JPS6048278B2 - Laser processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a laser processing device that photoelectrically reads a figure on a document and processes an object according to the figure.

Scans the original drawing and reads the pattern of the drawing photoelectrically.
Processing equipment has already been put into practical use that uses photoelectric signals to turn on and off a high-power laser that scans the workpiece in synchronization with the scanning of the original drawing to process a pattern on the workpiece that has the same shape as the original drawing. Although it is widely used, high power CO_ is used to make flexible materials such as rubber according to the original drawing.

When cutting out unnecessary parts with a laser to create a COM mark, etc., a shoulder 03 of intermediate height is placed around the parts 01 and 02 that are left unprocessed for reinforcement, as shown in Figure 1. It is necessary to provide it with a certain width and cut out the remaining bottom 04 deeper than that. This middle height shoulder 03 is CO_. Processing is possible by reducing the power of the laser to be lower than the power used when processing the bottom 04. However, for example, if the manuscript drawing is black on a white background and only the parts to be left unprocessed are drawn, or conversely, if only the parts to be processed are drawn, this manuscript drawing can be used for example on TV. When scanned and read photoelectrically in the same way as a cathode ray tube scans,
The photoelectric signal does not include the signal at the shoulder 03 in FIG. For this reason, in the conventional technology, it is necessary to input the photoelectric signal into a computer, perform graphic processing there, and derive the part that should be the shoulder 03 by calculation, and since such a computer is usually quite large, the equipment The drawback was that the whole thing was expensive. The present invention is a simple device that makes it possible to obtain the above-mentioned signals.

According to the present invention, in the manuscript diagram reading section, narrowly condensed light is irradiated onto the manuscript diagram, and thick light having a radius equal to the width of the step to be attached is coaxially centered around the narrow light.

The thin light and the thick light mentioned above can be distinguished from each other, and two sets of photoelectric converters are used to receive the reflected light from the manuscript drawing, and the reflected light of the thin light and the reflected light of the thick light are selected respectively. Receives light. The original image is scanned with the above two types of light, and the relative positional relationship between the object to be processed and the processing laser is also moved in synchronization with the scanning. If the manuscript drawing is written in black on a white background, CO will be detected when both the reflected light from the thin light and the thick light mentioned above are strong.
2. CO when the laser power is maximized and the reflection of narrow light is strong and the reflection of thick light is weak. Set the laser j power to enough strength to attach the shoulder, and use CO when the reflection of narrow light is weak. There is a processing circuit that has an identification function and a power control function that reduces the power of the laser to a value that does not process the object to be processed. If the manuscript image is white on a black background, the above identification function may be reversed. According to the present invention, a shoulder of a constant width can be provided around a desired pattern simply by scanning the original image without requiring complicated calculation functions.

It also has the effect that it can be created without considering the shoulders around the pattern of the original drawing. The present invention will be explained below using the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which the drum 1 moves in direction 2 while rotating. The pitch of this feed almost matches the beam diameter of the focused CO2 laser. Ru. Wound around the drum 1 are a manuscript diagram 4 with a pattern 3 drawn in black on white paper, for example, and a workpiece 5 such as a rubber plate.The manuscript diagram 4 and the workpiece 5 rotate together with the drum 1. do. The light source 6 is, for example, a white lamp, and the light from it is focused by a lens 7, passes through, for example, a red filter 8, and is transmitted through a half mirror 9, and is focused as a narrow beam onto the original drawing 4.

