFO memory 408. On the other hand, from the XYZ coordinate data stored in the FIFO memory 408, the movement amounts Δx, Δy, Δz for each basic movement unit are calculated by the machining amount correction means 80M. That is, the change amount Z of the Z coordinate with respect to the basic movement unit of the XY coordinate is calculated along with the movement amounts Δx and Δy of the machining position on the XY coordinate. The calculated Δx, Δy, Δz data is expanded in the FIFO memory 408, and the corrected machining amount is calculated by the machining amount correction means 80M in consideration of these Δx, Δy, Δz. Specifically, based on the movement amount Δz of the Z-axis scanner or the scanning speed, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner is calculated so that the X / Y-axis scanner follows the movement of the focal position by the Z-axis scanner. The In accordance with the calculated scanning speed of each scanner, a control command (here, coordinate position update information 409) is sent from the FIFO memory 408 to each scanner.

  Here, the operation speed of the scanner is adjusted by adjusting the timing at which the operation command is sent from the FIFO memory 408 to the X / Y-axis scanner. In other words, in the past, an operation command was sent to each scanner at a fixed timing, but in this embodiment, the operation command sending timing to the X / Y-axis scanner is made variable independently of the Z-axis scanner. As a result, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner can be controlled. By such control, the scanning speed on the actual processing target surface can be made uniform, and processing can be performed with uniform quality as a whole.

In this example, on the basis of the movement amount or scanning speed of the Z-axis scanner whose response characteristics are relatively inferior to those of the X / Y-axis scanner, control is performed to reduce the scanning speed so that the X / Y-axis scanner side matches this. ing. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, when a high-speed Z-axis scanner is used, control that increases the scanning speed of the Z-axis scanner according to the scanning of the X-axis or Y-axis scanner is also possible. Further, when the response characteristics of the X-axis scanner and the Y-axis scanner are different, the scanning speed of any of the scanners can be controlled so as to match these movement amounts.
(Basic shape)

  In the above example, the ZMAP memory 410 is used as the correspondence storage unit that associates the XY coordinate position and the Z coordinate position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the XYZ coordinates such as a predetermined cylinder, cone, and sphere are unambiguous. The same result can be obtained even if the coordinate information of the basic figure determined by is used as the correspondence storage unit.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to ZMAP data, and three-dimensional data files recorded in other data formats as described above can also be used. For example, various general-purpose formats such as DXF, IGES, STEP, STL, and GKS, and special formats for specific applications such as DWG are used as the data file of the machining target surface created by another program such as 3D CAD. it can. After these data files are taken in by the laser processing data setting program, it can be converted into an appropriate data format that can be handled by the program as needed, and the correspondence recording unit can be constructed. In this method, since already created data can be used, the work of designating the shape of the surface to be processed can be greatly saved. As such data reading means, as described above, the three-dimensional shape data input means 3b and the positioning means 3c for positioning with respect to the inputted three-dimensional shape data are provided. The alignment work can be performed appropriately.

In any of the methods, the machining amount correction unit 80M can read the machining pattern from the correspondence storage unit and determine the correction amount, thereby performing a uniform machining of a three-dimensional shape.
(Other correction processing amount)

In this way, the movement amount on the Z coordinate is calculated with respect to the basic scanning movement unit on the XY coordinate, and the laser is set so that the scanning speed on the actual processing target surface is constant based on the calculated movement amount. By controlling the moving speed of the optical scanning unit, the processing quality such as the processing depth, thickness and density can be made uniform regardless of the amount of movement of the Z coordinate. Here, as an example of the correction processing amount, the example in which the processing amount is controlled to be constant regardless of the height difference by adjusting the scanning speed of the scanner to the correction scanning speed has been described. Alternatively, in addition to this, the same result can be obtained by adjusting parameters such as laser power, Q switch frequency, and spot diameter. Further, since the distance to be moved is fixed, the scanning time can be treated as synonymous with the scanning speed.
(Laser irradiation power control)
(Correction laser irradiation power)

  For example, when the scanning speed is relatively increased due to the inclination of the surface to be processed and the laser irradiation power density is relatively decreased, the laser beam at the irradiated position is added by adding the laser irradiation power corresponding to the decreased amount. It is possible to irradiate the processing target surface with the same energy density, and to achieve uniform processing results. Specifically, the deeper the energy density, the shallower the lower the energy density. The energy density can be expressed by the following equation.

Energy density [W = J / S] = Laser irradiation power [W] / Irradiated area [mm ² ]

  That is, the energy density is the magnitude of the laser irradiation power irradiated per unit time and unit area. Here, the irradiation area can be expressed by the following equation.

Irradiation area [mm ² ] = Speed [mm / s] * Time [S] * Laser beam spot diameter [mm]

  In accordance with the above equation, the laser irradiation power is adjusted according to the amount of change ΔZ in the Z direction so that the processing quality at each processing position is uniform. Thereby, it is possible to suppress unevenness in the processing quality that occurs when the scanning speed on the actual processing surface changes due to the change in the Z-axis direction.

  Note that the energy density can be similarly adjusted by adjusting the spot diameter of the laser beam. However, in this method, the spot diameter changes depending on the amount of change in the Z-axis direction, and the defocus amount can be adjusted by the user, so the control becomes complicated.

