JPH067981A - Machining head of laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a nozzle by equipping a reflecting means behind a condenser lens of a laser beam. CONSTITUTION:A lens 5 is provided on the upstream side of laser beam reflecting means 3a, 3b in a head body 11. Since the focal distance of the lens 5 is the sum of a distance L3 to a reflecting means 3a on the upstream side, a distance (offset amount) L2 between upstream/downstream reflecting means 3a, 3b and a distance L1 between the reflecting means 3b on the downstream side and the focus of the laser beam, the offset amount L1 is shorter than the focal distance. Therefore, since the nozzle 7 of a laser beam machining head is smaller than a conventional nozzle, the machinability of the machining head is improved. Further, since supply holes 9 for auxiliary gas for machining are provided on the neighborhood on the downstream side of the laser beam from the lens 5 of the head body 11 to eject gas, therefore, the lower surface of the lens 5 and the surface of each reflecting means are cooled forcedly and no piping for cooling water is required specially.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser processing machine for processing a material to be processed with a laser beam, and more particularly to a processing head of a laser processing machine suitable for laser processing a three-dimensional solid object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 illustrates a processing head of a conventional three-dimensional laser processing machine. This processing head comprises a head body 1 having a laser beam passage, a plurality of reflecting means 3a and 3b provided on the head body, and a lens 5 provided on the downstream side of the reflecting means of the head body. . The head body 1 is a base 1 fixed to the laser processing machine body.
a, a first drive unit 1b rotatably attached to the base 1a, and a second drive unit 1c rotatably attached to the first drive unit 1b. The first drive unit 1b and the second drive unit 1c are rotated by a drive device (not shown) including a motor and the like. A nozzle portion 7 is formed at the tip of the second drive portion 1c. The nozzle portion 7 has a shape in which the diameter is reduced toward the downstream side (laser emission port side), and an opening through which laser light passes is formed at the tip of the nozzle portion 7. A processing auxiliary gas supply port 9 is provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the lens 5 and is inclined upward from the outside to the inside of the head body 1, and the gas supplied from a gas supply unit (not shown) is supplied to the lower surface side of the lens 5. It is designed to gush out. A cooling device 13 is arranged outside the reflecting means 3a and 3b.

The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator is
It is incident on the head body 1 from the base portion 1a, and the upstream side reflection means 3
a and the downstream side reflection means 3b are sequentially reflected, and after passing through the lens 5, they pass through the nozzle portion 7 and are irradiated onto the work material 15 in a condensed state. Then, by rotating the first drive unit 1b and the second drive unit 1c respectively, the incident angle of the laser beam with respect to the surface of the workpiece 15 can be adjusted, and the surface processing of the complex shaped object can be performed. Further, a processing auxiliary gas is supplied to the nozzle portion 7 in order to improve the processing performance such as the processing speed. The processing auxiliary gas is supplied into the nozzle from the processing auxiliary gas supply port 9 and is sprayed onto the workpiece 15 from the tip of the nozzle. Oxidizing gas such as O ₂ and air is used for cutting, and Ar gas and He are used for welding.
Gas or the like is used. Since the processing auxiliary gas contacts the lens 5, it also acts as a cooling gas for the lens 5. Since the reflecting means 3a, 3b absorb part of the energy of the laser light and generate heat, the reflecting means 3a, 3b is cooled by the cooling device 13 provided outside the reflecting means 3a, 3b.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional example, since the lens 5 is arranged on the tip side (nozzle portion) of the head main body 1, the distance between the downstream reflecting means 3b and the focal point of the laser beam. (Offset amount) L1 could not be made shorter than the focal length of the lens, and as a result, the nozzle became large.
Therefore, workability when processing a complex-shaped product or an uneven surface is poor.

Further, the reflecting means 3a, 3b absorb part of the energy of the laser beam and generate heat, but do not come into contact with the processing auxiliary gas, so that a cooling device such as a water cooling device is required,
Therefore, there is a problem that a pipe for cooling water is required, the workability of the laser processing apparatus is poor, and the cost is high.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing head for a laser processing machine which is small in size, has good workability, and does not require a pipe for cooling water of a reflecting means. It is intended.

