JPH0358835B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the position of a V-groove for placing a needle material when drilling holes in an eyeless suture needle using a laser beam.

<Prior art> Traditionally, holes have been made in eyeless suture needles using methods such as Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1983-43691 and Publication No. 1983-37918.
As shown in the above publication, a method has been devised in which a needle material is placed on a V-groove and a hole is made using a laser beam. As shown in FIG. 1, this method oscillates a laser beam 2 for processing from a laser oscillation device 1, bends it with a dichroic mirror or prism 3, and focuses it with a condensing lens 4 onto a V-groove 5. This is to make a hole in the placed needle material 6.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in this method, when changing the diameter of the needle material 6 or changing the lens 4, the V-groove 5 is
It is necessary to adjust the position of the V-groove 5 vertically or longitudinally, and when the V-groove 5 is worn or scratched, when re-polishing and using it, the parallelism of the V-groove 5 with the processing laser beam and the You will need to adjust the position.

In the first place, laser drilling for eyeless suture needles differs from general laser processing in that it involves drilling a large diameter hole into a small diameter material with a depth of 5 to 10 times the hole diameter and a blind hole. This is a unique and extremely difficult process. In other words, if the needle material is misaligned with respect to the laser beam, or if the needle material is not placed parallel to the laser beam, the thinned part of the outer wall of the hole used to form the hole will be blown away, causing the hole to become blown away. If the hole cannot be formed or does not blow off, it is a blind hole, and the bending of the hole cannot be detected from the outside. Adjustment has been a significant problem in laser drilling of eyeless needles.

Therefore, conventionally, when adjusting the position of the V-groove 5, a dichroic mirror 3 is used as shown in FIG.
A microscope 7 was installed on the opposite side of the condensing lens 4, and the end faces of the needle material 6 and the V-groove 5 were adjusted by looking through the microscope, but this was very troublesome. Moreover, since the field of view of the microscope is extremely narrow, even if the V-groove 5 is slightly shifted, it will be out of the field of view of the microscope 7 and the V-groove 5 cannot be identified.
Furthermore, if the end face of the V-groove 5 and the end of the needle material 6 are not in the focal position, the image becomes blurred and the position of the V-groove 5 cannot be adjusted. In particular, in today's eyeless needle drilling process using laser light, the end of the needle material 6 is cut into a V-shaped groove to prevent sparks from adhering to the edge of the V-groove 5 during processing.
In order to protrude from the edge of the groove 5 and to make the hole shape straight, the focus 8 of the laser beam is slightly off during processing, so the positioning work of the V groove 5 is also done in the second step.
As shown in the figure, it has become very troublesome. That is, first, align the end of the needle material 6 with the end of the V-groove 5, and then place it in the front, back, top, bottom, and left and right directions of the page of FIG.
In the case of 8 to the end of the needle material 6, then (c) the end of the needle material 6 protrudes a predetermined amount from the end of the V-groove 5, and (d) the V-groove 5 is shifted in the Z direction so that the focal point 8 is again on the needle. (e) Position the V-groove 5 by shifting the V-groove 5 by the required focus shift amount 9 in the Z direction using that point as a reference. Furthermore, since the processing position of the needle material 6 was out of focus, it was impossible to confirm whether the end of the needle material was exactly on the laser optical axis.

Furthermore, it has been impossible to confirm whether or not the V-groove is fixed in a position parallel to the optical axis of the processing laser using conventional microscopy methods. That is, since it is not possible to directly observe the parallelism of the V-groove with respect to the laser optical axis, it is necessary to work on the assumption that the V-groove is placed parallel to the laser optical axis.

The present invention relates to a completely new technique developed to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks and inconveniences of the conventional technology, and its purpose is to provide a method for adjusting the posture and position of a V-groove without using a microscope as in the conventional method. We aim to provide the following.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention provides a method for adjusting the position of a V-groove for placing a needle material when drilling a hole at the end of a needle material using a processing pulse laser beam. Coaxially with the pulsed laser optical axis, a continuous wave visible laser for positioning is introduced from the side opposite to the output side of the processing pulsed laser beam oscillation device and is irradiated onto the V-groove and the end face of the needle material placed on the V-groove. and the posture and position of the V-groove are visibly adjusted so that the visible laser beam is parallel to the V-groove and irradiates the center of the end face of the needle material placed on the V-groove. This is a method for adjusting the position of the V-groove for use.

<Function> As described above, the present invention includes a V-groove for placing the needle material in which the needle material can be placed and positioned easily and accurately, this V-groove, and the needle placed on the V-groove. By combining a processing laser beam that can be irradiated onto the edge of the material with a coaxial visible laser, the posture and position of the V-groove can be easily and accurately visually adjusted. It is possible to eliminate the need for a mirror, a prism, etc., and thereby it is possible to perform highly accurate laser processing on the center of the end face of the needle material placed on the V-groove.

<Embodiment> One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
A pulsed laser beam 14 is emitted from a processing laser oscillator 13 consisting of a total reflection mirror 12, and is bent by a dichroic mirror 15 and focused by a condenser lens 16. The beam is irradiated onto the end of the needle 18 placed on the V-groove 17 with a focus shifted by a certain amount S. 19 is an oscillation device capable of continuously oscillating a visible laser beam 20 such as a He-Ne gas laser, and a laser oscillation device 13 for processing.
A visible laser beam 20 that is oscillated is narrowed down to a very fine beam by a slit 21 and is input coaxially with the processing laser beam 14.

