JPH09239576A - Laser beam machining equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency of laser beam machining by rapidly changing the condition of laser beam machining about various objects to be machined different in thickness. SOLUTION: This equipment is composed of a cutting torch part 4 to execute a prescribed machining by irradiating an object to be machined 5 with a laser beam 2 generating in a laser oscillator 1, a controller 7 to control the cutting condition of this cutting torch part and a thickness detecting device 6 to detect the thickness of the object to be machined. The controller changes the cutting condition depending on the detected value supplied from the thickness detecting device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus for processing various metal materials, and more particularly to a carbon dioxide laser processing apparatus suitable for processing various kinds of metal materials having different plate thicknesses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When processing various metal materials with laser light, the processing conditions such as output of laser oscillator, frequency, duty, processing speed, pressure of assist gas, etc. are set according to the material and plate thickness of the material to be processed. Appropriate setting is required. Therefore, even with the same material, it is necessary to adjust the processing conditions according to the plate thickness in order to obtain good processing quality (specifically, the quality of the cut surface). It was necessary for the operator to perform the setting operation of these processing conditions every time the thickness changed.

[0003]

However, it is complicated to perform the setting operation each time the machining conditions are changed, and there is no possibility that different conditions may be set due to an error in the input operation. It wasn't. Further, since there are various combinations of materials and plate thicknesses, there are various processing conditions, and there is a problem that data management becomes complicated. Furthermore, even if the processing pattern is the same,
Since different plate thicknesses have different setting conditions, it is necessary to change the setting each time the thickness of the work piece changes, and it is inconvenient that it is not possible to perform continuous machining of multiple products (processing that does not involve setting changes in the middle). .

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to easily and surely change the processing condition setting for workpieces having different plate thicknesses and the same material having different plate thicknesses. The purpose is to enable continuous processing of materials.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a laser processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a cutting torch portion for irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam generated by a laser oscillator to perform a predetermined processing. The cutting torch unit is configured by a control device that controls the cutting conditions and a plate thickness detection device that detects the plate thickness of the workpiece, and the control device is a detection device that is supplied from the plate thickness detection device. The cutting condition is changed according to a value. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the laser processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the plate thickness detecting device is configured to bring a contact into contact with a surface of a workpiece to oscillate ultrasonic waves and measure the plate thickness by a reflected wave thereof. It is characterized in that it is supported by the cutting torch portion so as to be movable in a direction toward and away from the workpiece. In the laser processing apparatus according to claim 3, the control device according to claim 1 or 2 receives supply of a plate thickness detection value from the plate thickness detection device prior to the start of cutting by the cutting torch unit, and based on this detection value. It is characterized in that the cutting condition is selected by The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4 is the laser processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cutting condition is at least one of an output and a frequency of the laser oscillator, a moving speed of the cutting torch portion, and a supply pressure of assist gas. It is characterized by being. According to the above configuration, the processing conditions are changed depending on the detected plate thickness, and the laser processing can be performed under the optimum processing conditions according to the plate thickness. Further, the cutting conditions are automatically changed even when only the plate thickness of the workpiece is different.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of one embodiment, and reference numeral 1 is a laser oscillator. The laser beam 2 oscillated by the laser oscillator 1 is redirected to a necessary direction via the reflecting mirror 3 and guided to the cutting torch unit 4 so that the cutting torch unit 4 irradiates the workpiece 5. It has become. A plate thickness detection device 6 is integrally attached to the cutting torch unit 4. The plate thickness detection device 6
The detection signal about the plate thickness detected by the controller 7
It is supplied to. The control device 7 stores in advance processing conditions such as output, frequency, duty, processing speed, pressure of assist gas, etc. according to the material and the plate thickness.
Based on the material set by the operator and the detection signal supplied from the plate thickness detection device 6, an optimum one is selected from the processing conditions, and the laser oscillator 1 is cut so that the selected processing conditions are satisfied. Moving mechanism (not shown) of torch 4 and assist gas supply device (not shown)
Is controlled.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the cutting torch unit 4
And the details of the plate thickness detection device 6 supported by this will be described. The guide rail 1 is provided on the frame 10 of the cutting torch unit 4.
1 is provided, and the guide rail 11 movably supports the plate thickness detection device 6 in the vertical direction (direction intersecting the surface of the workpiece), and a built-in vertical movement mechanism (not shown).
It can be moved up and down by. The plate thickness detection device 6 measures the plate thickness by the time until the oscillated ultrasonic wave passes through the workpiece 5 and is detected again. By moving up and down, the ultrasonic wave oscillates. ,
The contactor 12 for receiving is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece 5 or separated from the surface.

