JPH1147972A - Laser beam machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser beam machine capable of saving installation space for a cooling chiller unit and cooling water piping. SOLUTION: An X-axis body frame 13 is supported on a pair of left and right guiding rails 11, 11 so as to be movable back and forth in the X-axis direction. With a laser generator 14 mounted on this X-axis body frame 13, the laser beam outputted from this generator 14 is supplied through an optical guiding tube 21 to a machining head 20 supported on a Y-axis saddle 16. A chiller unit 45 for cooling the laser generator 14 is mounted on the X-axis body frame 13. Cooling water is supplied from this chiller unit 45 to the laser generator 14 through piping.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a laser beam machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 5, as a laser processing machine 10, a work is placed on a work table 38 arranged at a predetermined position, and a laser processing head 20 is moved in an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction and a Z-axis direction. There is a method of processing a work while reciprocating in a direction. In this table fixing method, a laser oscillator 1 that outputs a laser to a laser processing head 20 is used.
4 is mounted on the right X-axis moving body 12 among the X-axis moving bodies 12, 12 reciprocated along the rails 11. Since the laser oscillator 14 generates higher heat as its output becomes higher, it is necessary to cool it. The cooling chiller unit 45 of the laser oscillator 14 is
Thick and long pipes 5 placed on a floor separated from 0
The cooling water is supplied to the laser oscillator 14 through a pipe 51 via a connection 1. The pipe 51 is inserted into a flexible cable carrier 52 together with electric wiring and the like, and follows the movement of the X-axis moving body 12 in the X-axis direction.

[0003]

However, in the conventional laser beam machine 10, the cooling chiller unit 45 is disposed on the floor, and the flexible chiller unit 45 is connected to the laser oscillator 14 from the chiller unit 45. The cooling water pipe 51 becomes very long, and it is necessary to secure an operation area of the pipe 51 in the X-axis direction accompanying the movement of the X-axis moving body 12 in the X-axis direction. There is a problem that not only the work is troublesome, but also the installation space becomes large. This problem is conspicuous because a large pipe 51 is required as the laser oscillator 14 increases in capacity, and the width of the cable bear 52 also increases.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the problems existing in the prior art as described above, and its object is to make it possible to easily perform manufacturing and assembling operations and to provide a cooling chiller unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam machine capable of reducing a space for installing piping for cooling water.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to achieve the above object, X reciprocated in the X-axis direction
A laser processing head that is reciprocated in the Y-axis direction is mounted on the shaft body frame, and the laser processing head includes a nozzle that can move up and down in the Z-axis direction, and can process a work supported on a work table. In the laser processing machine, a laser oscillator for outputting a laser is mounted on the X-axis main body frame, and a laser guide tube including a plurality of reflection mirrors for reflecting laser light between the laser oscillator and the nozzle is provided. And a means for mounting a cooling chiller unit for cooling the laser oscillator on the X-axis main body frame side.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In the above, the X-axis main body frame is movably supported along two sets of rails, and when the nozzle of the laser processing head moves from the original position in the Y-axis direction or the Z-axis direction, the distance between the laser oscillator and the nozzle is A means of providing an optical path length holding mechanism for holding the optical path length constant is adopted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in the second aspect, the optical path length holding mechanism comprises:
Of the plurality of reflecting mirrors, two sets of reflecting mirrors are a reflecting mirror position adjusting mechanism that moves simultaneously by expanding and contracting a pair of parallel telescopic guide tubes in the Y-axis direction.

[0008] In the invention described in claim 4, claim 1 is provided.
In any one of (1) to (3), a mechanism for adjusting the position of the laser oscillator mounted on the X-axis main body frame in the Y-axis direction is provided. Thus, the distance between the reflecting mirrors opposed to each other with the telescopic guide tube interposed therebetween is adjusted so that the optical path length from the laser oscillator to the nozzle is adjusted.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. On a pair of guide rails 11, 11 laid parallel to each other on the floor, X-axis moving bodies 12, 12 can reciprocate in the X-axis (front-rear) direction via a plurality of wheels by an X-axis drive mechanism (not shown). Supported,
An X-axis main body frame 13 is provided between the two X-axis moving bodies 12 and 12. A laser oscillator 14 is mounted on the X-axis main body frame 13.

A support base 15 is fixedly mounted on the tip of the pair of X-axis moving bodies 12 in the Y-axis direction. A Y-axis saddle 16 is supported on the support base 15 by a pair of guide rails 17 extending parallel to the Y-axis (left-right) direction and a Y-axis drive mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to reciprocate in the Y-axis direction.
A Z-axis support cylinder 18 is connected and fixed to the tip of the Y-axis saddle 16, and a laser processing head 20 having a nozzle 19 is mounted on the lower end of the Z-axis support cylinder 18. The processing head 20 is supported by a Z-axis driving mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to reciprocate in the Z-axis (vertical) direction.