Note that visible laser light (for example, He-Ne gas laser light with a wavelength of about 0.63 μm) 20 is a processing laser light (for example, YAG laser light with a wavelength of about 1.06 μm) 1
4 has a different wavelength, so it is transmitted through the half-reflection mirror 10 and the total reflection mirror 12.

Next, a method for adjusting the position of the V-groove 17 using the above device will be explained.

First, a He-Ne gas laser is oscillated from the oscillation device 19 coaxially with the processing pulse laser beam 14, and this laser beam 20 is focused into a pin spot shape by the slit 21 and transmitted through the processing laser oscillation device 13. dichroic mirror 1
5 and irradiates the V-groove 17 or the end face of the needle material 18 placed on the V-groove. This He-Ne gas laser beam 20 is red and is visible, so the fourth
As shown in the figure, by visual inspection, the V-groove 17 is aligned so that the laser beam 20 is irradiated to the center of the end surface of the needle material 18.
The XY directions can be adjusted. At this time, to check whether the V-groove 17 is parallel to the laser optical axis, first place the needle 18 at position A on the V-groove 17 as shown in FIG.
0, even if the needle material 18 is slid to the B position, if the laser beam 20 is irradiated to the center of the needle material 18, it can be confirmed that the V groove 17 and the laser optical axis are parallel and coaxial. . At this time, the positioning visible laser beam 20 is narrowed down and the lens 16
By removing , the parallel state of the V-groove 17 can be confirmed even if the position B is far away from the focal point 8.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, after adjusting the laser beam 20 to strike the center of the base end of the needle 18 as described above, the needle 18 is removed and the laser beam 20 forms the V-groove 17. The left and right inclination of the V-groove 17 can be determined by determining which of the left and right inclined surfaces is dyed by the red light of the laser beam 20 from the front side. Furthermore, with the lens 4 removed, stand the paper side at the front end and end of the V groove 17,
The inclination direction can be easily determined visually by making a needle hole near the bottom of the V-groove 17 on the front edge of the paper to allow a part of the light beam 20 to pass through, and observing the irradiation position on the end edge of the paper. Therefore, the attitude of the V-groove 17 can be easily adjusted.

Next, to adjust the position in the Z-axis direction, use slit 2.
1 is removed and the laser beam 20 is irradiated without focusing, the focal point 8 focused by the condenser lens 16 can be seen as shown in FIG.
The positions of the V-groove 17 and the needle material 18 are adjusted so that the end surface of the needle material 18 is at a position shifted by a predetermined focus shift amount S from the focal point 8, and the end of the needle material is protruded by a predetermined amount. Therefore, the position of the V groove 17 can be adjusted.

In the above embodiment, the dichroic mirror 15 was used to refract the laser beam, but in the method of the present invention, since there is no need to look through a microscope, the mirror 15 is removed and the laser beam is refracted. A configuration in which the light travels straight and irradiates the needle material 18 may also be used.

<Effects of the Invention> The technology according to the present invention can be used to machine a large-diameter, deep blind hole in a small-diameter material, which is a uniquely difficult task that requires precision in the position and parallelism of the needle material relative to the laser beam. When drilling holes with eyeless needles using a laser beam, as mentioned above, the visible gas laser is used to accurately adjust the posture and position of the V-groove, so it is easy to determine where the laser beam axis for processing is. You can easily and quickly adjust the V-groove position without looking through a microscope like in the past, and the straightness of the laser beam makes it easy to check whether the V-groove is parallel to the laser optical axis. You can also do that. Furthermore, since there is no need to use a microscope, the eyes will not get tired, and since a dichroic mirror is no longer essential, by removing it, optical loss can be reduced and costs can be lowered. By checking the deviation between the visible laser beam irradiation position when the lens is removed and the visible laser beam irradiation position when the condenser lens is attached, it is possible to determine whether the attachment position of the condenser lens is appropriate.

In addition, in the conventional method using a microscope, the focus of the condenser lens is shifted at the position where the needle material is processed, so it was not possible to see the image of the end face of the needle material at that position, but the method of the present invention According to this method, it is possible to clearly determine whether or not the end of the needle material is on the laser optical axis at the processing position regardless of the focus shift.

In addition, this method does not require inserting a conversion element that converts invisible laser light into visible laser light into the processing laser beam path, and even less requires putting the element in and out, so visible laser light can be used together with processing laser light during processing. Not only is it possible to continue irradiation and is convenient for observation, but it also has the advantage that the optical path device is simple and there is no loss of processing laser light.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of conventional V-groove position adjustment, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the conventional V-groove position adjustment procedure, and Figs. 3 to 6 are explanations of the V-groove position adjustment method according to the present invention. It is a diagram. 1 and 13 are laser oscillation devices for processing, 2 and 14
is a laser beam for processing, 3 and 15 are dichroic mirrors, 4 and 16 are condensing lenses, and 5 and 17 are V
groove, 6 and 18 needle material, 7 microscope, 8 focal point, 1
9 is a visible laser oscillation device, 20 is a visible laser beam, and 21 is a slit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In the method of adjusting the position of the V-groove for placing the needle material when drilling the end of the needle material with the processing pulse laser beam, continuous oscillation for positioning is performed coaxially with the optical axis of the processing pulse laser beam. A visible laser is passed through the processing pulsed laser beam oscillator from the side opposite to the output side, and is irradiated onto the V-groove and the end face of the needle material placed on the V-groove, so that the visible laser beam is parallel to the V-groove. A V for eyeless needle drilling, which is characterized in that the attitude and position of the V groove are visibly adjusted so as to irradiate the center of the end face of the needle material placed on the V groove.
How to adjust the groove position.