As described above, the processing amount correction unit 80M can control the processing amount to be nearly constant by adjusting parameters such as the laser irradiation power and the spot diameter in addition to the scanning speed of the laser beam scanning unit as the correction processing amount.
(How to determine the correction machining amount)

The control of the correction scanning speed can be determined by storing the scanning speed data corresponding to each ΔZ in the correction processing amount storage unit in advance, and reading ΔZ by the processing amount correction means 80M when ΔZ is calculated. The correction processing amount storage unit can use memory table data of a two-dimensional array as the reference table 5B of the storage unit 5A. Thereby, the correction processing amount can be easily determined with an inexpensive configuration, and the processing of the processing amount correction means 80M can be made low in load and speeded up. Alternatively, the processing amount correction unit 80M can determine the correction processing amount by calculation without providing such a table. In this case, the machining amount correcting means 80M obtains the scanning speed data from the theoretical formula or curve data.
(Decision timing of correction machining amount)

  When the table is not provided, the processing amount correction means 80M determines the correction processing amount in real time while scanning the laser beam scanning unit. Alternatively, when the machining pattern is already positioned in the three-dimensional shape data as described above and the printing order is determined from the beginning, the corrected machining amount is calculated in advance by the machining amount correction unit 80M and the corrected machining amount storage unit or the memory unit The correction machining amount can be read out at any time during the machining operation. Details of these will be described later.

In the above example, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner is changed by changing the sending timing of the coordinate position data output from the FIFO memory 408 to the laser beam scanning unit. However, the present invention does not limit the method for changing the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner to the configuration. For example, the rotational speed of the galvano motor that rotates the galvanometer mirror of the X / Y-axis scanner is directly controlled to reduce the scanning speed. It can also be rotated.
(Basic movement unit)

  The unit for moving the X / Y-axis scanner is set in advance as a basic movement unit. That is, the basic movement unit is a minimum unit for specifying, calculating, and updating the coordinate position on the XY coordinates. Based on this basic movement unit, the movement amount of the Z coordinate is calculated.

  The basic movement unit can be arbitrarily set with the resolution of the XY coordinates as a minimum. For example, the resolution of the XY coordinates (for example, 65536 pixels × 65536 pixels) is matched with the basic movement unit of the XY coordinates. In this case, the amount of change in the Z coordinate is calculated and controlled every time one pixel is moved on the XY coordinate. With this method, ΔZ can be calculated finely and the correction machining amount in each section can be controlled, so that high machining quality can be obtained.

Alternatively, a larger basic movement unit can be set. For example, if the basic movement unit is set with a plurality of pixels such as 2 pixels and 10 pixels, the amount of processing can be reduced, which is preferable when it is desired to prioritize the processing speed over the processing quality. Furthermore, the basic movement unit can be set to a default value by default, or can be adjusted to an arbitrary value by the user.
(Control of basic movement unit based on movement direction of XY coordinates)

  In addition, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner can be changed according to the moving direction on the XY coordinates separately from the amount of change of the Z coordinates. Specifically, different basic movement units can be set for the movement of the XY coordinates alone and the case where the X coordinates and the Y coordinates are moved simultaneously, that is, when the movement is performed in an oblique direction. For example, when moving vertically or horizontally on the XY coordinates, 1 is set as the moving unit, and when moving diagonally, the moving unit is set to 1.41, or 1.5 approximating this. In this way, by setting two basic movement units according to the movement direction of the XY coordinates, the basic movement units that are vertically and horizontally inclined can be approximated to a square shape. Further, it is needless to say that even when moving obliquely, it is possible to set 1 as the movement unit and unify the basic movement unit in one way.

If the basic movement unit is set in two ways, the correction scanning speed and the correction laser irradiation power classified according to the XY movement direction must be calculated, which complicates the arithmetic processing. Therefore, in order to approximate the same movement amount even when moving diagonally, for example, when moving vertically and horizontally, 3 pixels (1 + 1 + 1 = 3) are used as the basic movement unit, and when moving diagonally, 2 pixels It is also possible to set the minute (1.5 + 1.5 = 3) as the basic movement unit. Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 67 and 70 to be described later, it is possible to approximate a circular shape in which the movement amount on the XY plane is uniform.
(Calculation method of movement amount of Z coordinate)

The movement amount of the Z coordinate is calculated according to the basic movement unit on the XY coordinate determined as described above. That is, by calculating the movement amount of the Z coordinate with respect to a reference movement unit that is a reference on the XY coordinates, the correction processing amount of the X / Y-axis scanner according to the change of the Z coordinate can be appropriately set. Next, two examples will be described as specific methods for calculating the movement amount of the Z coordinate as the correction processing amount.
(1) Z coordinate is stored individually in each XY coordinate

A Z coordinate corresponding to each XY coordinate is stored in the corrected machining amount storage unit. Specifically, when each coordinate position of the XY coordinates (for example, 65536 pixels × 65536 pixels) stores the Z coordinates, the corresponding Z coordinates are read based on the movement of the XY coordinates, and the movement in the Z direction is performed. Calculate the amount.
(2) Divide the machining surface into blocks

  In the method of storing the Z coordinate individually for each pixel, the amount of memory required for the correction processing amount storage unit increases as the resolution increases. Therefore, the machining surface may be divided into blocks and the Z coordinate may be determined in blocks. For example, an XY coordinate having 65536 pixels × 65536 pixels is divided into blocks each having a size of 256 pixels × 256 pixels, and a different plane expression for calculating a Z coordinate is assigned to each of 256 × 256 blocks. Then, the Z coordinate is approximately calculated based on the plane expression of the block to which the XY coordinate position to be processed belongs. According to this method, it is sufficient to obtain the Z coordinate by calculation, and it is sufficient to hold the plane equation in units of blocks, so that the necessary memory amount can be greatly reduced.

