JPH11291077A - Nozzle for laser beam machining, and laser beam machining apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assist gas jetting nozzle for laser beam machining and a laser beam machining apparatus by which the cutting work with the laser beam can be executed without complicating the configuration of the laser beam machining apparatus and without generating spatters at the necessary member side. SOLUTION: This laser beam machining apparatus is provided with a laser beam oscillator 5, an electric source part 6 for oscillating the laser beam, a laser beam control part 7, a bending mirror 8 for reflecting the laser beam 1 generated by the laser beam oscillator 5 in the direction of a work 3, a condensing lens 2 for condensing the laser beam 1 reflected with the bending mirror 8 to the work 3, the nozzle 9 for jetting the assist gas coaxially disposed with the laser beam 1, an assist gas supplying part 10 for supplying the assist gas to the nozzle 9, an XY table 11 for freely shifting the work 3 in the horizontal direction and a control part 12 for controlling the XY table 11. This assist gas jetting nozzle 9 is formed as a shaped having the projecting portion in the half of the jetting hole at the tip part 9a thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser processing nozzle for injecting an assist gas coaxially with a laser beam and a laser processing apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a laser processing apparatus for injecting an assist gas coaxially with a laser beam, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a laser beam 1 is transmitted from a condenser lens 2 to a conical nozzle. 15, and is emitted to the workpiece 3 from an opening formed at the tip 15 a of the nozzle 15. Although omitted in FIGS. 9 and 10, the nozzle 15 is configured to be supplied with an assist gas.

[0003] When the workpiece 3 is cut by the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus, especially when the cutting is started, a large amount of spatters 4 may adhere to the surface of the processed portion, and the quality may be degraded.

[0004] In particular, when the workpiece 3 is a material that is difficult to cut, a large amount of spatter 4 is generated even during cutting, and the generated sputter 4 is generated on both sides of the cut portion as shown in FIG. Resulting in.

[0005] For this reason, when cutting is performed by the above-described conventional technique, a step of removing the spatter 4 after the processing is required, for example, a step of cleaning the surface is required, which increases the processing time and the processing cost. There was a point.

In order to cut the workpiece 3 into the essential parts 3a and unnecessary parts 3a shown in FIG.
As in the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 6975, processing is started from the side where cutting is unnecessary, and a side nozzle is provided separately from a nozzle that emits laser light. Sputtering is performed by gas injected from the side nozzle. For example, the scattering direction of No. 4 is set to the unnecessary portion 3a side, and means for starting the processing and the like have been taken.

[0007]

However, in the technology described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-206975,
As described above, apart from the nozzle that emits laser light,
It is necessary to provide a side nozzle for ejecting gas, and there is a problem that the configuration of the laser processing apparatus becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an assist gas injection nozzle for laser processing and a laser processing apparatus capable of performing laser cutting without complicating the configuration of the laser processing apparatus and without generating spatter on a necessary member side. That is.

[0009]

The present invention is configured as follows to achieve the above object. (1) A laser beam generated by a laser oscillator is focused on a workpiece by a processing optical system, and an assist gas is injected coaxially with the laser beam in a laser processing nozzle of a laser processing apparatus. A projection is formed at the tip end for injecting.

(2) A laser processing nozzle of a laser processing apparatus for converging laser light generated from a laser oscillator on a workpiece by a processing optical system and injecting an assist gas coaxially with the laser light. And means for deflecting the flow of the assist gas after the assist gas is ejected from the nozzle at the tip of the nozzle.

(3) In the laser processing apparatus, a laser oscillator for generating a laser beam, a processing optical system for condensing the laser beam generated from the laser oscillator on a workpiece, and an assist gas for processing the assist gas into the workpiece. A laser processing nozzle for injecting an object, the laser processing nozzle having a projection formed at a tip end for injecting the assist gas.

(4) Preferably, in the above (3),
The laser processing nozzle is supported rotatably about the optical axis of the laser light.

(5) Preferably, in the above (4), a nozzle rotating means for rotating the laser processing nozzle about the optical axis of the laser beam in accordance with the processing shape of the workpiece is further provided. Prepare.

