JPH09136174A - Laser cutting method for work scrap and laser beam processing head used for this method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting method for work scrap subjected to laser beam processing which automatically parts the work scrap at proper points without requiring the operator's manual labor and without spending time and a laser beam processing head used for this method. SOLUTION: At the time of cutting (parting) the work scrap Ws subjected to laser beam processing at the proper points by irradiating the work scarp with a laser beam from the laser beam processing head 17, the end face of the work scrap Ws is detected by a sensor 27 for detecting the work disposed in the outer peripheral part of the laser beam processing head 17 and this sensor is turned on to cut the work scrap with the laser beam from the laser beam processing head 17. When there is no more work scrap, the sensor 27 is turned off to stop the laser beam. The proper points are successively laser-cut by the procedures described above, by which the work scrap is automatically cut without requiring the operator's manual labor and without spending time and, therefore, the work scrap is unloaded with one operator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser cutting method of a residual material for cutting a laser-processed residual material at an appropriate position and a laser processing head used for the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a product is obtained by cutting a work W to be processed by a laser processing machine, a residual material treatment that remains afterwards is very troublesome. For example, if the work to be processed is a SPCC and is a thin plate with a plate thickness of 1.2 mm or less, one worker can fold and process even 3'x6 ', 4'x8' standard length materials. . However, if the thickness of the plate exceeds 1.2 mm, it is difficult to remove the remaining material from the work table unless it is done by a few workers.

Under the present circumstances, several workers drop the residual material, or the residual material is cut by a laser beam,
It is customary to allow processing by a human worker.

[0004]

By the way, it is very difficult for a user whose labor is being reduced to apply several workers to lower the remaining material from the work table. Further, when cutting the residual material, as shown in FIG. 6, the cutting positions A, B, C, ..., G, H are sequentially ordered from the end surface of the residual material Ws clamped by the work clamp K. Since it is necessary to support the position of the laser processing head at the start of cutting, there is a problem that it takes a very long time.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for cutting a residual material, which is capable of automatically dividing a laser-processed residual material at an appropriate place without bothering a worker and taking a long time. It is to provide a laser processing head used for the method.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a laser cutting method for a residual material of the present invention according to claim 1 is
When cutting the laser-processed residual material at appropriate points, the workpiece detection sensor provided in the laser processing head detects that there is residual material and turns on the laser beam from the laser processing head to remove the residual material. It is characterized in that the laser beam is turned off so as not to cut the residual material when it is cut and the work detecting sensor detects that there is no residual material.

A laser processing head of the present invention according to claim 2 is a laser processing head for cutting a laser-processed residual material at an appropriate position, and a work detection sensor is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the laser processing head. It is characterized by being provided.

Therefore, when the laser processing head is irradiated with the laser beam from the laser processing residual material to cut (separate) at an appropriate position, a work detection sensor provided on the outer peripheral portion of the laser processing head is used. The end face of the residual material is detected and turned on to cut the laser beam from the laser processing head, and when the residual material is exhausted, the work detection sensor is turned off and the laser beam is stopped.

[0012] Thus, by cutting the appropriate portions by laser in sequence in the above-described manner, the work is automatically divided in a short time without bothering the operator, so that one person's work can be performed. The leftover material is taken down by a person.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 5, the laser beam machine 1 includes a box-shaped bed 3 extending in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction), and a parallel bed extending in the X-axis direction is provided on the bed 3. A plurality of guide rails 5 are laid. On the guide rail 5, a drive motor (not shown), a hole screw,
A work table 7 that can be moved in the X-axis direction by a nut member or the like is provided. A work W to be processed is placed on the work table 7. A plurality of work clamp devices 9 are provided at appropriate intervals on one side of the work table 7, that is, on the right side in the X-axis direction in FIG.

A gate type frame 11 straddling the bed 3
Is erected. In addition, the portal frame 11 includes an upper frame 11U and side frames 11R and 11L. A plurality of parallel guide rails 13 extending in the left-right direction (Y-axis direction) are provided on the front side of the upper frame 11U in the gate-shaped frame 11. The guide rails 13 include, for example, a drive motor and a ball (not shown). Y that can be moved in the Y-axis direction by screws and nut members
A shaft carriage 15 is provided.