As described above, the movement amount of the Z coordinate can be calculated when the print pattern is set and the machining position on the Z coordinate on the XY coordinate of the set machining pattern is determined. Therefore, in addition to calculating the movement amount of the Z coordinate in real time while processing, the movement amount is also calculated in advance when the processing pattern is set, and the Z coordinate read out at the time of processing is held by holding this. It is also possible to control according to.
(Control of correction machining amount)

When the basic movement unit of the XY coordinates is one, the correction processing amount to be controlled is determined based on the change amount of the Z coordinate. In the two cases, the correction processing amount is determined on the basis of the change amount of the Z coordinate after being classified according to the XY movement direction.
(1) Control of scanning speed (time) on XY coordinates

As a section serving as a reference for controlling the machining amount control parameter, a unit for updating the coordinate position information is set as a unit section Δ. Controls the scanning time (synonymous with scanning speed because the distance is fixed) required for the scanning position to move in the unit interval Δ of the XY coordinates. Specifically, ΔXYZ is defined as the actual printing distance on the surface to be processed in the unit interval Δ of the XY coordinates, and t is defined as the scanning time,
The scanning time t in each ΔXYZ section is controlled so that ΔXYZ / t = constant. ΔXYZ / t indicates the moving speed of the printing position on the printing surface. Therefore, if t is controlled so that this is constant, the moving speed of the printing position on the surface to be processed can be made constant. As described above, the scanning speed is controlled by changing the update timing of the coordinate data output from the FIFO memory 408 to the laser beam scanning unit. In addition, more uniform printing is possible by simultaneously controlling the Q switch for controlling ON / OFF of the laser.
(2) Control of laser irradiation power

On the other hand, the correction processing amount can also be adjusted by controlling the laser irradiation power. Here, the control is performed so that the laser irradiation power P increases as ΔXYZ increases. In particular,
The laser irradiation power P in each ΔXYZ section is controlled so that P / ΔXYZ = constant. Even in this method, the energy density at each irradiation position can be made constant. The laser irradiation power is controlled by controlling the LD current that is an excitation light source. The same effect can be obtained by controlling the spot diameter of the laser light and the Q switch frequency. For example, as the scanning speed increases, the density of printed dots becomes coarser, and as the scanning speed decreases, the density becomes darker. For this reason, the density of the printed dots can be kept constant by changing the Q switch frequency in accordance with the change in the scanning speed.
(Processing amount control parameter)

As described above, as the processing amount control parameter for making the energy density on the processing target surface constant, the laser irradiation power applied to the processing target surface, the scanning speed or the distance on the processing target surface (scanning speed × time) Is mentioned. By adjusting and controlling these machining amount control parameters according to the XYZ information, the energy density can be made constant regardless of the machining position. Also, regarding the operation of the laser beam scanning unit, when the X / Y-axis scanner has almost the same drive characteristics and the Z-axis scanner has different drive characteristics, the control parameters of the X / Y-axis scanner and the control parameters of the Z-axis scanner are separated. By doing so, it is possible to control more optimal machining amount control parameters.
(Control of machining amount control parameter)

Hereinafter, details including combinations of these methods will be described. The following six patterns can be considered to correct the machining amount by combining the machining amount control parameter with the control of the X / Y / Z-axis scanner.
(1) Corrected scanning speed

  The amount of movement in the XYZ axis directions is calculated, and the scanning speed is controlled according to the calculated amount of movement. As basic movement units, (A) the basic movement unit when XY moves only in the X-axis direction and only in the Y-axis direction, and (B) when both the XY axes move, that is, diagonally on the XY axis. It is also possible to set the basic movement unit in the case of movement to a different value. In this case, even if the movement amount in the Z-axis direction is the same, the XYZ movement amount is different.

  Here, let us consider the amount of movement in the case of scanning the laser beam with the bowl-shaped back surface as shown in FIG. When the Z coordinate corresponding to the XY coordinate is determined using ZMAP, the actual laser beam scanning portion trajectory on the X / Z plane corresponding to the movement amount on the XY plane and the movement of the unit interval Δ are used. An image of the required time t and laser irradiation power is shown in FIG. Here, the corrected scanning speed obtained by adjusting the scanning speed is controlled as a machining amount control parameter. First, the movement amount in the Z direction, that is, the height difference Δz is calculated according to the movement amount Δxy in the unit section Δ on the XY plane. Then, the processing time Δt of each unit section Δ is adjusted so that the actual scanning speed (Δxyz / Δt) on the processing target surface in each unit section Δ is uniform. Thereby, the scanning speed on the processing target surface in consideration of the XYZ directions can be kept constant regardless of the position. In this example, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner is controlled on the basis of the scanning speed of the Z-axis scanner while keeping the laser irradiation power in each unit section Δ constant. In the example shown in FIG. 63, the closer to the end of the surface to be processed, the greater the height difference Δz, so the time required for processing Δt also increases, and t3> t2> t1.

Further, the processing amount correction control processing in this case is shown in the block diagram of FIG. This figure corresponds to the functional block diagram of FIG. Here, the XYZ coordinates 413 are stored in the FIFO memory 408. Further, the machining amount correcting means 80M determines the respective changes ΔX, ΔY, ΔZ in the XYZ directions, and the machining amount (here, the scanning speed on the surface to be machined in consideration of the XYZ directions) is made uniform according to these values. Thus, the scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner is changed by the scanner drive control unit. That is, the scanning speed of the XYZ axis scanner is controlled by controlling the read timing of the corrected XYZ coordinate position 414 from the FIFO memory 408. If necessary, the machining amount correcting means 80M controls the Q switch frequency based on ΔX, ΔY, and ΔZ, and also controls the frequency of the laser output.
(2) Corrected laser irradiation power