[0007]

A processing head of a laser beam machine according to the present invention comprises a head body having a laser beam passage,
In a processing head of a laser processing machine comprising a plurality of reflecting means provided in the head main body and a lens for collecting the laser light provided in the head main body, the lens is provided between the reflecting means or It is provided on the upstream side of the reflecting means. Further, it is desirable to dispose a processing auxiliary gas supply port near the downstream side of the lens disposition position of the head main body.

[0008]

The laser light oscillated by the laser oscillator and incident from the base of the head main body is reflected by the reflecting means while being condensed after passing through the lens and introduced into the nozzle. Therefore, the optical path length between the reflecting means on the downstream side of the lens and the focal point of the laser light is shorter than the focal length of the lens, so that the nozzle can be downsized. In addition, since the processing auxiliary gas used for processing comes into contact with the reflection means between the lens and the nozzle, this processing auxiliary gas can be used together as the cooling gas for the reflection means, and the reflection means requires a pipe for cooling water. Not.

[0009]

1 shows a first embodiment of a processing head of a laser processing machine according to the present invention, in which reference numeral 10 is a processing head, and 11 is a head body. In the machining head 10 shown in FIG. 1, the same components as those of the machining head shown in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. The head body 11 includes a base portion 11 a fixed to the laser processing machine body, a first drive portion 11 b rotatably attached to the base portion, and a first drive portion 1.
It is composed of a second drive portion 11c rotatably attached to 1b. First drive unit 11b and second drive unit 1
1c is rotated by a drive device (not shown) including a motor and the like. The first drive unit 11b and the second drive unit 11c each have a bent portion that is bent at an angle of 90 °. The reflecting means 3a and 3b are provided at the corners of the bent portions of the first drive unit 11b and the second drive unit 11c, respectively. The lens 5 is provided on the upstream side of the upstream reflecting means 3a provided on the first drive unit 11b. A plurality of processing auxiliary gas supply ports 9 are provided along the circumference of the head main body 11 in the vicinity of the position where the lens 5 is arranged on the head main body 11. This processing auxiliary gas supply port 9 is provided so as to incline upward from the outside of the head body 11 toward the inside, and the gas supplied from a gas supply unit (not shown) is supplied to the lens 5
It is designed to squirt toward the lower surface side. Nozzle part 7
Is provided at the tip of the second drive unit 11c. The nozzle portion 7 has a shape that reduces its diameter toward the downstream side (laser emission port side), and an opening through which laser light passes is formed at the tip of the nozzle portion 7.

When the processing head 10 is used, laser light is incident on the base 11a of the head main body 11 from the main body of the laser processing machine, and the first drive unit 11b of the head main body 11 is used.
Entering the lens 5 arranged in. The laser light collected there is also hit by the upstream reflection means 3a in the first drive section 11b, reflected by the same, turned by 90 °, and further directed to the downstream reflection means 3b provided in the second drive section 11c. It is reflected by hitting, and is emitted in a state of being condensed from the opening at the tip of the nozzle portion 7. The focal point of the laser light is a few mm from the tip of the nozzle 7.
~ It is set a few cm outside. Then, the workpiece 15 is set at a position where the surface (working surface) hits the focal point of the emitted laser. Next, the first drive unit 11b and the second drive unit 1 are arranged so that the focus of the laser is accurately applied to the surface of the workpiece 15.
The surface of the workpiece 15 is processed by rotatively driving 1c and 1c and irradiating the surface of the workpiece 15 with laser light.

In the laser processing machine equipped with this processing head 10, not only a material having a smooth surface but also a workpiece having a three-dimensional processing surface such as a complicated shape product or an uneven surface is subjected to surface treatment, drilling, Various laser processing such as cutting and welding can be performed.