The Y-axis carriage 15 is provided with a bend mirror for guiding the laser beam output in the Y-axis direction to the processing point. Immediately below the bend mirror is a vertical movement by a fluid cylinder or the like (not shown). Direction (Z-axis direction)
A laser processing head 17 is provided which is movable.
The laser processing head 17 is provided with a bend mirror and a condenser lens.
The laser nozzle 19 is integrated with the tip of the. Further, the side frame 11 of the portal frame 11
An NC device 21 for controlling the laser processing machine 1 is attached to the upper part of R via a bracket 23.

With the above structure, the work table 7 is moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis carriage 15 is moved in the Y-axis direction, so that the laser beam oscillated from the laser oscillator (not shown) is bent and focused by the bend mirror. By irradiating the work W from the laser nozzle 19 through the lens, the work W is laser-cut into a required shape.

The laser processing head 17, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is a cylindrical processing head body 2.
5, a workpiece detection sensor 27 including a capacitance sensor, an eddy current sensor, and the like is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the processing head body 25.

With the above structure, when performing laser cutting on the work W, the work detection sensor 27 is turned on to detect the work W, and the gap between the laser nozzle 19 and the work W is kept constant. By performing laser cutting in this state, excellent laser cutting can be performed.

Next, the cutting position A, B, ..., G, H of the laser-cut residual material, for example, the residual material Ws shown in FIG.
The operation of sequentially cutting and processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 1. In step S1, the residual material Ws of the work table 7 of the laser processing machine 1 is placed on the laser processing head 17 or the residual material Ws. Move in the direction you want to cut.

Then, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the work detection sensor 27 is turned on. If the work detection sensor 27 is not turned on, the process returns to the front of step S1. When the work detection sensor 27 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the laser beam is turned on to irradiate the residual material Ws with the laser beam to perform the cutting process. The work detection sensor 27 is turned off in step S4.
Cutting process is performed until the work detection sensor 27
When the FF is performed, the process proceeds to step S5 and the laser beam
By performing FF, the laser cutting processing of the residual material Ws is completed.

Therefore, the workpiece detection sensor 27 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the processing head body 25 of the laser processing head 17.
Since it is possible to easily separate the frame portion of the residual material Ws by providing the above, the operation of taking down the residual material Ws up to now without bothering the operator and taking time. The burden on the person can be reduced. Moreover,
The cutting of the residual material Ws can be simplified and automatically performed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of another embodiment instead of FIG. 4, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, a pressing roller 31 which is rotatable via a shaft 29 is provided on the outer periphery of the processing head 25.

With the above configuration, even if the work W is warped, the work W or the remaining plate Ws can be pressed by the pressing roller 31 to perform the laser processing cutting, so that the effect of the example of the above-described embodiment is obtained. In addition, it is possible to perform even better cutting processing.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in other modes by making appropriate changes.

[0025]

As can be understood from the examples of the embodiment as described above, according to the inventions of claims 1 and 2, it is possible to irradiate a laser beam from a laser processing head to a laser-processed residual material to obtain a proper laser beam. When cutting (dividing) at a certain point, the end face of the residual material is detected by the work detection sensor provided on the outer peripheral portion of the laser processing head and turned on to cut with the laser beam from the laser processing head and the residual material disappears. Then the work detection sensor is turned off and the laser beam is stopped.

By laser cutting the appropriate portions in the above-described manner one after another, the work is automatically divided in a short time without the operator's hand and the work of one person. A person can grate the remaining material.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing an operation of cutting a residual material which is laser-cut according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a laser processing head that is a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of another embodiment of the laser processing head.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a laser processing machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a laser-processed residual material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Laser Processing Machine 7 Work Table 17 Laser Processing Head 19 Laser Nozzle 25 Processing Head Main Body 27 Work Detection Sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. When cutting a laser-processed residual material at an appropriate position, a laser beam from the laser processing head is turned on by detecting the presence of the residual material by a work detection sensor provided in the laser processing head. A laser cutting method for residual material, comprising cutting at least the residual material, and turning off the laser beam so that the residual material is not cut when the work detecting sensor detects that there is no residual material. 2. A laser processing head for cutting a laser-processed residual material at an appropriate location, wherein a laser beam is provided on the outer periphery of the laser processing head for detecting a work.