A laser light guide tube 21 for guiding laser light to a nozzle 19 is provided between the laser oscillator 14 and the laser processing head 20. The laser light guide tube 21 includes a non-contractible guide tube 22 horizontally supported by the oscillator 14 and a non-contractible inclined guide tube 24 connected to the guide tube 22 via a first reflecting mirror 23 (not shown). And Further, a first telescopic guide tube 26 extending in the Y-axis direction is connected to the inclined guide tube 24 via a second reflection mirror 25 (not shown). The first telescopic guide tube 26 is connected to the first telescopic guide tube 26 via a third reflecting mirror 27 (not shown).
A movable guide tube 28 extending in the axial direction is connected. A second telescopic guide tube 30 extending in the Y-axis direction is connected to an end of the guide tube 28 via a fourth reflection mirror 29 (not shown). The end of the second telescopic guide tube 30 is
The laser beam is guided to the nozzle 19 of the laser processing head 20 via the fifth reflection mirror 31 (see FIG. 3) and the lens L, which is connected to the Z-axis support cylinder 18.

The third and fourth reflection mirrors 27 and 29
And the movable guide tube 28 moves along the guide rail 17
It is supported by a Y-axis movable body 32 that reciprocates in the axial direction. The Y-axis movable body 32 is reciprocated by engaging a pinion 35 rotated by an electric motor 33 and a speed reducer 34 with a rack 36 laid in parallel with the guide rail 17 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the Y-axis movable body 32, the first and second telescopic guide tubes 26, 3
The reflection mirror position adjusting mechanism 37 including the motor 0 and the electric motor 33 is an optical path length holding mechanism K1 for keeping the optical path length between the laser oscillator 14 and the nozzle 19 constant.

In FIG. 1, the two guide rails 11, 11
Between them, a work table 38 for supporting a workpiece is provided. A control box 39 is mounted on the tip of the X-axis movable body 12 on the right side, and an operation panel 40 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the laser oscillator 14
On the shaft main body frame 13, it is attached so as to be adjustable in the Y-axis direction along a guide rail 41 laid in parallel with the Y-axis direction. The laser oscillator position adjusting mechanism K2 includes a feed screw 43 rotated by a motor 42.
And the ball nut 4 operated by the feed screw 43
4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a cooling chiller unit 45 for cooling the laser oscillator 14 is mounted on the upper surface of the X-axis main body frame 13. Although this chiller unit 45 is not shown in the box 46,
A water tank and a refrigerator for cooling water discharged from the water tank are provided. The refrigerator is a compressor, a condenser for condensing refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor, and a heat exchanger for evaporating the refrigerant discharged from the condenser and using the latent heat to cool water from a water tank. And Then, the water cooled by the heat exchanger is supplied to the inside of the laser oscillator 14 through the pipe 47 and the inside of the oscillator 14 is cooled.

Next, the operation of the laser beam machine configured as described above will be described. An unprocessed work is placed on the work table 38 shown in FIG. 1 and fixed by a clamp (not shown). By operating the operation panel 40 of the control box 39, a desired machining locus is set. Thereafter, when the start switch is operated, the laser processing head 20 is moved in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis driving mechanism, and the height of the nozzle 19 at the original position is set to a processing height position suitable for the thickness of the work. . Thereafter, the X-axis main body frame 13 is moved in the X-axis direction by the X-axis drive mechanism, and the Y-axis saddle 16 and the processing head 20 are moved in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis drive mechanism according to the set processing program. The workpiece is cut into a desired shape by the applied laser beam.

In FIG. 3, the nozzle 19 is moved in the Y-axis direction or
Is moved in the Z-axis direction, the distance between the reflection mirrors 25 and 27 is changed.
Separation₁And the distance l between the reflection mirrors 29 and 31_TwoAnd reflection
Distance l between nozzle 31 and nozzle 19_ThreeChanges. Only
Then, the optical path length between the laser oscillator 14 and the nozzle 19 changes.
This optical path length l₁+ L_Two+ L_ThreeKeep constant
Therefore, the third and third mirrors are adjusted by the reflecting mirror position adjusting mechanism 37.
4 are moved in the Y-axis direction. This
The moving distance E1 is between the second reflection mirror 25 and the third reflection mirror.
Distance to 27₁And fourth reflection mirror 29 and fifth reflection mirror
Distance 1 to -31 _TwoChanges simultaneously, and the change in optical path length
Since 2 × El, the moving distance of the nozzle 19 in the Y-axis direction
E2 and a half of the moving distance E3 in the Z-axis direction [El =
(E2 + E3) / 2].

The laser light output from the laser oscillator 14 is guided to the processing head 20 through the laser light guide tube 21, and the laser oscillator 14 generates high heat. This heat is cooled by cooling water circulated and supplied from the cooling chiller unit 45 via the pipe 47.