The operation of the above laser processing apparatus will be described. The state in which the plate thickness detection device 6 is raised (at least a position where it does not come into contact with the workpiece 5 and does not interfere with the laser processing and is not likely to be damaged during processing)
The cutting torch unit 4 is moved along the surface of the workpiece 5 and placed at a predetermined position. This predetermined position is, for example, a position arbitrarily selected for measuring the plate thickness on the surface of the workpiece 5, or a starting position of cutting. At the predetermined position, the plate thickness detection device 6 is lowered,
The tip of the contact 12 is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece 5. An ultrasonic wave is oscillated from the plate thickness detection device 6 to the workpiece 5 through the contact 12, and the reflected wave is detected to detect the plate thickness. When the plate thickness is detected, the ultrasonic wave oscillation is stopped and the plate thickness detection device 6 is raised. The detected value of the plate thickness is supplied to the control device 7, and based on the supplied detected value of the plate thickness and the data such as the material input by the setting operation of the operator, the optimum output, frequency, duty, and processing speed are set. -Processing conditions such as assist gas pressure are selected, and the laser oscillator 1, based on these processing conditions,
A moving mechanism (not shown) of the cutting torch 4 and an assist gas supply device (not shown) are controlled. Since the plate thickness detected by the ultrasonic waves is the sum of the plate thickness of the work piece 5 itself and the film thickness of the coating film or the like on the surface thereof, it is measured for each work piece 5, for example. The data of the film thickness (or obtained from the specification or the like) may be input to the control device 7 to correct the detected value of the plate thickness.

After that, the above-mentioned operations (1) to (5) are repeated every time the processing of a certain workpiece is completed. Therefore, for workpieces of the same material, even if the plate thicknesses are different, the processing conditions can be automatically changed without requiring a special setting operation.

[0011]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the detecting device for detecting the thickness of the work piece is provided in the cutting torch portion, the plate thickness of the work piece is detected by this detecting device. It is possible to detect, and it is possible to perform the laser processing by selecting the optimum cutting condition according to the detected plate thickness. Further, by performing the plate thickness detection prior to the start of the laser processing, it is possible to automatically set the optimum cutting conditions even when the plate thickness of the workpiece is changed.
It is possible to continuously and efficiently process a wide variety of workpieces having different plate thicknesses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a support portion of the plate thickness detection device in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Laser oscillator 4 Cutting torch part 5
Work piece 6 Plate thickness detection device 7 Control device 11
Guide rail 12 Contact

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cutting torch portion for irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam generated by a laser oscillator to perform a predetermined processing, a control device for controlling cutting conditions of the cutting torch portion, and a plate of the workpiece. And a plate thickness detecting device for detecting the thickness, wherein the control device changes the cutting condition according to the detection value supplied from the plate thickness detecting device. 2. The plate thickness detecting device, wherein a contactor is brought into contact with the surface of a workpiece to oscillate ultrasonic waves, and the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave is used to measure the plate thickness. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser processing apparatus is supported by the cutting torch portion so as to be movable in a moving direction and a separating direction. 3. The control device receives supply of a plate thickness detection value from the plate thickness detection device prior to the start of cutting by the cutting torch unit, and selects a cutting condition based on this detection value. The laser processing device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The cutting condition is at least one of the output and frequency of the laser oscillator, the moving speed of the cutting torch portion, and the supply pressure of the assist gas, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The laser processing apparatus described in.