The amount of movement in the XYZ axis direction is calculated, and the laser irradiation power is controlled according to the calculated amount of movement. In this method, the processing amount control parameter controlled in the above (1) is changed to laser irradiation power. FIG. 65 shows the flow of such control. Here, XYZ coordinates 413 are stored in the FIFO memory 408, and the laser irradiation power is changed so that the energy density becomes uniform according to the amount of change in XYZ. Specifically, the XYZ coordinates 413 are stored in the FIFO memory 408 as in FIG. 64, and the corrected XYZ coordinate position 414 is output to the laser beam scanning unit. On the other hand, the processing amount correction means 80M determines the respective changes ΔX, ΔY, ΔZ in the XYZ directions, and the processing amount (here, the laser irradiation power on the processing target surface) is made uniform according to these values. Then, the correction laser irradiation power, specifically, the LD current is adjusted. In this way, the correction laser irradiation power is changed in accordance with the change in X, Y, and Z, and the amount of processing is controlled to be constant.
(3) Corrected scanning speed (X / Y-axis scanner) + Corrected laser irradiation power (Z-axis scanner)

  In the above examples (1) and (2), the same machining amount control parameter is used for controlling the X / Y-axis scanner and the Z-axis scanner, but the machining amount is controlled by the X / Y-axis scanner and the Z-axis scanner. Parameters can also be changed. First, as (3), the correction scanning speed is set as the processing amount control parameter for the X / Y axis scanner, and the correction laser irradiation power is set for the Z axis scanner. That is, the scanning speed on the XY coordinate is controlled based on the movement amount of the XY coordinate, and the laser irradiation power is controlled based on the movement amount of the Z coordinate.

  Here, the X and Y axis scanners are classified according to the movement in the vertical and horizontal directions and the movement in the oblique direction. When the basic movement unit of the X / Y-axis scanner is made to coincide with the resolution of the XY coordinates, it moves in the diagonal direction of the square cell shape in the diagonal direction, and therefore moves a little longer on the XY coordinates. In this case, it is possible to control with high accuracy by setting two basic movement units and dividing the case according to each movement direction. On the other hand, when the basic movement unit is larger than the resolution, the basic movement unit is configured by a plurality of pixels. In this case, if the X and Y axis scanners are moved in the vertical and horizontal directions at an oblique angle, a square cell-shaped diagonal locus is obtained, so that the movement distance increases compared to the vertical and horizontal directions. Therefore, when compared in the unit interval Δ, the relative movement speed is faster in the oblique direction than in the vertical and horizontal directions. The non-uniform speed causes uneven processing. Therefore, the relative speed is made constant in order to match the relative processing amounts. Here, the scanning speed in the vertical and horizontal directions of the X / Y-axis scanner is controlled to be slower than that in the oblique direction. For example, when the ratio of vertical and horizontal to oblique is approximated to 1: 1.5, the movement speed in the vertical and horizontal directions is set to 1 / 1.5 times based on the movement in the oblique direction.

  This control will be described with reference to FIG. Here, XY coordinates and Z coordinates are stored in different memory spaces. First, after storing the XY coordinates 411 in the FIFO memory 408, the change amounts Δx and Δy are calculated by the processing amount correcting means 80M to determine the correction scanning speed. Thereby, the scanning speed can be controlled so that the processing amount becomes uniform according to the change of the XY coordinates, specifically, the vertical / horizontal / oblique moving directions. If necessary, the machining amount correction means 80M controls the Q switch frequency and also controls the frequency of the laser output.

On the other hand, the Z coordinate 412 corresponding to the XY coordinate 411 is read with reference to the ZMAP memory 410, and update data of the XYZ coordinate position is sent to the laser beam scanning unit. At this time, the change amount ΔZ of the unit section is calculated, and the correction laser irradiation power, specifically, the LD current is adjusted accordingly. As described above, the laser irradiation power corresponding to the change in Z is changed so that the energy density becomes uniform at the corrected scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner. In this way, control of the X / Y-axis scanner and the Z-axis scanner can be separated and controlled based on different processing amount control parameters.
(4) Constant distance (X / Y-axis scanner) + Correction scanning speed (Z-axis scanner)

  In the example of (3), the case is divided according to the movement direction of the X / Y-axis scanner, but the movement amount of the X / Y-axis scanner can be kept constant regardless of the direction. In (4), the movement amount of the XY coordinates is controlled so as to be a line segment vector having the same distance in any of the diagonal directions, and the scanning speed is controlled based only on the movement amount of the Z coordinates. FIG. 67 and FIG. 68 show the amount of movement when the laser beam is scanned with respect to the processing target surface shown in FIG. 62 in this case. FIG. 67 shows basic movement units in the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions of the X / Y-axis scanner in the XY plane, and FIG. 68 shows laser beam trajectories and basic movement units in the X / Z plane. Images of time t required and laser irradiation power are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 67, the movement amount in the X and Y directions is always defined to be a line segment vector. That is, control is performed so that the basic movement unit in the vertical and horizontal directions on the XY plane and the basic movement unit in the oblique direction substantially coincide with each other. For example, the basic movement unit in the vertical and horizontal directions is 3 pixels, and the basic movement unit in the oblique direction is 2 pixels, and is approximated within a circular line segment vector area. As a result, the basic movement unit in any direction becomes equal, and the case of oblique movement can be eliminated. In order to realize such control, the movement distance change amount Δxy is calculated so that the scanning speed Δxy / Δtxy on the XY plane is uniform.

  Next, the amount of change Δz in the Z direction is obtained, and the processing time of the unit section Δ is set so that the scanning speed on the XY plane (Δxy / Δtxy) * the scanning speed in the Z direction (Δz / Δtz) is uniform. Δtz is calculated. As a result, unit time Δtz = f (Δxy / Δtxy, Δz). Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 63, as the height difference Δz approaches the end of the surface to be processed, Δt increases, and t3> t2> t1. Further, the laser irradiation power in each unit section Δ is kept constant. In this way, the X / Y-axis scanner is controlled based on the movement distance control parameter, and the Z-axis scanner is controlled based on the correction scanning speed control parameter.