Next, the operation and effect of the laser beam machine configured as described above will be described together with the configuration. In the embodiment, the cooling chiller unit 45 is mounted on the X-axis main body frame 13, and the unit 45 and the oscillator 14 are connected by the pipe 47. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a movable long pipe for cooling water as an external pipe to the cooling chiller unit 45, and only the power supply wiring to the chiller unit 45 is required.
5 and the installation space of the piping 47 are changed to the X-axis main body frame 13.
The space required for installing the machine, which was conventionally required, can be greatly reduced by effectively utilizing the above. Also, the production and assembly work of the chiller unit 45, the pipe 47, and the like can be easily performed.

In the above embodiment, the laser oscillator 1
4 and a cooling chiller unit 45 was mounted at a predetermined distance. Therefore, this space can be used as a work space.

In the above embodiment, the laser guide tube 2
1 was provided with an optical path length holding mechanism k1. For this reason, the intensity of the laser beam output from the laser oscillator 14 can be kept constant and the work can be properly processed.

In the above embodiment, the laser oscillator 1
4 is provided with a mechanism k2 for adjusting the position on the X-axis main body frame 13 in the Y-axis direction. For this reason, the laser guide tube 21
First stretchable guide tube 26 of the is expansion and contraction, the distance l ₁ of the reflecting mirror 25, 27 face each other across the telescopic guide tube is adjusted. Accordingly, when the optical path length from the laser oscillator 14 to the nozzle 19 at the original position is adjusted, and a dimensional error of the optical path length occurs due to the manufacture and assembly of the laser oscillator, the desired optical path length can be easily set.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and may be embodied by arbitrarily changing the configuration of each unit without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The cooling chiller unit 45 is incorporated in the case of the laser oscillator 14. The optical path length holding mechanism k1 reciprocates the third and fourth reflection mirrors 27 and 29 in the Y-axis direction. Instead, the fixed guide tube 22 and the movable guide tube 28 are moved in the X-axis direction. Reciprocating to maintain a constant optical path length.

The technical idea grasped by the embodiment will be described below. 5. The cooling chiller unit 4 according to claim 1, wherein the cooling chiller unit 4 is provided in a case of the laser oscillator.
Laser processing machine with 5 built-in.

In this case, the installation space can be further reduced, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing and assembling work can be easily performed.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the manufacturing and assembling work can be easily performed, and the installation space for the cooling chiller unit and the cooling pipe can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the work of the workpiece can be properly performed while keeping the optical path length between the laser oscillator and the nozzle constant. According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, the structure of the optical path length holding mechanism can be simplified, and the manufacturing and assembling operation thereof can be easily performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of any one of the first to third aspects, errors in manufacturing and assembling the optical path length from the laser oscillator to the nozzle at the original position can be easily reduced. It is possible to adjust and work the workpiece properly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a laser beam machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an optical path length holding mechanism.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of an optical path length holding mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of a laser oscillator supported on an X-axis main body frame and a cooling chiller unit.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional laser beam machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

13: X-axis main body frame, 16: Y-axis saddle, 20: laser processing head, 21: laser light guide tube, 32: Y-axis movable body, 37: reflection mirror position adjusting mechanism, K1: optical path length holding mechanism, K2: Laser oscillator position adjusting mechanism, 45: chiller unit for cooling, 47: piping.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A laser processing head reciprocated in a Y-axis direction is mounted on an X-axis main body frame reciprocated in an X-axis direction, and the laser processing head is capable of moving up and down in a Z-axis direction. A laser processing machine comprising a nozzle and configured to process a work supported on a work table, wherein a laser oscillator for outputting a laser is mounted on the X-axis main body frame, and a laser beam is emitted between the laser oscillator and the nozzle. A laser processing machine, comprising: a laser guide tube provided with a plurality of reflecting mirrors for reflecting light; and a cooling chiller unit for cooling the laser oscillator mounted on the X-axis main body frame side. 2. The X-axis main body frame according to claim 1, wherein the X-axis main body frame is movably supported along two sets of rails, and when the nozzle of the laser processing head moves from the original position in the Y-axis direction or the Z-axis direction, A laser processing machine provided with an optical path length holding mechanism for maintaining a constant optical path length between a laser oscillator and a nozzle. 3. The optical path length holding mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the two sets of reflecting mirrors of the plurality of reflecting mirrors are Y.
A laser processing machine that is a reflecting mirror position adjusting mechanism that simultaneously expands and contracts a pair of parallel expansion and contraction guide tubes in the axial direction. 4. A laser guide tube according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for adjusting a position of the laser oscillator mounted on the X-axis main body frame in the Y-axis direction. A laser processing machine in which the telescopic guide tube is extended and retracted, the distance between the reflecting mirrors facing the telescopic guide tube is adjusted, and the optical path length from the laser oscillator to the nozzle is adjusted.