JPS6188991A - Glass working method by laser beam - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To blank glass without destruction and defects by starting cutting form the end of the blank material glass and moving a laser beam at the speed always faster than the heat transfer rate of the glass during cutting. CONSTITUTION:The irradiation of the laser beam is started at the point, for example, 3A except the surface of the blank material glass 1 and the cutting is progressed from the end of the glass 1 along the melt-cutting line 4a at the speed much higher than the transfer rate of the heat in the glass, for example 50mm per second or the highest possible speed above said speed so that the glass is cut to the contour of the glass piece 2A. The irradiation of the laser beam is started at the point 3B for the next glass piece 2B. The preferable laser beam is about 500-1,000W laser medium consisting of gaseous CO2 mixed with He and N2 in terms of the melt-cutting speed in the case of cutting soda glass which is about 3-5mm in the wall thickness of the blank material glass.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) This invention is applicable not only to crafts such as stainless steel/door glasses, but also to glass tiles. This article relates to a glass processing method that can be used for general purposes such as Tsukikawa and I10.

(Conventional Method) For example, glass pieces for stained glass are processed by hand, but there are problems such as low productivity and difficulty in obtaining pieces with complicated shapes. For this reason, the applicant of the present invention proposed a glass piece for stained glass (see Japanese Utility Model Application No. 119144/1983) formed by laser beams.On the other hand, as a method suitable for processing thin glass,
A method of repeatedly irradiating a laser beam once
88333) has been proposed.

The glass piece in the earlier application filed by the applicant of Hitoshi's invention was not obtained by a method in which fusing started on the surface of the raw glass, as in other earlier applications, but the glass piece was obtained by starting from a point other than on the surface of the raw glass. Since the edge of the raw glass is cut along the contour line, the stress and strain at the time of fusing is dissipated to the outside by the continuous fusing line at the edge, so it is possible to remove the glass piece in a healthy manner. It can be mass-produced.

(Object of the Invention) As mentioned above, this prior application has the advantage of being able to mass-produce glass pieces for stained glass, but it has been found that it can also be used for other purposes depending on the fusing conditions. Therefore, in order to establish a glass processing method using laser beams, it was necessary to clarify the behavior of laser beams on the surface of the raw glass.

(Means for Achieving the Object) The present invention provides a method for maintaining the behavior of the laser beam in a state of constant movement on the surface of the raw glass in the glass cutting process in which a glass piece is formed using a laser beam. Start cutting from the edge of the raw glass so that it melts.

(Function) The destruction of glass is said to be due to the heat transfer rate, coefficient of thermal expansion, wall thickness, degree of surface scratches, complexity of shape, etc. of the glass.Glass for general use has a large coefficient of thermal expansion. It is well known that it is easily destroyed when locally heated, and the same can be said of irradiation. This causes a temperature difference within the glass, where the heat transfer rate within the glass is slow due to irradiation, and glass for general use, which has a large coefficient of thermal expansion, is destroyed by this temperature difference.

This phenomenon is not limited to glass pieces for stained glass, but is widely common to glass for other uses.

Therefore, in the present invention, which can also be applied to general applications, the edges of the raw glass are also cut so that the behavior of the laser beam can be maintained in a constantly moving state without being stationary on the raw glass surface. Since the glass is fused and fused before the heat moves within the glass and causes a temperature difference, the temperature difference due to fusion does not reach a practically harmful range. Therefore, there is no possibility that the obtained glass pieces will have distortions that are harmful to practical use, and of course they will not be destroyed.

(Example) An example of a fusing process in which the glass pieces 2A and 2B shown in FIG. 1 are cut out from the raw glass 1 at room temperature using a laser beam will be described. When melting a type of soda glass with an elemental t (glass σ) thickness of about 3.5 mm and a relatively thick coefficient of thermal expansion, the laser beam has a laser medium of 500 to ioooow, which is made of a carbon dioxide laser with a mixture of helium and nitrogen. It is preferable from the viewpoint of fusing speed.

In the cutting process of two glass pieces, the laser beam irradiation start point 3A is selected at a location other than the surface of the raw glass 10, and the laser beam irradiation start point 3A is selected at a location other than on the surface of the raw glass 10, and the laser beam irradiation start point 3A is selected at a location other than the surface of the raw glass 10, and the laser beam irradiation start point 3A is selected at a location other than the surface of the raw glass 10. For example, the material glass 1 is cut at the highest possible speed of 50 mm per second or more along the fusing line 4A from the end of the material glass 1 to form the outline of the two glass pieces.

Next, in the cutting process of 1 glass piece 2B, the laser beam irradiation starts at point 3B, and the same process is repeated thereafter.The fusing speed is set to the highest speed for glass whose components have a lower fluidization temperature in terms of glass composition. be able to. However, it is not necessary to add oxygen to the load during fusing. (Effects of the Invention) The glass processing method of the present invention maintains the behavior of the laser beam in a constantly moving state on the surface of the raw glass. Since the glass is cut and fused from the edge of the raw glass, it does not leave any harmful distortion or breakage even when processing glass for general purposes other than stained glass.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the invention. 1: Material glass, 2A: 2B glass piece, 3A:
3B: Laser beam irradiation starting point, 4A: 4B two-fuse line.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] [1] In the glass cutting process in which a glass piece is formed using a laser beam, the behavior of the laser beam can be maintained in a constantly moving state on the surface of the raw glass. A glass processing method using a laser beam that is characterized by cutting from the edge and fusing it. [2] The above-mentioned state of constant movement maintains the movement speed of the laser beam on the surface of the raw glass at a speed faster than the heat transfer speed of the glass, so that thermal strain is accumulated in the glass. The glass processing method using a laser beam according to claim 1, wherein the glass is cut by melting before thermal destruction occurs.