JP7084759B2 - Laser processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus.

Laser processing equipment is widely used as an industrial processing tool. The laser processing device includes a laser light source, a power supply device that supplies electric power to the laser light source, and a processing machine that irradiates the processing target with the emitted light of the laser light source. The parameters of the optical output and the high frequency power supply are changed according to the processing conditions (Patent Documents 1 to 3).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-347447 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-89788 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-131937

The control parameters of the power supply device are diverse, and it is effective to increase the number of control parameters to be changed for more precise machining. On the other hand, the processing machine needs to transmit a plurality of control parameters to the power supply device each time the processing conditions are changed. However, as the number of control parameters increases, the amount of communication between the processing machine and the power supply device increases. .. Since it is necessary to interrupt machining during communication, an increase in the number of control parameters causes a decrease in productivity.

The present invention has been made in such a situation, and one of the exemplary objects of the embodiment is to provide a laser processing apparatus having a shortened communication time.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus. The laser processing apparatus includes a laser light source, a power supply device that supplies electric power to the laser light source, and a processing machine that irradiates a target position of an object to be processed with light energy from the laser light source. The power supply has a plurality of control parameters that can be changed, and holds a set of values of the plurality of control parameters in association with the identification number. When the power supply device receives the identification number from the processing machine, the identification number is received. It works based on a set of values according to.

It should be noted that any combination of the above components or components or expressions of the present invention that are mutually replaced between methods, devices, systems, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the communication time can be shortened.

It is a block diagram of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a plurality of control parameters and an identification number PRM_ID. It is a figure which shows the data flow of a laser processing apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the specific configuration example of a power supply device. It is an operation waveform diagram of the laser processing apparatus of FIG.

(Outline of embodiment)
One embodiment disclosed herein relates to a laser processing apparatus. The laser processing apparatus includes a laser light source, a power supply device that supplies electric power to the laser light source, and a processing machine that irradiates a target position of an object to be processed with light energy from the laser light source. The power supply unit has a plurality of control parameters that can be changed, and holds a set of values of the plurality of control parameters in association with an identification number. When the power supply receives the identification number from the processing machine, the power supply operates based on the set of values corresponding to the identification number.

According to this aspect, it is possible to change a plurality of control parameters by transmitting an identification number from the processing machine to the power supply device. Therefore, the amount of communication can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the changed value of each of the plurality of control parameters is transmitted from the processing machine to the power supply device. This contributes to shortening the processing interruption time and, in turn, improving productivity.

The power supply device may include a plurality of control units, each of which refers to at least one control parameter. The processing machine may transmit the identification number to one of the plurality of control units, and the identification number may be transmitted to the plurality of control units in order.

When the last one of the plurality of control units receives the identification number, the identification number may be transmitted to the processing machine. That is, by looping back the data from the processing machine to the processing machine, the processing machine can verify whether or not the identification number is normally transmitted.

The processing machine may transmit the identification number while moving the target position. Since laser irradiation is originally stopped during the movement period of the target position, the delay due to the parameter change is reduced or eliminated by transmitting the identification number and changing the control parameter of the power supply device using this period. be able to.

The power supply unit controls the charging power supply that keeps the voltage of the smoothing capacitor within a predetermined range, the high-frequency power supply that receives the voltage generated by the smoothing capacitor, converts it into a high-frequency signal, and supplies it to the laser light source. It may include a control unit. At least one of the plurality of control parameters may be referenced by the charging power supply, at least one of them may be referenced by the high frequency power supply, and at least one of them may be referenced by the overall control unit .

The plurality of control parameters may include a target value of the voltage of the smoothing capacitor. The plurality of control parameters may include a correction amount of the excitation time width of the high frequency power supply. The plurality of control parameters may include parameters of the feedback controller of the charging power supply.

A set of values of a plurality of control parameters may be transmitted from the machine to the power supply before the start of operation of the laser machine.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings based on the preferred embodiments. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings shall be designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the embodiment is not limited to the invention, but is an example, and all the features and combinations thereof described in the embodiment are not necessarily essential to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a laser processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. The laser processing device 100 includes a laser light source 110, a power supply device 120, and a processing machine 130. The laser light source 110 is, for example, a CO ₂ laser. The power supply device 120 supplies electric power to the laser light source 110, and intermittently generates an optical pulse 112 in the laser light source 110. The processing machine 130 receives the light pulse 112 from the laser light source 110 and irradiates the target position TP of the processing object OBJ. For example, the processing machine 130 can include a stage 132, an optical system 134, and a controller 136. The optical system 134 receives the light pulse 112 from the laser light source 110, adjusts the beam size and the beam profile, and focuses the light on the target position TP. The stage 132 controls the target position TP by moving the object to be machined OBJ. The object to be machined OBJ may be fixed and the irradiation position of the laser beam may be changed. In short, the relative position between the object to be machined OBJ and the laser beam may be controllable.