FIG. 69 shows the flow of such control. Here, XY coordinates and Z coordinates are stored in different memory spaces, and XY is divided so as to be a line segment vector, and the correction scanning speed is determined according to the change amount ΔZ in the Z direction. Specifically, the Z coordinate 412 is read from the XY coordinate 411 with reference to the ZMAP memory 410, and the XYZ coordinate is stored in the FIFO memory 408. At this time, the change amount ΔZ of the unit section is calculated, and the processing amount, specifically, the correction scanning speed of the Z-axis scanner is determined accordingly. If necessary, the machining amount correction means 80M controls the Q switch frequency and also controls the frequency of the laser output. According to this method, since the movement distance in the XY plane is defined by the line segment vector, it is not necessary to distinguish between cases depending on the movement direction of the X / Y-axis scanner, and the control can be simplified.
(5) Constant distance (X / Y-axis scanner) + Correction laser irradiation power (Z-axis scanner)

  In (5), as in (4), the movement of the X / Y-axis scanner is defined by a line segment vector, and the laser irradiation power is controlled based only on the movement amount of the Z coordinate. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 70 and 71. FIG. Here, as with FIG. 67, the movement distance change amount Δxy is calculated so that the scanning speed Δxy / Δtxy on the XY plane is uniform.

  Next, the laser irradiation power is controlled instead of the scanning speed of FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 71, the amount of change Δz in the Z direction is obtained, and the scanning speed on the XY plane (Δxy / Δtxy) * the amount of change in laser irradiation power in the Z direction (ΔP / Δz) The amount of change ΔP of the laser irradiation power in the unit section Δ is calculated so that becomes uniform. Here, the change amount ΔP of the laser irradiation power in the unit interval Δ can be expressed by ΔP = f (Δxy / Δtxy, Δz). As shown in FIG. 71, ΔP increases as the height difference Δz approaches the end of the surface to be processed, and P3> P2> P1. The scanning speed of the laser beam scanning unit is kept constant. In this way, the X / Y-axis scanner is controlled based on the processing distance control parameter and the Z-axis scanner is controlled based on the processing amount control parameter of the correction laser irradiation power.

FIG. 72 shows the flow of such control. Here, as in FIG. 69, XY coordinates and Z coordinates are stored in different memory spaces, and XY is further divided into line segment vectors, and the correction laser irradiation power is determined according to the change amount ΔZ in the Z direction. Specifically, the Z coordinate 412 is read from the XY coordinate 411 with reference to the ZMAP memory 410, and the XYZ coordinate is stored in the FIFO memory 408. At this time, the change amount ΔZ of the unit section is calculated, and the processing amount, specifically, the correction laser irradiation power is determined according to this. According to this method, since the movement distance in the XY plane is defined by the line segment vector, it is not necessary to distinguish between cases depending on the movement direction of the X / Y-axis scanner, and the control can be simplified.
(6) Corrected laser irradiation power (X / Y-axis scanner) + Corrected scanning speed (Z-axis scanner)

  In (6), the laser irradiation power on the XY coordinate is controlled based on the movement amount of the XY coordinate, and the scanning speed is controlled based on the movement amount of the Z coordinate. Again, the XY coordinates and Z coordinates are stored in different memory spaces, the laser irradiation power is controlled so that the energy density becomes uniform according to the amount of change in XY, and the energy density is made uniform with that power. The scanning speed of the X / Y-axis scanner is changed according to the change of Z.

  FIG. 73 shows the flow of such control. First, the Z coordinate 412 is read from the XY coordinates 411 with reference to the ZMAP memory 410, and the XYZ coordinates are stored in the FIFO memory 408. Further, the changes ΔX and ΔY in the XY directions are determined by the processing amount correcting means 80M, and the correction laser irradiation power is set so that the processing amount (here, the laser irradiation power on the processing target surface) becomes uniform according to this value. And power control for adjusting the LD current is performed. For example, when the X / Y-axis scanner moves obliquely, the LD current is set to 1.5 times that in the vertical / horizontal movement.

  On the other hand, the amount of change ΔZ in the Z direction is determined by the processing amount correcting means 80M, and the processing amount (scanning speed on the processing target surface in consideration of the XYZ directions) is made uniform according to this value. The optical scanning unit is controlled. For example, the reading timing of the coordinate position data from the FIFO memory 408 is controlled, and the scanning speed of the XYZ axis scanner is changed by the scanner drive control unit. If necessary, the machining amount correcting means 80M controls the Q switch frequency based on ΔZ, and also controls the frequency of the laser output. In this way, the X / Y axis scanner is controlled based on the correction scanning speed, and the Z axis scanner is controlled based on the processing amount control parameter of the correction laser irradiation power.

