JPH03118988A - Teaching method in three dimensional laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the teaching time by allowing a stylus of a touch sensor to contact with the upper part of a teaching point of a material to be worked and moving it in the direction to separate from the teaching point when it is detected by contact and stopping the material to be worked when the sensor detects it by non-contact to take in data of the teaching point. CONSTITUTION:Observing the on-off function of the touch sensor 13 interlocking with the teaching stylus 15, the stylus 15 is positioned at a working point. When the touch sensor is turned on, turn-back operation is automated by a program, the stylus is moved in the direction separating in the direction of a normal line from the working point, then, stops moving according to an off signal of the touch sensor 13 and at the stop position the teaching point data is made so that it can be taken in automatically. Consequently, when a teacher brings the stylus into simple contact with the teaching point of the working object, the turn-back operation for alignment is performed automatically by this teaching method, and when the stylus has come in non-contact, the teaching point can be set exactly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a teaching method for a three-dimensional laser processing machine.

[Conventional technology]

Teaching operations for a large three-dimensional laser processing machine capable of five-axis control are taught by moving the machine using a remote-controllable joystick or the like and a teaching playback function. Normally, the teaching point data is set on the scribing line of the workpiece.

Therefore, in the process of direct teaching, the teacher brings the stylus into contact with a processing point on the scribing line so that the touch sensor
When N (contact detection) occurs, the processing head is stopped.

At this time, if the machining head moves quickly, the stylus may come off the scribing line or the stylus may shrink, making it impossible to set the actual teaching point. Accurate teaching points are determined by aligning with the written line again.

[Issues with conventional technology]

According to such an operation, in the teaching process, a contact operation of the stylus and a return operation of the stylus for positioning are required, so that the workability of the teaching operation is poor. In particular, 5
In an axis-controlled processing machine, since the amount of movement must be set for five axes, it is extremely difficult to freely move the processing head and align the stylus on the scored line.

For this reason, the teaching position varies depending on the teacher, making it difficult to ensure an accurate machining path.

[Purpose of the invention]

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable a stylus to be automatically set on a scribing line during the process of teaching a machining path to a machining head of a laser beam machine.

[Means for solving the invention]

Therefore, the present invention focuses on the on/off function of the touch sensor that works with the teaching stylus, positions the stylus at the processing point, and turns on the touch sensor.
The return operation can be automated by a program, the stylus is moved away from the processing point in the normal direction, the movement is then stopped based on the touch sensor being turned off, and the teaching point data can be automatically captured at that stop position. That's what I do.

Therefore, according to this teaching method, the teacher simply brings the stylus into contact with the teaching point on the workpiece, and the return operation for positioning is automatically performed, and the teaching point is resumed when the stylus comes out of contact. This means that the points can be taught accurately.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a laser processing machine 1 to be controlled and a control device 2 thereof.

The laser processing machine 1 includes a processing head 3 that is movable in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and a lens holder that is attached to the processing head 3 and that is rotatable around the α- and β-axes for attitude control. 4, and is normally controlled to face the processing surface of the workpiece 5 in the normal direction and at a fixed distance below.

On the other hand, the control device 2 includes a main controller 6 for arithmetic processing, a memory 7 for storing work programs, etc., a keyboard 8 for various data and mode commands, a display 9 for displaying operations or outputs, and the above-mentioned main controller. It is assembled by a servo controller 10 for controlling the motor of each control axis based on control signals from 6. Further, the main controller 6 is connected to a teaching box 1 for remote direct teaching.
It is connected to a joystick lever 12 for manual operation for position control of 1 and 5 axes and adjustment of movement speed for each axis.

During the teaching operation, the teacher replaces the lens holder 4 of the machining head 3 with the touch sensor 13 for teaching, and then operates the teaching box 11 to enter the machining path teaching mode and performs teaching. Note that this touch sensor 13 has a switch 1 inside as shown in FIG.
4 and is equipped with a stylus 15 at the tip.

By specifying this teaching mode, the main controller 6 executes the teaching program shown in FIG. 3.

After starting the program, the instructor first operates the joystick lever 12 to move the processing head 3 in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and adjusts the posture α of the touch sensor 13,
While adjusting β, the stylus 15 is brought into contact with the processing point by moving its tip toward the processing position of the workpiece 5, for example, in the direction of the scribing line. Note that the stylus 15 can turn on and off the internal switch 14 by moving in the axial direction.

During this positioning process, when the touch sensor 13 detects contact, that is, turns on, the main controller 6 executes a teaching step that is characteristic of the present invention.

That is, first, the program starts by touching the touch sensor 13.
After confirming that the stylus 15 is turned on, the stylus 15 is moved back, for example, in a direction normal to the machining surface of the workpiece 5, in a direction that moves the stylus 15 away from the machining surface of the workpiece 5. When the touch sensor 13 detects a non-contact state, that is, turns off, the main controller 6 moves the stylus 15 further in the return direction by, for example, an amount set in advance by parameters, stops there, determines the teaching point, and then The teaching point data, that is, the coordinate data in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions of the rad 3 for machining at that position, and the rotation angle data of the stylus, that is, the α-axis and β-axis of the lens holder 4 during machining, are imported and stored in the memory 7. Then, the teaching of the machining point is completed. The operator sequentially performs this teaching operation at each necessary teaching point along the machining path.

In this teaching process, the teacher can indirectly confirm whether the touch sensor 13 is on or off by blinking a display lamp on the teaching box 11 or the joystick lever 12.

[Other Examples]

In the above embodiment, the joystick lever 12 allows
The position of the stylus 15 is controlled by directly reading the machining path of the workpiece 5 as data using an external device such as a coordinate measuring machine, and transmitting the machining data to the main controller 6. This can also be done by entering . In this case as well, each time the coordinate measuring machine takes in new teaching point data, the main controller 6, based on the teaching program,
Repeat the above steps as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the present invention, during the process of direct teaching of the machining path, the stylus automatically moves away from the machining surface by contact detection by the touch sensor, and is automatically stopped at that position by non-contact detection by the touch sensor. By making it possible to import teaching data, the work efficiency of teaching has improved, and teaching time, which previously took about 15 seconds per point, can now be completed in just 5 seconds, significantly reducing the time and improving the accuracy of teaching. In the subsequent machining process, the distance between the machining head and the workpiece can be uniformly and accurately set without being influenced by the instructor's personal error or random error.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a laser processing machine and its control device, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a teaching stylus, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the teaching method of the present invention. l... Laser processing machine, 2... Control device, 3... Machining head, 4... Lens holder, 5... Keyboard to be processed, 9
・・Display, IO・・Servo controller, 11
...Teaching box, 12...Joystick lever 13...Touch sensor for teaching, 14
...Switch, 15...Stylus. Figure 7 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the machining path teaching operation of the machining head of a three-dimensional laser processing machine, the stylus of the touch sensor attached to the tip of the machining head is brought into contact with the teaching point of the workpiece, and when the touch sensor detects contact, the machining head is moved to the teaching point. A three-dimensional laser processing machine is automatically moved in a direction away from the machine, automatically stops the movement of the three-dimensional laser processing machine when a touch sensor detects non-contact, and captures teaching point data at this stop position. Teaching method for processing machines.