JPS597491A - Laser working device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make laser working of a metallic material easy in the stage of working such as welding, cutting, punching or the like by laser light, by using flexible photoconductive paths utilizing plural optical fibers. CONSTITUTION:The laser beam from a laser oscillator 1 is bisected to upper and lower beams by a beam splitter 6 consisting of a metallic mirror or the like, and the split beams are reflected by half mirrors 4, 5; 4', 5' whereby a metallic material 9, i.e., a pipe or the like to be worked, is subjected to working such as cutting, welding or the like. The laser light is passed through flexible photoconductor paths 2, 2' consisting of plural optical fibers and is condensed at the condensing parts 3, 3' of the material 9 to work said material. Since the laser light of a large output is condensed freely to the parts to be worked by using the flexible optical fibers, various workings such as welding, cutting, drilling or the like are easily made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention uses a laser to perform processing such as welding, cutting, and drilling along the periphery of a material. The present invention relates to an effective laser machining device in which the laser machining head can be moved around the circumference of the material.

For example, when cutting a long metal pipe using a central laser, it is difficult to rotate the pipe at a constant speed without positional fluctuation because the pipe is long, and the rotating equipment that can perform this type of rotation is quite large. It becomes fragile, so rotating the pipe for machining is not a good idea. In such a case, it is sufficient to have a laser cutting device that has a structure in which the laser processing head is rotated along the outer circumference of the pipe so that the focused spot for cutting moves on the circumference of the pipe. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a laser processing apparatus in which a focused spot can be rotated, the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has been devised. In the one shown in Fig. 1, the laser beam emitted from the laser transmitter 1 is transferred to the condenser 3.
In this method, the lens of the condensing part 3 is rotated to move the condensing sporatra, and the shape of the cut end of the pipe after cutting is determined by the shape of the cut end of the pipe. This method can be applied when cutting at a portion that is large and relatively close to the end, but cannot be applied in general cases such as when cutting at a portion far from the end. In the one shown in Fig. 2, a processing head equipped with a mirror that bends the beam at right angles is inserted into the hollow part of the material 9 and supported by a pedestal 7 in the condensing part 3 of the laser beam emitted from the laser transmitter 1. Since it is of a type that cuts by rotating the condensing part, as in the case of the one in Figure 1, if the cutting point is far from the end, it becomes difficult to cut the cut shape and the cutting distance, and it also requires practical equipment. It's hard to imagine that. As described above, the conventional type can be applied to cutting near the end of the material to be cut, but it is difficult to apply it to cutting at other locations.

A medical laser scalpel is similar to a device that can move a laser processing head along the circumference of a material. This has a structure as shown in FIG.

A flexible light guide path 2'f is provided in the entire section from the laser transmitter l to the female part 3 so that the female part corresponding to the tip of the processing head (light condensing part) 3 can move. This light guiding path is usually made of a multi-jointed tube or optical fibers in which a large number of mirrors 4 are provided at various joints, as shown in FIG. This structure can be put to practical use when the required machining energy is relatively small, such as in human surgery, but when the machining energy increases, such as when machining metal materials, the weight of the light guide path increases due to the increased weight of the mirror in the multi-jointed tube. Due to its large size, it was not practical because the moving speed of the light condensing part could not be increased, and it exceeded the permissible transmission energy of the optical fibers in the light guide path for the above-mentioned surgery, making it impractical for processing metal materials, etc. .

Therefore, in the present invention, a plurality of optical fibers are bundled together to create a flexible light guide path that can transmit the amount of energy that can be processed into metal materials, and a light condensing section is provided at the tip of the light guide path to collect the energy. The mechanism allows the light section to move at an appropriate cutting or welding speed.

That is, the present invention, as in the case of cutting a long length or an ove,
By bundling multiple optical fibers, it is possible to guide high-power laser light so that the laser processing head can perform processes such as welding, cutting, and drilling while moving around the entire material at an appropriate speed. This is a laser processing device characterized by having a flexible light guide path.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in the case of pipe cutting, which is one of its application examples. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a moving head type laser cutting device. The laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 1 is divided into upper and lower parts by a beam sinter 6 consisting of a metal mirror, etc.
: Guided to the upper and lower surfaces of the pipe by 4' and 5'. Next, a flexible light guide path 2 consisting of a plurality of optical fibers each having an individual cassiller at the entrance tip.
, 2't-, and is appropriately focused on the surface of the pipe 9 by the focusing portions 3, 3'. Here, the Cassillor consists of a condensing lens for efficiently introducing laser light into the optical fiber, and is usually integrated with each optical fiber. Each of the light condensing parts 33/ has a structure in which it can move on guide rails 8.8' provided on the pedestal 7, and the upper light condensing part 3 moves downward, for example from point A to point B, in response to a start signal. The side condensing section 3' moves, for example, from point B to point A, and completes the cutting of the u-wave. At this time, if the pipe deforms during cutting, it is necessary to clamp both the processing head (light guide path + light condensing section).

The condensing parts 3, 3' are usually constructed by using one lens lO to connect multiple fibers 19, 19, -.
It receives and condenses multiple lights from −・, but the 5th −・(2)
Individual lenses corresponding to each fiber 19 as shown in the figure
A lens group consisting of O' or a structure consisting of a condensing mirror 21 as shown in FIG. 5-(3) can also be used depending on the purpose.

Furthermore, when the pipe runs in the longitudinal direction, the inclination of the plane mirror 14 is changed as shown in FIG.
A new plane mirror 10 is installed in front of 5, and the plane mirror 10, the plane mirror 15, and the processing head are connected together to the
It is possible to create a structure in which six Izos can be moved in the longitudinal direction, and to move them according to the movement of the pipe.

[Example] - ξ Eve cutting (while stationary) ・Pipe size: outer diameter 101.6+n, wall thickness 5.7m.

Length: 12 m - Laser output: 2 KW - Beam splitter - copper mirror - CZ resin for condensing part - Machining head movement speed: 20 ta/sec Cutting according to the above embodiment results in a smooth cut surface.

The cutting process was also narrow.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example of a laser processing device in which the lens of the condensing part can rotate, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example with a different mechanism, and Fig. 3 is an example of the configuration of the round part of a medical laser scalpel. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a laser processing device capable of cutting a pipe while it is running. l...Laser transmitter 2...Light guide path 3...Condenser section 4.4'...Mirror 5.5'...Mirror 19...Optical fiber 20...Lens agent Patent attorney Aki Sawamasa Mitsugai 2 people

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A laser processing device characterized by having a flexible light guide path configured by bundling a plurality of optical fibers and capable of guiding a high-output laser beam.