The laser processing apparatus, laser processing how the present invention may, for example marking, drilling, trimming, scribing, surface treatment, in the process of performing laser irradiation to the surface of the solid body having a three-dimensional shape, widely applicable to the setting of the three-dimensional shape is there. Although an example of a laser marker capable of three-dimensional printing has been described, the present invention can be suitably applied to a laser marker capable of two-dimensional printing.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the laser excitation part of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the marking head containing the laser beam scanning part of a laser processing apparatus. It is the perspective view which looked at FIG. 3 from the back direction. It is the side view which looked at FIG. 3 from the side. It is explanatory drawing explaining the state from which the focus position of the laser beam of a laser processing apparatus changes in a work position. It is a side view which shows the laser beam scanning part in the case of lengthening a focal distance. It is a side view which shows the laser beam scanning part in the case of shortening a focal distance. It is the front view and sectional drawing which show a Z-axis scanner. It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the laser marker which can be three-dimensionally printed. It is a block diagram which shows a laser processing system. It is a block diagram which shows the other example of a laser processing system. It is a block diagram which shows the further another example of a laser processing system. It is an image figure which shows an example of the user interface screen of a laser processing data setting program. It is an image figure which shows the screen which calls a process block list from the screen of FIG. It is an image figure which shows an example of the process block setting means which sets a some printing block. It is an image figure which shows the state switched to "3D setting" in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the state which selected the cylinder in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the state which switched the edit display column from FIG. 18 to three-dimensional display. It is the image figure which displayed the 3D display screen from diagonally upward. It is the image figure which displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. 20 from the back side. It is the image figure which moved and displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. 20 to the left. It is the image figure which moved and displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. It is the image figure which moved and displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. It is the image figure which displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. 20 on XY plane. It is the image figure which displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. 20 on the YZ plane. It is the image figure which displayed the 3D display screen of FIG. 20 on the ZX plane. It is an image figure which shows the state which displayed the three-dimensional image of the process target surface with the three-dimensional viewer. It is an image figure which shows the state which inputs two-dimensional printing pattern information. It is an image figure which shows the state which selected ZMAP from the profile designation | designated column. It is an image figure which shows a ZMAP file selection screen. It is an image figure which shows the state which designated ZMAP in the ZMAP file name input column. FIG. 33 is an image diagram showing a state in which the three-dimensional shape of the print target surface is displayed by switching the edit display field from FIG. 32 to three-dimensional display. FIG. 34 is an image diagram showing a state in which three-dimensional shape data defined by a ZMAP file is superimposed and displayed on a print target surface that is three-dimensionally displayed in the edit display field in FIG. 33. It is an image figure which shows a ZMAP creation screen. FIG. 36 is an image diagram showing a state where the STL file is opened in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the state which moved the three-dimensional shape data displayed on a viewer screen in FIG. 36 to the X coordinate direction. It is an image figure which shows the state which changed the viewpoint of the three-dimensional shape data displayed on a viewer screen in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the state which moved three-dimensional shape data to the Z coordinate direction (positive). It is an image figure which shows the state which moved three-dimensional shape data to the Z coordinate direction (negative). It is an image figure which shows the state which moved the three-dimensional shape data to the Y coordinate direction. It is an image figure which shows the state which rotated three-dimensional shape data to the X coordinate direction. It is an image figure which shows the state which rotated three-dimensional shape data to the Y coordinate direction. It is an image figure which shows the state which rotated three-dimensional shape data to the Z coordinate direction. It is an image figure which shows the printable area | region of a X coordinate direction on a viewer screen. It is an image figure which shows the printable area | region of the Y coordinate direction on a viewer screen. It is an image figure which shows the printable area | region of a Z coordinate direction on a viewer screen. It is an image figure which shows the state which converted STL data into ZMAP data with the attitude | position of FIG. FIG. 43 is an image diagram showing a state in which STL data is converted to ZMAP data in the posture of FIG. It is an image figure which shows the state which deform | transformed the printing pattern with the ZMAP data of FIG. It is an image figure which shows an example of the setting screen of a process parameter. It is an image figure which shows an example of the setting screen of a defocus setting amount. FIGS. 53A and 53B are schematic diagrams showing how the thermal lens effect is corrected. FIG. 53A shows a state in which the focal length is long, and FIG. 53C shows a case in which the focal length is short, based on FIG. Each state is shown. It is a functional block diagram explaining the procedure which produces the information required at the time of a process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which determines the focus position correction amount given to a Z-axis scanner. It is an image figure which shows the example which displayed the processing data in the two-dimensional form with the laser processing data