Processing conditions (recipe) are prepared by the user. The controller 136 controls the stage 132 based on the recipe, and while moving the target position TP, gives a light emission instruction (excitation signal) S1 to the power supply device 120 at each target position TP. The power supply device 120 generates an optical pulse 112 in the laser light source 110 in response to the light emission instruction S1.

The power supply device 120 has a plurality of variable control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM _N. The power supply device 120 holds a set of values of a plurality of control parameters PRM ₁ , PRM ₂ ..., PRM _N in association with the identification number PRM_ID. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between a plurality of control parameters and the identification number PRM_ID. In this example, the number of control parameters is N = 4, and the identification number PRM_ID can be selected from five IDs (1) to ID (5). For example, in the case of ID _{( 2} ), a set of _a2 , _b2 , c2, and d2 is used as the values of the control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM ₄ . The relationship of FIG. 2 is stored in the memory (look-up table) of the power supply device 120.

A set of values of a plurality of control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM _N for each identification number PRM_ID may be transmitted from the machining machine 130 to the power supply device 120 before the operation of the laser machining apparatus 100 starts.

Return to FIG. The controller 136 of the processing machine 130 transmits the data S2 including the identification number PRM_ID to the power supply device 120 according to the processing conditions. Upon receiving the identification number PRM_ID, the power supply device 120 changes the plurality of control parameter PRMs inside the power supply device 120 to a set of values corresponding to the identification number PRM_ID, and operates based on the changed control parameter PRM.

The controller 136 may transmit a control signal EN indicating permission / prohibition of parameter change in addition to the data S2 including the identification number PRM_ID. When the control signal EN indicates permission (for example, high), the controller 136 implements a setting change based on the received identification number PRM_ID.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data flow of the laser processing apparatus 100. The power supply device 120 includes a plurality of control units 128_1 to 128_M. Each control unit 128_i (i = 1, 2, ... M) refers to at least one of the plurality of control parameters PRM in operation, and corresponds to the control target 129_i (i = 1, 2, ... M). -Control M).

The controller 136 of the processing machine 130 transmits the identification number PRM_ID to one (128_1) of the plurality of control units 128_1 to 128_M. The identification number PRM_ID is sequentially transmitted through a plurality of control units 128_1 to 128_M. When the last one (128_M) of the plurality of control units 128_1 to 128_M receives the identification number PRM_ID, the identification number PRM_ID is sent back to the processing machine 130. That is, the identification number PRM_ID is looped back between the processing machine 130 and the power supply device 120. The processing machine 130 correctly transmitted the identification number PRM_ID to all the control units 128 of the power supply device 120 depending on whether or not the loopback identification number PRM_ID matches the original identification number PRM_ID transmitted by the processing machine 130. Can be confirmed. If there is a discrepancy, the processing machine 130 may resend the identification number PRM_ID.

The control unit 128_i (i = 1, 2, ... M) receives the identification number PRM_ID from the front stage, and after the change of at least one control parameter PRM assigned to itself is completed, the control unit 128_i + 1 in the rear stage. , Identification number PRM_ID may be transmitted. In this case, it is guaranteed that the control parameters of all the control units 128 have been changed at the timing when the identification number PRM_ID is looped back to the controller 136.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration example of the power supply device 120. The power supply device 120 includes a rectifier 122, a charging power supply 124, a high frequency power supply 126, and an overall control unit 127. The rectifier 122 rectifies the _AC voltage VAC. The charging power supply 124 receives the rectified voltage V _RECT and maintains the _DC link voltage VDC generated in the DC link 125 within a predetermined voltage range. A DC link capacitor (smoothing capacitor) C ₁ is connected to the DC link 125. More specifically, the charging power supply 124 includes a converter 124a and its controller 124b. When the high frequency power supply 126 is switched during the lighting period of the laser light source 110, the charge of the _smoothing capacitor C1 is discharged and the DC link voltage _VDC drops. The charging power supply 124 replenishes the smoothing capacitor C ₁ with the amount of electric charge that would be lost from the smoothing capacitor C ₁ for each shot of the laser light source 110. For example, the controller 124b estimates the amount of charge to be replenished and controls the converter _124a so that the amount of charge is supplied to the smoothing capacitor C1.