The laser beam is focused on the workpiece by the processing optical system, and is scattered by the irradiation of the laser beam due to the projection at the tip of the nozzle for injecting the assist gas which is injected coaxially with the laser beam 1. It is possible to control the scattering direction of the sputter in one direction.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An overall configuration of a laser cutting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, a laser processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a laser oscillator 5 that generates a laser beam 1,
A power supply unit 6 for oscillating a laser, a laser control unit 7 for controlling laser oscillation, and a bending mirror 8 for reflecting the laser light 1 generated by the laser oscillator 5 in the direction of the workpiece 3 are provided.

The laser processing apparatus includes a condenser lens 2 for condensing the laser beam 1 reflected by the bending mirror 8 on the workpiece 3 and an assist gas injection nozzle (coaxially arranged with the laser beam 1). Laser processing nozzle) 9;
An assist gas supply unit 10 for supplying an assist gas to the nozzle 9; a moving table 11 (hereinafter referred to as an XY table) for freely moving the workpiece 3 in a horizontal direction;
And a control unit 12 for controlling the table 11.

Next, the assist gas injection nozzle 9 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the assist gas nozzle 9. The assist gas injection nozzle 9 is characterized in that the distal end portion 90 has a shape in which half of the injection port protrudes. That is,
When the diameter β of the injection port of the nozzle 9 is 0.5 mm to 3 mm, the right half of FIG.
mm.

Since the conventional assist gas injection nozzle 15 has an axially symmetrical shape as shown in FIG. 9, the assist gas injected from this nozzle 15
Scattered isotropically. In this case, the melted workpiece 3 is moved from the central portion where the laser beam 1 is condensed to the workpiece 3 under the influence of the gas flow and the vaporization and expansion caused by the heat of the processing section.
Scatters isotropically on the surface.

However, in the case of the nozzle 9 having the shape of FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, after the assist gas is jetted from the nozzle 9, as shown by the arrow in FIG. A gas flow is formed to the right in FIG. The flow of the gas causes the sputter 4 to scatter in only one direction. As a result, the sputter 4 can be scattered only in one direction.

As described above, by forming the nozzle 9 in the shape as shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to avoid the isotropic scattering on the surface of the workpiece 3 with the sputtering direction being one direction. it can.

Accordingly, an assist gas injection nozzle for laser processing capable of performing laser cutting without providing a separate side nozzle or the like to complicate the structure of the laser processing apparatus and without generating spatter on a required member side, and a laser processing. The device can be realized.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an assist gas nozzle 9a according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As in the first embodiment, the assist gas nozzle 9a is characterized in that the tip 90a has a shape in which a half of the injection port protrudes. That is, the injection port of the nozzle 9 is the nozzle 9a
With respect to the plane perpendicular to the central axis of
°), so that the right half of FIG. 4 has a protruding shape. According to the second embodiment, effects similar to those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an assist gas nozzle 9b according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The assist gas nozzle 9b is characterized in that the tip 90b has a shape in which half of the injection port protrudes to the outer peripheral side. That is, the injection port in the right half portion of FIG. 5 of the nozzle 9b has a shape that has a portion on the outer peripheral side of the gas nozzle 9b and protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the nozzle 9a. According to the third embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an assist gas nozzle 9c according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This assist gas nozzle 9c is characterized in that its tip 90c has a shape in which a half of the injection port protrudes. That is, the injection port in the right half portion of FIG. 6 of the nozzle 9c has a shape having a portion protruding in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis of the nozzle 9c. According to the fourth embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of a laser cutting device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the nozzle portion in FIG. The example of FIG. 7 is different from the example of FIG. 1 in that a rotating mechanism for rotating the assist gas injection nozzle 9, a motor 14 (nozzle rotating means) for synchronizing the rotation with the XY table, and a motor 14
And a nozzle rotation control unit 13 for controlling the above operation is newly provided, and other configurations are the same as those in the example of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the nozzle rotating mechanism. In FIG. 8, the nozzle 9 is connected to the fixed outer cylinder 2 via a bearing 19.
At 0, it is supported rotatably about the optical axis of the laser beam 1. The gas supply port 10 is connected to the fixed outer cylinder 20. The nozzle 9 is configured to be rotated by a nozzle rotation motor 14 using pulleys 16 and 18 and a belt 17.