setting program. It is an image figure which shows the example switched to the three-dimensional display in FIG. It is an image figure which shows the example which displayed the three-dimensional process data in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the memory space of ZMAP memory. It is sectional drawing which shows the locus | trajectory which scanned the laser beam in the process target surface from which a height difference differs. It is a block diagram which shows the process of process amount correction | amendment control. It is a perspective view which shows the locus | trajectory which scans a laser beam on the process target surface of a workpiece | work. It is sectional drawing which shows the image of the time t required for the movement of a unit area, the laser irradiation power in the X * Z plane at the time of using correction | amendment scanning speed as a process amount control parameter. FIG. 64 is a block diagram showing processing of machining amount correction control in FIG. 63. It is a block diagram which shows the process amount correction | amendment control process which used correction | amendment laser irradiation power as the process amount control parameter. It is a block diagram showing processing amount correction control processing using a correction scanning speed for the X / Y-axis scanner and a correction laser irradiation power for the Z-axis scanner as processing amount control parameters. It is a top view which shows the line segment vector of the laser beam in a X / Y plane of the processing amount correction control which made the line segment vector constant about a X-axis scanner, and set the correction scanning speed for a Z-axis scanner as a processing amount control parameter. . FIG. 68 is a cross-sectional view showing an image of a laser beam trajectory in the X / Z plane of FIG. 67, a time t required for movement of a unit section, and laser irradiation power; FIG. 69 is a block diagram showing processing of machining amount correction control in FIGS. 67 and 68. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a line vector of laser light in the X and Y planes of machining amount correction control with a constant line segment vector for the X and Y axis scanners and a correction laser irradiation power for the Z axis scanner as a machining amount control parameter. is there. It is sectional drawing which shows the locus | trajectory of the laser beam in the X * Z plane of FIG. 70, time t required for the movement of a unit area, and the image of laser irradiation power. FIG. 72 is a block diagram showing processing of processing amount correction control in FIGS. 70 and 71. It is a block diagram showing processing amount correction control processing in which the correction laser irradiation power for the X / Y-axis scanner and the correction scanning speed for the Z-axis scanner are processing amount control parameters. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional laser processing apparatus. It is a transparent perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a X * Y * Z-axis scanner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Laser processing apparatus 1 ... Laser control part; 1A ... Controller; 2 ... Laser output part 3 ... Input part; 3A ... Process surface profile input means; 3B ... Process pattern input means 3C ... Process condition setting part; Setting means 3a ... basic figure designation means; 3b ... three-dimensional shape data input means; 3c ... positioning means 4 ... laser drive control section; 5 ... memory section; 5A ... storage section; 5B ... reference table 5a ... setting information memory; 5b ... Basic character line segment information memory; 5c ... Development information memory 6 ... Laser excitation unit; 7 ... Power source; 8 ... Laser medium; 9 ... Laser beam scanning unit 10 ... Laser excitation light source; Part 12 ... Laser excitation part casing; 13 ... Optical fiber cable 14a ... X-axis scanner; 14b ... Y-axis scanner 14c ... Z-axis scanner; Namirror 15 ... condensing part; 16 ... incident lens; 18 ... exit lens; 19 ... Q switch 50 ... laser oscillation part; 51a, 51b ... galvano motor 52 ... scanner drive circuit; 53 ... beam expander 60 ... light source for guide; 62 ... half mirror; 64 ... light source for pointer; 66 ... fixed mirror 80 ... arithmetic unit; 80B ... correction amount specifying means; 80K ... processing data generation unit 80M ... processing amount correction means 82 ... display unit; 84 ... Head image display means 150 ... Marking head; 180 ... Laser processing data setting device; 190 ... External device 202 ... Edit display field 204 ... Print pattern input field; 204a ... Processing type designation field; 204b ... Character input field 204c ... Detail setting field; 204d ... Character data designation field; 204e ... "Print data" tab 204f ... 204g ... "Printing condition" tab 204h ... "Basic setting"tab; 204i ... "Shape setting" tab 204j ... "Detail setting"tab; 204k ... Option 204l ... Processing parameter setting field; 204m ... Defocus setting Field 204n ... Processing parameter setting field; 204o ... Defocus setting field 204q ... Type designation field 205 ... Profile designation field; 206 ... Shape selection field 207 ... Display switch button; 207B ... "Display position" change field 207C ... Two screen display button 207D ... "ZMAP display" field 208 ... In-screen layout setting field; 209 ... Scroll bar 215 ... "Transfer / Read"button; 216 ... Block number selection field 217 ... Block list screen 260 ... Three-dimensional viewer; 270 ... Edit mode Display column: 272 ... Edit mode switching button 292 ... ZMAP file name Input field; 293 ... “reference” button 294 ... file selection screen 300 ... ZMAP creation screen; 301 ... viewer screen; 302 ... adjustment field 303 ... "STL display"button; 304 ... coordinate adjustment field 305 ... arrow button; 305b ... Up / down arrow button 306 ... Rotation angle adjustment field; 307 ... Print area display field; 308 ... "Rotation / scroll" button 310 ... "ZMAP display" button 401 ... Input value of print setting; 402 ... Basic character Line segment information; 403 ... Character coordinate information 404 ... Information such as printing power and speed; 405 ... Character line segment information after processing 406 ... Reference memory during printing; 407 ... Register; 408 ... FIFO memory 409 ... Update information of coordinate position 410 ... ZMAP memory; 411 ... XY coordinate; 412 ... Z coordinate; 413 ... XYZ coordinate 414 ... X after correction Z coordinate position L, L '... laser beam; G ... guide beam; P ... pointer beam; WK ... work WS, WS' ... work area; WM ... plane showing the surface to be machined; WM '... correction surface; KM ... boundary surface