The high frequency power supply 126 converts the DC link voltage V _DC into an AC drive voltage V _DRV and supplies it to the laser light source 110. The high frequency power supply 126 includes an inverter 126a and a controller 126b. The controller 126b uses the excitation signal S1 from the processing machine 130 as a trigger to switch the inverter 126a during the excitation amplitude τ (time). As a result, the drive voltage V _DRV becomes an intermittent AC voltage, and therefore the laser light source 110 generates pulsed light.

The overall control unit 127 is, for example, a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), has a function as a sequencer or a state machine, and collectively controls the power supply device 120. The overall control unit 127 may be implemented by combining a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a software program.

The controller 126b, the controller 124b, and the overall control unit 127 correspond to the control units 128_1 to 128_3 in FIG. That is, the identification number PRM_ID from the processing machine 130 is looped back to the processing machine 130 via the controller 126b, the controller 124b, and the overall control unit 127.

At least one of the plurality of control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM _N is referenced by the charging power supply 124. Further, at least one of the plurality of control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM _N is referred to by the high frequency power supply 126. Further, at least one of the plurality of control parameters PRM ₁ to PRM _N is referred to by the overall control unit 127.

For example, the high frequency power supply 126 refers to the excitation amplitude τ of the high frequency power supply 126, that is, the control parameter PRM ₁ that defines (or corrects) the length of one shot of the laser beam. When the identification number PRM_ID is changed, the controller 126b of the high frequency power supply 126 changes the value of the control parameter PRM ₁ to the value a associated with the changed identification number PRM_ID.

For example, the controller 124b of the charging power supply 124 includes a PID controller that feedback-controls the charge charge amount (in other words, the on-time of the switching element of the controller 124b) by PID control (or PI control). The gain of this PID controller (at least one of P gain, I gain, and D gain) is defined by the control parameter PRM ₂ . When the identification number PRM_ID is changed, the controller 124b of the charging power supply 124 changes the value of the control parameter PRM ₂ to the value b associated with the changed identification number PRM_ID.

For example, the overall control unit 127 refers to the control parameter PRM ₃ that defines the target voltage (or its range) of the _DC link voltage VDC. The overall control unit 127 converts the value of the control parameter PRM ₃ into an analog reference voltage V _REF and supplies it to the charging power supply 124. The charging power supply 124 stabilizes the DC link voltage V _DC in the target voltage range corresponding to the reference voltage V _REF .

FIG. 5 is an operation waveform diagram of the laser processing apparatus 100 of FIG.
For example, during the processing period t ₀ to t ₁ , the first value ID (1) is given as the identification number PRM_ID. During the machining period t ₀ to t ₁ , the machining machine 130 repeatedly asserts the excitation signal S1. The power supply device 120 generates a pulsed laser output in response to the assertion of the excitation signal S1. The correction amount of the pulse width τ of the laser (correction amount of the excitation time τ) is the value a ₁ = 0 μs of the control parameter PRM ₁ corresponding to the ID (1). This correction amount a1 is added to the width of the excitation signal S1 to _obtain the laser output width. When the pulse width of the excitation signal S1 is 15 μs and the correction amount a1 is ₀ μs, the actual laser output width is 15 μs.

Further, the control gain value P of the charging power supply 124 is set to the value b ₁ = 10 of the control parameter PRM ₂ corresponding to the ID (1). The target value (V _REF ) of the DC link voltage is set to the value c ₁ = 400 V of the control parameter PRM ₃ corresponding to the ID (1).

During the period t ₁ to t ₂ , the irradiation position of the laser beam moves. During this period, the excitation signal S1 is fixed to low, and the laser light source 110 does not emit light. During the periods t ₁ to t ₂ , the processing machine 130 sets the EN signal to high and transmits the changed identification number PRM_ID (2). The new identification number PRM_ID (2) is input to the high frequency power supply 126, and the value of the control parameter PRM ₁ (that is, the correction amount of the excitation amplitude τ) is the value a ₂ (= 0.1 μs) corresponding to the identification number PRM_ID (2). Will be changed to. As a result, the laser output width becomes 15.1 μs.

