JPH1147971A - Three-dimensional laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transmission device in the machining head of a three- dimensional laser beam machine, a device inexpensive, compact and also capable of transmitting a fluid and an electrical signal with superior workability without interfering with a work or a jig. SOLUTION: With a laser machining head 17 rotating around the revolving shaft, a cable 33 equipped with piping for supplying fluid to the head 17 and/or wiring for transmitting electrical signals moves spirally outside an A-axis rotor 27, supplying the fluid and transmitting the electrical signals to the A-axis rotor 27 allowed. The cable 33, covered with a highly rigid outer skin, is capable of always holding a proper spiral shape with the rotation of the A-axis rotor 27.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional laser beam machine, and more particularly to a three-dimensional laser beam machine having a device for supplying a fluid or electric signal to a laser beam head having at least one axis of rotation. It is about the machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of transmitting fluid and electric signals in a processing head of a three-dimensional laser processing machine having a degree of freedom of three axes of a straight line and two axes of rotation, as shown in FIG. In general, the side 101F and the processing head 101, which is the movable side 101M, are connected by a wiring / pipe 103, or a rotary electrical connector and a rotary fluid coupling (not shown) are generally used.

[0003]

However, in the case where the wiring and piping 103 are connected by the above-described wiring and piping 103, if a large rotation angle is required, the wiring and piping 103 must be lengthened. There is a problem in terms of workability and work safety, because it hangs down and interferes with a work or a jig, or is entangled with the processing head 101.

Further, when a rotary electric connector and a rotary fluid coupling are used, there is a problem that although the rotation angle can be infinite, each component is very expensive and the whole apparatus becomes expensive. In addition, a rotary fluid coupling has a large rotational load and requires a large motor to rotate the processing head, which causes a problem that the apparatus becomes large and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to pay attention to the above-mentioned conventional technology, and to transmit a fluid and an electric signal inexpensively, compactly and with good workability without interfering with a work or a jig. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transmission device in a processing head of a three-dimensional laser processing machine that can perform the above-described processing.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a three-dimensional laser beam machine according to the first aspect of the present invention is a three-dimensional laser beam machine having a laser machining head having at least one axis of rotation. A cable having a pipe for supplying a fluid to the laser processing head and / or a wiring for supplying an electric signal is spirally formed at a predetermined interval outside a rotating body rotatably provided around the rotation axis. And one end of the cable is connected to a fixed body that supports the rotating body, and the other end is connected to the rotating body.

Therefore, when the laser processing head rotates around the rotation axis, a cable provided with a pipe for supplying fluid to the laser processing head and / or a wiring for transmitting an electric signal spirally moves outside the rotating body. The fluid supply and the transmission of electric signals are performed in a state where the rotation of the rotating body is allowed.

A three-dimensional laser beam machine according to a second aspect of the present invention is the three-dimensional laser beam machine according to the first aspect, wherein the cable is covered with a highly rigid outer cover.

Therefore, the cable always keeps a proper spiral shape with the rotation of the rotating body due to the rigidity of the outer cover.

A three-dimensional laser beam machine according to a third aspect of the present invention is the three-dimensional laser beam machine of the first aspect, wherein the cable has a highly rigid core material.

Therefore, the cable always keeps a proper spiral shape with the rotation of the rotating body due to the rigidity of the core material.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of a three-dimensional laser beam machine 1 having three axes of freedom and two axes of rotation. That is, a plurality (for example, four) on the floor 3
Column 5 is erected, and X
Two X-axis guides 7 are provided in the axial direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 6). Two support plates 9 are provided on the column 5 in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7), and support the X-axis guide 7.

An X-axis carriage 11 is provided on the two X-axis guides 7 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction.
The X-axis carriage 11 is provided with a Y-axis carriage 13 movable in the Y-axis direction.

The Y-axis carriage 13 is provided with a Z-axis column 15 which can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction, which is a vertical direction. The work W is irradiated with a laser beam LB at the lower end of the Z-axis column 15. A laser processing head 17 is provided.

Outside the machine body, there are provided an NC device 19 as a control device, a laser oscillator 21 for oscillating the laser beam LB, a laser oscillator power supply device 23 for operating the laser beam machine 1 and the like.

With the above construction, the NC device 19 controls each axis moving mechanism (not shown) to move and position the X-axis carriage 11 in the X-axis direction, and to move the Y-axis carriage 13 to the Y-axis carriage. Move and position in the direction
The laser processing head 17 is positioned with respect to the X, Y, and Z axes by moving and positioning the axis column 15 in the Z-axis direction. Further, after the laser processing head 17 is rotated in the directions of the A axis (see FIG. 1) and the B axis, the NC device 19 is rotated.
Controls the laser oscillator power supply 23 to operate the laser oscillator 2
The laser beam LB is oscillated by 1 and a laser beam LB is applied to the work from the laser processing head 17 to perform laser processing.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the laser processing head 17, a fixed body 25 fixedly mounted on the Z-axis column 15 and a driving device (not shown) in the inner space of the fixed body 25 in the A-axis direction are used. An A-axis rotator 27 is provided as a rotatable rotator. A-axis rotating body 2
7, a B-axis rotator 29 is provided rotatably in the B-axis direction, and the tip of the B-axis rotator 29 (the lower end in FIG. 1).
Is provided with a nozzle 31 for irradiating the laser beam LB.