In the first embodiment, it has been described that the scattered melt can be controlled in the direction of the protrusion by using the assist gas injection nozzle 9. Further, in the fifth embodiment, when the workpiece 3 is processed into an arbitrary processing shape, the nozzle 9 is moved with respect to the optical axis of the laser light 1.
By rotating the nozzle 9 in synchronization with the XY table 11 so that the projection of the nozzle 9 faces the unnecessary portion of the workpiece 3, it is possible to perform processing without attaching spatter to a required member.

For example, the processed portion of the workpiece 3 is shown in FIG.
In the case of the shape as shown in FIG. 11, the motor 14 is rotated so that the projection of the nozzle 9 is directed in the direction of the arrow at each position in FIG. Processing is possible without scattering the spatter 4.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the attitude of the nozzle 9 can be changed according to the processing shape of the workpiece 3. Since the control can be performed, the working efficiency can be improved.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7, the nozzle having the shape shown in FIG. 2 is used. However, the nozzle is not limited to this, and the nozzle shown in FIGS. Any of the shaped nozzles can be used.

[0031]

The present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects. Assist gas,
Since the means for deflecting the flow after injection from the laser processing assist gas injection nozzle is provided at the nozzle tip, spatter is generated on the necessary member side without complicating the configuration of the laser processing apparatus. Without performing this, it is possible to realize an assist gas injection nozzle for laser processing and a laser processing apparatus that can perform laser cutting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a laser cutting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laser processing nozzle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a flow of an assist gas injected from a nozzle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laser processing nozzle according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laser processing nozzle according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laser processing nozzle according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of a laser cutting device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a nozzle unit in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional assist gas injection nozzle.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state of scattering of a sputter 4 in laser processing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a processing shape of a workpiece to be processed by laser processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser beam 2 Condensing lens 3 Workpiece 3a Workpiece main part 3b Workpiece unnecessary part 4 Sputter 5 Laser oscillator 6 Laser power supply 7 Laser oscillation controller 8 Bending mirror 9 Assist gas injection nozzle 9a, 9b, 9c Assist Gas injection nozzle 9b Assist gas injection nozzle (Invention 2) 10 Gas supply port 11 Moving table (XY table) 12 Control unit 13 Nozzle rotation control unit 14 Nozzle rotation motor 16, 18 Pulley 17 Belt 19 Bearing 20 Fixed outer cylinder

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Minomoto 650 Kandamachi, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture Within Hitachi Construction Machinery Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A laser light generated from a laser oscillator,
In the laser processing nozzle of the laser processing apparatus which converges the assist gas coaxially with the laser light by condensing the laser beam on the workpiece by the processing optical system, a projection is formed at a tip end for injecting the assist gas. A laser processing nozzle characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A laser beam generated from a laser oscillator,
In a laser processing nozzle of a laser processing apparatus that converges an assist gas coaxially with the laser light by condensing the laser beam on a workpiece by a processing optical system, the assist gas after the assist gas is injected from the nozzle A means for deflecting the flow of the laser beam at the tip of the nozzle. 3. A laser oscillator for generating a laser beam, a processing optical system for converging a laser beam generated from the laser oscillator on a workpiece, and a laser processing nozzle for injecting an assist gas onto the workpiece. A laser processing apparatus, comprising: a laser processing nozzle having a projection formed at a tip end for injecting an assist gas. 4. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
A laser processing apparatus, wherein the laser processing nozzle is rotatably supported around an optical axis of a laser beam. 5. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
A laser processing apparatus further comprising: a nozzle rotating unit that rotates the laser processing nozzle around an optical axis of a laser beam according to a processing shape of a workpiece.