The light source 10 is, for example, a white lamp, and the light from it is condensed by a lens 11, passes through, for example, a blue filter 12, and is reflected by a half mirror 39 to form a thick beam on the original image 4, and a narrow beam from the light source 6. The light is focused coaxially with the Here, the beam diameter of the narrow beam from the light source 6 on the original drawing 4 is almost the same as the focused beam diameter of the CO2 laser, and the beam diameter of the narrow beam from the light source 6 is almost the same as the diameter of the focused beam of the CO2 laser. The beam radius of the thick beam 4 on the original figure 4 corresponds to the width of the step to be formed around the pattern to be machined on the workpiece. The light scattered or reflected by the original figure 4 is collected by a condensing lens 13 and then divided into two parts by a half mirror 14, which pass through a red filter 15 and a blue filter 16, respectively, and the red light undergoes photoelectric conversion. The blue light is sent to the photoelectric converter 18.
is incident on . When the thick blue beam from the light source 10 hits the white portion of the original drawing 4, strong light enters the photoelectric converter 18, and the electric signal A becomes large. drum 1
rotates and a part of the thick blue beam from the light source 10 hits the black pattern 3. Since the black pattern 3 has a low reflection J ratio, the light that enters the photoelectric converter 18 is small. becomes weaker, and the electrical signal A becomes smaller. Similarly, when the red beam from the light source 6 hits the white background of the original figure 4, the electric signal B obtained from the photoelectric converter 17 is large, and when the red beam hits the pattern 3, the electric signal B obtained from the photoelectric converter 17 is large. Signal B becomes smaller. The processing circuit 19 includes an identification function 20 that detects the magnitude of the signals from the photoelectric converters 17 and 18, and a CO according to the information identified by the identification function 20.
. It consists of a power control function 21 that controls the power of the laser. When both the blue beam and the red beam hit the white background of the original drawing 4, both the electrical signals A and B are large, and this is called the bottom state. When the blue beam is applied to pattern 3 and the red beam is not applied to the pattern, electric signal A is small and electric signal B is large. This is called the shoulder condition.
When the red beam hits pattern 3, naturally the blue beam also hits pattern 3, and both electrical signals A and B become small. This is called the mountain state. The identification function 20 identifies these three cases and transmits the information to the power control function 21. In the power control function 21, CO when in the bottom state
. The output of the laser 22 is set to enough power to gouge the workpiece, and CO is applied when the laser 22 is in the shoulder state. The laser 22 has a function of controlling the output of the laser 22 to a power sufficient to create steps on the object to be processed, and to a level below the power that does not process the object when the object is in a peak state. C.O. The output beam 23 of the laser 22 is focused by a lens 24 made of ZnSe, for example, and almost connects the surface of the object 5 to be processed. The power of the CO2 laser used here needs to be controllable in three stages, and although the control depends on the speed of rotation and movement of the drum, it is generally preferable to use one that can be performed at high speed.

Further, the focal length of the lens 24 is the focused CO light. The beam diameter of the laser output beam 23 is determined to be smaller than the required resolution, and once the beam diameter is determined, the focused beam diameter of the red beam from the light source 6 on the original drawing is determined, At the same time, the feeding pitch of drum 1 is determined. Now, in the embodiment described above, the pattern 3 is scanned with a red beam, and the CO2 laser 2 is scanned according to the output of the photoelectric converter 17.
2 is turned on and off, and a part corresponding to pattern 3 is left unprocessed on the workpiece 5, but around the unprocessed part there is a shoulder that is machined and hollowed out, but not as hollow as the bottom. can be added.

Thereby, when the processed rubber or the like is used for a stamp or the like, it is possible to prevent the part to which the ink is attached from being pressed against the paper and losing its shape. The width of this shoulder can be easily changed by changing the diameter of the blue beam mentioned above.
In addition, no matter how complex the pattern 3 is, it is possible to reliably create shoulders with a constant width around it, and the entire device is not a complicated one that processes the shapes using a computer, but is an inexpensive device. It has the advantage of being easy to use. In the above embodiment, a white lamp is used as a light source and red and blue filters are used, but this may also be a monochromatic light source such as a HeNe laser or a N ion laser, or a combination of a HeNe laser and white light. It can be used together. In the case of HeNe laser and white light, HeN is placed in front of the two photoelectric converters.
A filter that transmits only e-laser light and a filter that selectively reflects HeNe laser light may be used, respectively. Furthermore, when a white light source is used, it is also possible to combine and separate two lights using a dichroic mirror without using a filter. Also,
In the above embodiment, the original image and the object to be processed are wound around a drum, but a method may be adopted in which they are placed on a flat surface and scanned on a flat surface.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a workpiece obtained by a laser processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. 01,02... Part left without processing, 03
...Shoulder, 04...Bottom, 1...
・Drum, 2...Drum movement direction, 3...
...Pattern, 4 ...Manuscript drawing, 5...
...Processed object, 6,10...Light source, 7,1
1... Lens, 8, 15... Red filter, 9... Half mirror, 12, 16...
... Blue filter nose, 13 ... Condensing lens, 14 ... Half mirror, 17, 18 ...
...Photoelectric converter, 19...Processing circuit, 20
...Identification function, 21...Power control function, 22...CO.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. two circular light beams that are distinguishable from each other, one narrow and the other wide, and coaxial; a means for scanning a manuscript drawing with the two light beams; two sets of photoelectric converters that separate and separately receive the light scattered or reflected by the manuscript image; a CO_2 laser capable of modulating the output power in at least three stages;
A workpiece to be processed by the output beam from the O_2 laser, and means for scanning the relative positional relationship between the workpiece and the CO_2 laser in synchronization with the scanning of the original drawing by the two light beams; Judging the outputs of the two sets of photoelectric converters, when the thin light beam irradiates the part of the original drawing that should be left unprocessed, the output of the CO_2 laser is minimized, and the thick light beam is in the part to be processed on the original drawing, the output of the CO_2 laser is maximized, and even a part of the thick light beam irradiates the part of the original drawing that should be left unprocessed, and the above-mentioned It is characterized by comprising a processing circuit having an identification function and a power control function to set the output of the CO_2 laser to an intermediate power when the narrow light beam is not irradiating the part to be left unprocessed. Laser processing equipment.