JPH07308792A - Laser beam nozzle device for laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively eject assist gas to machining point so as to save its consumption by placing the tip of nozzle in movable with respect to the center axis of laser beam. CONSTITUTION:In laser cutting working, at the time of piercing, a laser beam 5 is passed through the center of a laser beam nozzle 1, an assist gas is allowed to uniformly flow around the beam 5 and the metal melted by laser beam 5 is radially blown off by assist gas. At the time of high speed cutting, the laser beam nozzle 1 is controlled so as to move while shifted in the delayed direction from the beam 5, and machining is executed while an ejection quantity of assist gas toward a front part is reduced. At the time of low speed cutting, the nozzle 1 is controlled so as to move while preceding the beam 5, the assist gas is blown so as to cool a work 2. By this method, the assist gas is effectively blown to save its consumption.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser beam nozzle device of a laser processing machine for ejecting an assist gas to perform laser processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A laser beam machine, which is used for laser beam machining, uses not only heating by laser light but also heat of oxidation by an assist gas such as oxygen in order to increase the efficiency of cutting when performing sheet metal cutting. The role of the assist gas to play is large. However, the processing state changes depending on how the assist gas hits the processing point. Therefore, conventionally,
In order to always perform constant processing in all processing directions, the center of the laser beam nozzle was made to coincide with the central axis of the laser beam so that the assist gas hits the processing points uniformly. In addition, conversely using the fact that the processing state changes depending on how the assist gas hits the processing point,
There is one in which the amount of the assist gas used is reduced by controlling the assist gas so that the assist gas is effectively ejected to a portion that affects cutting (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 26359/1990).
No. 1, JP-A-2-284789).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the piercing is not taken into consideration, and the center point of the laser beam is
The actual piercing hole is misaligned and it is not possible to make a straight hole for the work.

The present invention is a laser beam nozzle device of a laser processing machine for solving the above conventional problems and effectively using an assist gas during processing.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a configuration therefor,
A laser beam nozzle device of a laser processing machine according to a first invention is a laser beam nozzle installed so that a nozzle tip is movable on a plane perpendicular to a central axis of a laser beam, and a laser beam nozzle with respect to a center of the laser beam. Drive means for adjusting the position of the laser beam nozzle. The laser beam nozzle device of the laser processing machine of the second invention is a laser beam nozzle installed so that the nozzle tip can be moved on a vertical curved surface such that the central axis of the laser beam is the normal line. And a driving unit for adjusting the position of the laser beam nozzle with respect to the center of the laser beam.

[0006]