The identification number PRM_ID (2) is transmitted from the high frequency power supply 126 to the charging power supply 124, and the value of the control parameter PRM ₂ (that is, the control gain P) becomes the value b ₂ (= 50) corresponding to the identification number PRM_ID (2). Be changed. Further, the identification number PRM_ID (2) is transmitted from the charging power supply 124 to the overall control unit 127, and the value of the control parameter PRM ₃ (that is, the target value of the _DC link voltage VDC) corresponds to the identification number PRM_ID (2). It is changed to c ₂ (= 430V).

The above is the operation of the laser processing device 100. According to the laser processing device 100, by transmitting the identification number ID from the processing machine 130 to the power supply device 120, it is possible to collectively change a plurality of control parameters of the power supply device 120. That is, the amount of communication can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the changed values of the plurality of control parameters PRM are individually transmitted from the processing machine 130 to the power supply device 120. This contributes to shortening the processing interruption time and, in turn, improving productivity.

Further, by introducing the loopback mechanism, the processing machine 130 can determine whether the parameters of the power supply device 120 have been normally rewritten. As a result of the loopback, it is possible to prevent the power supply device 120 from operating under an erroneous processing condition (parameter set) by generating a light emission instruction (excitation signal) S1 on condition that the rewriting is completed normally. can.

Further, by changing the control parameter while the drill is moving, the delay due to the change of the control parameter can be reduced or eliminated.

The present invention has been described using specific terms and phrases based on the embodiments, but the embodiments show only one aspect of the principles and applications of the present invention, and the embodiments are claimed. Many modifications and arrangement changes are permitted within the range not deviating from the idea of the present invention defined in the scope.

100 Laser processing equipment 110 Laser light source 112 Optical pulse 120 Power supply device 122 Rectifier 124 Charging power supply 124a Converter 124b Controller 125 DC link 126 High frequency power supply 126a Inverter 126b Controller 127 Overall control unit 128 Control unit 130 Processing machine 132 Stage 134 Optical system 136 controller OBJ Object to be machined TP Target position

Claims (7)

Laser light source and
A power supply device that supplies electric power to the laser light source and
A processing machine that irradiates the target position of the object to be processed with the light energy from the laser light source, and
Equipped with
The power supply device has a plurality of control parameters that can be changed, and holds a set of values of the plurality of control parameters in association with an identification number.
When the power supply device receives the identification number from the processing machine, the power supply device operates based on a set of values corresponding to the identification number.
The power supply includes a plurality of control units, each having at least one said control parameter.
The processing machine transmits the identification number to one of the plurality of control units, and the processing machine transmits the identification number to one of the plurality of control units.
The identification number is a laser processing apparatus characterized in that the plurality of control units are sequentially transmitted. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the last one of the plurality of control units receives the identification number, the identification number is transmitted to the processing machine. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the processing machine transmits the identification number while the target position is moving. The power supply device
A charging power supply that keeps the voltage of the smoothing capacitor within the specified range,
A high-frequency power supply that receives the voltage generated in the smoothing capacitor, converts it into a high-frequency signal, and supplies it to the laser light source.
An overall control unit that comprehensively controls the power supply unit,
Including
It is characterized in that at least one of the plurality of control parameters is referred to by the charging power supply, at least one of them is referred to by the high frequency power supply, and at least one of them is referred to by the whole control unit . The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . Laser light source and
A power supply device that supplies electric power to the laser light source and
A processing machine that irradiates the target position of the object to be processed with the light energy from the laser light source, and
Equipped with
The power supply device has a plurality of control parameters that can be changed, and holds a set of values of the plurality of control parameters in association with an identification number.
When the power supply device receives the identification number from the processing machine, the power supply device operates based on a set of values corresponding to the identification number.
The power supply device
A charging power supply that keeps the voltage of the smoothing capacitor within the specified range,
A high-frequency power supply that receives the voltage generated in the smoothing capacitor, converts it into a high-frequency signal, and supplies it to the laser light source.
An overall control unit that comprehensively controls the power supply unit,
Including
At least one of the plurality of control parameters is referenced by the charging power source, another at least one of them is referenced by the high frequency power source, and at least one of them is referenced by the overall control unit.
The laser processing apparatus, wherein the plurality of control parameters include a target value of a voltage of the smoothing capacitor and parameters of a feedback controller of the charging power source, which are referred to by the charging power source. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of control parameters include a correction amount of an excitation time width of the high-frequency power supply. The laser processing according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the set of values of the plurality of control parameters is transmitted from the processing machine to the power supply device before the operation of the laser processing device is started. Device.

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