With the above construction, the A-axis rotator 27 is rotated in the A-axis direction under the control of the NC device 19, and the B-axis rotator 29 is rotated in the B-axis direction. The nozzle 31 provided at the tip of
Positioning is performed by three linear axes of X, Y, and Z, and two rotation axes of A and B axes.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cable 33 for transmitting gas and electric signals used for laser processing is spirally provided around the A-axis rotating body 27, and the upper end thereof is a fixed body 25. The lower end is connected to the A-axis rotator 27.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cable 33 includes a plurality of wirings 35 for transmitting electric signals and a plurality of pipes 37 for supplying a fluid such as gas so as to fill a gap with an inclusion 39. Since the outer periphery is covered with an outer skin 41 such as urethane, for example,
The wiring 35 and the pipe 37 can be located at predetermined positions inside the cable 33, and can be prevented from becoming flat as shown in FIG. In addition, outer skin 4
Since 1 is light and has high rigidity, it retains an appropriate spiral shape as shown in FIG. 4A when no external force is applied. That is, it does not hang down as shown in FIG. 4 (B), but has a helical shape in which uniform intervals are maintained as shown in FIG. 4 (A). As a result, it is possible to prevent interference with the work W and the jig, and to prevent the work W and the jig from being stuck together. Thereby, workability and work safety can be ensured.

With the above configuration, when the A-axis rotator 27 rotates in the A-axis direction from +360 degrees to −360 degrees, the state shown by the solid line in FIG. Is changed to the A-axis rotating body 27
Will correspond to the rotation of. Needless to say, the change in the rotation direction and the winding diameter of the cable 33 depends on the direction in which the cable 33 is wound.

From the above results, gas and electric signals can be transmitted to the A-axis rotator 27 in a compact space without disturbing the rotation function of the A-axis rotator 27 with an inexpensive device. The cost of the laser beam machine 1 can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in other forms by making appropriate changes. That is, in the example of the above-described embodiment, the outside of the pipe 37 and the wiring 35 is covered with the highly rigid outer cover 41. Instead of the outer cover 41, a highly rigid core material such as a spring or a cable carrier is used at the center. And may be spiral. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, a core material 43 may be provided at the center, a pipe 37 and a wiring 35 may be arranged around the core material 43, and the whole may be bundled with a band 45 or the like. Further, the wire 35 and the pipe 37 may be formed in a spiral shape by using the rigidity thereof without using the outer cover 41 or the like.

[0025]

As described above, in the three-dimensional laser beam machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the laser beam head rotates around the rotation axis, the pipe for supplying fluid to the laser beam head and / or the electric signal are transmitted. The cable with the wiring for transmission spirally moves outside the rotator to supply the fluid and transmit the electric signal while allowing the rotator to rotate. Without obstruction, fluid and / or electrical signals can be transmitted to the rotating body in a compact space. Thus, the cost of the three-dimensional laser beam machine can be reduced.

In the three-dimensional laser beam machine according to the second aspect of the present invention, the cable always keeps a proper spiral shape with the rotation of the rotating body due to the rigidity of the outer cover, so that the wiring and the pipe hang down and the work and the jig are not attached. Interference and clinging to the processing head can be prevented. Thereby, workability and work safety can be ensured.

In the three-dimensional laser beam machine according to the third aspect of the present invention, the cable always keeps a proper spiral shape with the rotation of the rotating body due to the rigidity of the core material, so that the wiring and the pipe hang down and the work or the jig is dropped. Interference with the processing head, and clinging to the processing head can be prevented. Thereby, workability and work safety can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a cable in a processing head of a three-dimensional laser processing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the cable.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which the cable is flattened.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are front views showing a proper state of a suspended cable and the above state.

FIG. 5 shows that the winding diameter of the cable increases or decreases as the rotating body rotates.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example of a three-dimensional laser beam machine.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a three-dimensional laser beam machine.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the cable.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state of wiring and piping in a conventional laser processing head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 3D laser processing machine 17 Laser processing head 27 A-axis rotating body (rotating body) 33 Cable 35 Wiring 37 Piping 41 Skin

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI B23K 11/24 358 B23K 11/24 358 H01B 7/00 310 H01B 7/00 310 7/06 7/06 7/20 7/20

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional laser beam machine provided with a laser beam machining head having at least one axis of rotation, comprising: a cable for supplying a fluid to the laser beam machining head and / or a wire for supplying an electric signal. Is provided spirally at predetermined intervals on the outside of a rotating body rotatably provided around the rotation axis, and one end of the cable is connected to a fixed body that supports the rotating body, and the other end is connected to the rotating body. A three-dimensional laser beam machine. 2. The three-dimensional laser beam machine according to claim 1, wherein the cable is covered with a highly rigid outer cover. 3. The three-dimensional laser beam machine according to claim 1, wherein the cable has a core material having high rigidity.