With the above-described structure, the center axis of the laser beam and the center of the laser beam nozzle can be made to be the same when the movement is stopped, and when the movement of the laser cutting direction changes, the nozzle of the laser beam can be moved. The positional relationship can be moved to the optimum position. That is, it becomes possible to shift the central axis of the laser beam nozzle with respect to the central axis of the laser beam in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the laser processing direction.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a laser beam when the laser beam nozzle is movably installed on a plane perpendicular to the center axis of the laser beam. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the appearance of the nozzle device. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a laser beam when a curved surface (a spherical surface in this case) whose center axis is the normal line of the laser beam is installed so that the center of the nozzle is movable. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the appearance of the nozzle device.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a laser beam nozzle, which ejects an assist gas necessary for processing onto a work 2. Reference numeral 3 is a processing head in which the laser beam nozzle 1 is mounted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. A condenser lens 4 is installed above the processing head 3, and a laser beam output from a laser oscillator (not shown). 5 is focused and focused near the work 2. Then, the work 2 is heated, melted, and cut by the heat of the laser beam 5 that has been condensed and has an increased energy density. On the other hand, an assist gas is supplied to the processing head 3 and is ejected to the processing point through the laser beam nozzle 1. A driving motor 6 is a driving device of the laser beam nozzle 1, and moves on a plane perpendicular to the traveling direction of the laser beam 5. Although only one drive motor 6 is shown in FIG. 2 for the sake of a schematic cross-sectional view, the two drive motors 6 are installed so that their axes are vertical as shown in FIG. As a result, the laser beam nozzle 1 can be moved to any position on the plane. In the metal cutting, the assist gas generates heat of oxidation of the metal, so that the cutting can be performed at a higher speed. FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are diagrams showing the relationship between the laser beam 5 and the opening at the tip of the laser beam nozzle 1. That is, (a) shows the time of piercing, the laser beam 5 is allowed to pass through the center of the opening of the laser beam nozzle 1, and the piercing hole is formed in the work 2.
It is controlled so that it is perforated perpendicularly to. (B) shows high-speed cutting, and the opening at the tip of the laser beam nozzle 1 is controlled so as to be offset with respect to the laser beam 5 in the direction opposite to the processing direction. (C) shows the case of low speed cutting, and controls so that the opening of the tip of the laser beam nozzle 1 is offset with respect to the laser beam 5 in the same direction as the processing direction. 6 (a), (b),
(C) shows the relationship between the flow of the assist gas, the laser beam 5 and the work 2, and shows the processing situation. That is, (a) shows the time of piercing, and the laser beam 5
Passes through the center of the laser beam nozzle 1, the assist gas uniformly flows around the laser beam 5, and the metal melted by the laser beam 5 is radially ejected by the assist gas. (B) shows high-speed cutting, and since the laser beam nozzle 1 is controlled so as to move in a direction delayed from the laser beam 5, the assist gas comes into contact with the processing surface. (C) shows a low-speed cutting, and since the laser beam nozzle 1 is controlled so as to move in a direction in which it advances from the laser beam 5, the assist gas is blown so as to cool the work 2. Next,
In FIGS. 3 and 4 showing the second embodiment, 7 is a laser beam nozzle, which ejects the assist gas necessary for processing onto the work 8. Reference numeral 9 denotes a processing head in which the laser beam nozzle 7 is attached so as to be movable on a curved surface such that the central axis of the laser beam 10 is a normal line, and a condenser lens 11 is installed above the processing head 9. A laser beam 10 output from a laser oscillator (not shown) is focused and focused near the work 8. Then, the work 8 is heated, melted, and cut by the heat of the laser beam 10 that has been condensed and has an increased energy density. On the other hand, to the processing head 9,
Assist gas is supplied and jetted to the processing point through the laser beam nozzle 7. Reference numeral 12 is a drive motor as a drive means of the laser beam nozzle 7, which moves in a plane perpendicular to the traveling direction of the laser beam 10. In FIG. 4, only one drive motor 12 is shown for the sake of the schematic cross-sectional view, but as shown in FIG. 3, the two drive motors 12 are installed so that their axes are vertical. As a result, the laser beam nozzle 7 can be moved to any position on the curved surface having the center line of the laser beam 10 as the normal line. In the case of the second embodiment, the laser beam nozzle 7 moves on a curved surface perpendicular to the center line of the laser beam 10, and the processing state is the same as the case of the flat surface of the first embodiment. However, since the blowing of the assist gas has an angle with respect to the work 8, if the moving amount is too large, the assist gas cannot be jetted vertically to the processing point. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the movement amount small.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, when performing the laser cutting process, the amount of the assist gas jetted forward from the processing point at the time of high speed cutting is reduced, and the cooling by the assist gas is reduced. The heat from the laser beam can be effectively used for cutting, and during low-speed cutting that performs precision processing, the assist gas can be blown forward from the processing point and the processing point can be cooled in advance by the assist gas and the laser beam nozzle diameter. By moving the laser beam nozzle in accordance with the machining direction to effectively eject the assist gas to the machining point, there is an excellent effect that the consumption amount of the assist gas can be saved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the same.

FIG. 5 shows a relationship between a laser beam and a laser beam nozzle opening, (a) relationship diagram during piercing, (b) relationship diagram during high-speed cutting, and (c) relationship diagram during low-speed cutting.

FIG. 6 shows a processing situation, (a) a diagram showing a flow of assist gas during piercing, (b) a diagram showing a flow of assist gas during high-speed cutting, and (c) showing a flow of assist gas during low-speed cutting. Figure

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Laser Beam Nozzle 3 Processing Head 4 Focusing Lens 5 Laser Beam 6 Drive Motor (Drive Means) 7 Laser Beam Nozzle 9 Processing Head 10 Laser Beam 11 Focusing Lens 12 Drive Motor (Drive Means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Kawazoe 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A laser beam nozzle device of a laser beam machine for ejecting an assist gas to perform laser beam machining, wherein the nozzle tip is installed so as to be movable on a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the laser beam. A laser beam nozzle device for a laser beam machine, comprising: a laser beam nozzle; and driving means for adjusting the position of the laser beam nozzle with respect to the center of the laser beam. 2. A laser beam nozzle device of a laser processing machine for ejecting an assist gas to perform laser processing, wherein the nozzle tip can move on a vertical curved surface such that the central axis of the laser beam is a normal line. A laser beam nozzle device of a laser processing machine, comprising: the laser beam nozzle installed as described above; and a driving unit for adjusting the position of the laser beam nozzle with respect to the center of the laser beam. 3. The laser beam nozzle is driven by the driving means so as to shift the central axis of the laser beam nozzle with respect to the central axis of the laser beam in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the laser processing direction. A laser beam nozzle device of the laser processing machine described.