Claims (15)

A laser processing apparatus capable of irradiating a processing target surface with laser light and processing it into a desired processing pattern,
A laser oscillation unit for generating laser light;
As a laser beam scanning unit for scanning the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillation unit in the work area,
A Z-axis scanner capable of adjusting the focal position in the optical axis direction of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillation unit;
An X-axis scanner for scanning the laser beam transmitted through the Z-axis scanner in the X-axis direction and a Y-axis scanner for scanning in the Y-axis direction;
A laser beam scanning unit comprising:
A laser drive control unit for controlling the laser oscillation unit and the laser beam scanning unit;
As processing conditions for processing into a desired processing pattern, a laser light output condition, a processing pattern on the XY coordinate plane, and a processing condition setting unit for setting the three-dimensional shape,
Correspondence for storing in association the correspondence relationship between the XY coordinate position of the machining pattern set in the machining condition setting unit and the Z coordinate position obtained by projecting the XY coordinate in the vertical direction with respect to the three-dimensional shape of the machining pattern A relationship storage unit;
In the spatial coordinates constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit, the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction of the laser beam scanning unit Accordingly, a processing amount correction means for automatically correcting the processing conditions set by the processing condition setting unit so as to bring the processing amount on the processing target surface closer to a constant value;
With
A three-dimensional shape data input means for the processing condition setting unit to paste a processing pattern for setting a three-dimensional shape onto the processing target surface by orthogonal projection;
And a basic figure designating means for pasting a processing pattern on a development view of a basic figure developed in a plane.
The correspondence relationship storage unit associates the correspondence relationship between the projection of the XY coordinates of the machining pattern in the vertical direction and the corresponding XY coordinates with respect to the three-dimensional shape input by the three-dimensional shape data input unit. To remember,
The machining condition setting unit is based on a preset basic movement unit, which is the basis of movement control when the machining amount correction unit scans the XY coordinate plane with the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner. The XY coordinate data of the processing pattern set in step 1 is decomposed according to the processing order by the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, and the movement amount of the Z coordinate in each basic movement unit is calculated .
The laser drive control unit adjusts the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner in the basic movement unit section on the XY coordinates corresponding to the Z coordinate according to the calculated movement amount of the Z coordinate. As described above, the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is controlled based on each XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit, and corresponds to each XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit. The Z-axis scanner is controlled so that the Z-axis scanner is read so that the position of the read Z-coordinate data is in focus . The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The laser drive control unit controls the laser oscillation unit and the laser beam scanning unit including the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner,
As processing conditions for processing the processing condition setting unit into a desired processing pattern, laser beam output conditions including the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or Y-axis scanner, processing patterns on the XY coordinate plane, and 3 Set the dimensional shape,
Relative in the Z-axis direction to the amount of movement of the laser beam scanning unit in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction in the spatial coordinates constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit The correction scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is set so as to bring the processing amount on the processing target surface close to a constant value according to the ratio of the general movement amount,
When the laser beam scanning unit scans the surface to be processed, the processing amount correction unit controls the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. The laser processing apparatus, wherein the laser drive control unit is configured to be able to control the laser beam scanning unit so as to drive at a corrected scanning speed corrected. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1,
As processing conditions for processing the processing condition setting unit into a desired processing pattern, a laser beam output condition including laser irradiation power applied to the processing target surface, a processing pattern on the XY coordinate plane, and its three-dimensional shape To set
Relative in the Z-axis direction to the amount of movement of the laser beam scanning unit in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction in the spatial coordinates constituting the machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit The correction laser irradiation power set in the processing condition setting unit is automatically corrected so as to bring the processing amount on the processing target surface close to a constant value according to the ratio of the general movement amount,
When the laser beam scanning unit scans the surface to be processed, the laser beam scanning unit is moved with the correction laser irradiation power corrected by the processing amount correcting unit according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. A laser processing apparatus configured to be controlled by the laser drive control unit so as to be driven. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 ,
A laser processing apparatus, wherein the basic movement unit is made to coincide with the resolution of an XY coordinate which is a minimum movement unit on an XY coordinate plane of an X-axis scanner and a Y-axis scanner. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 ,
A laser processing apparatus characterized in that the basic movement unit can be arbitrarily set. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The processing amount correction unit is configured to determine a correction processing amount by reading scanning speed data corresponding to a movement amount of the Z coordinate from a correction processing amount storage unit stored in advance. Processing equipment. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The processing amount correction unit is configured to determine a correction processing amount by calculating scanning speed data corresponding to the movement amount of the Z coordinate based on a preset arithmetic expression. Processing equipment. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 7 ,
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the processing amount correction means calculates a movement amount of the Z coordinate in real time. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 7 ,
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the processing amount correction means calculates a movement amount of a Z coordinate based on a printing order and a basic movement unit in advance. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The processing amount correction means is configured to adjust the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner in accordance with the movement direction on the XY coordinates in addition to the movement amount of the Z coordinates. Laser processing equipment. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 10 ,
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the correspondence storage unit stores in advance a three-dimensional basic figure associating a correspondence between an XY coordinate position and a Z coordinate position as a machining pattern. In the laser processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 10 ,
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the correspondence storage unit is configured to be able to read a data file that associates a correspondence between an XY coordinate position and a Z coordinate position prepared externally. The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 , further comprising:
3D shape data input means for inputting 3D shape data of the surface to be processed;
Positioning means for positioning the machining position of the three-dimensional machining pattern set by the machining condition setting unit with respect to the three-dimensional shape data input to the three-dimensional shape data input means;
A laser processing apparatus comprising: In the laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13 ,
A laser processing apparatus, wherein the Z-axis scanner is configured to be able to adjust a scanning speed. A laser processing method of irradiating a processing target surface with laser light to process it into a desired processing pattern,
As processing conditions for processing into a desired processing pattern, a laser beam output condition, a processing pattern on the XY coordinate plane, and its three-dimensional shape are set, and the XY coordinate position of the processing pattern and the XY coordinate are set to 3 of the processing pattern. Setting a machining pattern in which a correspondence relationship with a Z coordinate position projected in a vertical direction with respect to a dimensional shape is associated;
In the spatial coordinates constituting the set processing pattern, the ratio of the relative movement amount in the Z-axis direction to the movement amount in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction of the laser beam scanning unit that scans the laser beam is set in advance. The X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner that also constitutes the laser beam scanning unit in accordance with the reference value so that the Z-axis scanner that constitutes the laser beam scanning unit moves every time the Z-axis scanner that constitutes the laser beam scanning unit moves. Correcting the speed to the corrected scanning speed;
When the laser beam scanning unit scans the surface to be processed, the corrected scanning in which the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner is corrected according to the amount of movement of the Z-axis scanner in the Z direction. Controlling the laser beam scanning unit to drive at a speed;
Including
The processing conditions for setting the 3D shape are
It includes either the process of pasting the machining pattern onto the surface to be machined by orthographic projection with the 3D shape data input means, or pasting the machining pattern on the development view in which the basic figure is developed into a flat surface by the basic figure designating means. ,
Associating the correspondence relationship, the correspondence relationship between the projection of the XY coordinates of the machining pattern in the vertical direction and the corresponding XY coordinates is associated with the three-dimensional shape input by the three-dimensional shape data input unit, Including a step of storing in the correspondence storage unit,
The step of correcting the scanning speed of the X-axis scanner and / or Y-axis scanner to the corrected scanning speed is the basis of movement control when scanning on the XY coordinate plane with the X-axis scanner and / or Y-axis scanner. Based on a preset basic movement unit, each XY coordinate data of the processing pattern set by the setting of the processing conditions is decomposed according to the processing order by the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner, and each decomposed Including a step of calculating a movement amount of the Z coordinate in the basic movement unit,
The step of controlling the laser beam scanning unit includes the X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner in a basic movement unit section on the XY coordinate corresponding to the Z coordinate according to the calculated movement amount of the Z coordinate. The X-axis scanner and / or the Y-axis scanner are controlled based on each XY coordinate data stored in the correspondence storage unit so as to adjust the scanning speed, and each XY stored in the correspondence storage unit A laser processing method comprising: reading each Z coordinate data corresponding to the coordinate data, and controlling the Z-axis scanner so that the position of the read Z coordinate data is in focus.