The processing head 10 is composed of a head body 1
The lens 5 is provided on the upstream side of the reflecting means 3a and 3b arranged in the lens 1.
Is provided. The focal length is the distance L3 between the lens 5 and the upstream reflecting means 3a, the distance (offset amount) L2 between the upstream reflecting means 3a and the downstream reflecting means 3b, the downstream reflecting means 3b and the focus of the laser light. The offset amount L1 is shorter than the focal length because it is the total amount of the distance (offset amount) L1. Therefore, since the nozzle 7 of the laser processing head constructed according to the first embodiment is smaller than the conventional nozzle, the workability of the processing head is improved. Further, since the processing auxiliary gas supply port 9 is provided in the vicinity of the laser beam downstream side of the lens 5 of the head main body 11, the lower surface of the lens 5 and the surfaces of the respective reflection means are forcibly cooled by the ejected gas. In this processing head 10, the reflecting means does not require a pipe for cooling water, and the manufacturing cost is low,
It is possible to provide a processing head that is small and has good workability. However,
Further, in order to improve the cooling effect of the reflection means or in a processing head used for processing without using a processing auxiliary gas, a pipe for cooling water may be attached to the reflection means.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the processing head of the laser processing machine according to the present invention. Processing head 2 of this example
0 has substantially the same constituent elements as the machining head 10 according to the previous embodiment, and the same constituent elements are designated by the same reference numerals. In this processing head 20, the lens 5 is installed between the upstream reflecting means 3a and the downstream reflecting means 3b. The processing head 20 configured in this way has the effect of reducing the offset amount L1 as compared with the conventional product, similarly to the processing head 10 of the previous embodiment, and the degree of light condensing on the surface of the downstream reflection means 3b. Can be made smaller than that of the processing head 10 of the previous embodiment, so that the life of the downstream reflecting means 3b can be extended.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the number of reflecting means is two is taken as an example, but the number of reflecting means and the arrangement position thereof are not limited to this, and various modifications are possible. As the laser beam used in the present invention, various laser beams such as YAG laser, CO2 laser, ruby laser, excimer laser, etc. can be used.
Further, as the lens and the reflecting means, a lens having a good transmittance of the laser used, a mirror having a good reflectance with respect to the laser used, or the like can be appropriately selected and used.

[0015]

As described above, in the processing head of the laser beam machine according to the present invention, the condenser lens is arranged between the plurality of reflecting means provided in the head body or upstream of the reflecting means. This makes it possible to make the offset amount from the most downstream reflecting means to the laser emission end shorter than the focal length of the lens. Therefore, according to the processing head of the present invention, the nozzle can be downsized and the processing workability is improved. In particular, complicated shape products that were difficult to process with conventional processing heads,
The inner surface of the tubular material can be easily processed. Further, since the processing auxiliary gas used for processing can be used together as the cooling gas for the reflecting means, it is not necessary to attach the cooling water pipe to the reflecting means, the manufacturing cost is low, and the processing head having a small size and good workability can be provided. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a machining head showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a processing head showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional processing head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 21 Head main body 11a, 21a Base part 11b, 21b First drive part 11c, 21c Second drive part 3a, 3b Reflecting means 5 Lens 7 Nozzle part 9 Processing auxiliary gas supply port 10, 20 Processing head 13 Cooling device 15 Target Worked material L1 Distance between downstream reflection means and laser beam focus L2 Distance between upstream reflection means and downstream reflection means L3 Distance between lens and upstream reflection means L4 Distance between lens and downstream reflection means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A head body having a laser beam passage,
In a processing head of a laser processing machine comprising a plurality of reflecting means provided in the head main body and a lens for collecting the laser light provided in the head main body, the lens is provided between the reflecting means or A processing head of a laser processing machine, wherein the processing head is provided on the upstream side of the reflecting means. 2. The processing head of a laser processing machine according to claim 1, wherein a supply port of a processing auxiliary gas is arranged in the vicinity of the downstream side of the lens arrangement position of the head main body.