JPS6350083A - Gas laser device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the influence of a variation to the optical axis of the resonator of a gas laser even if a housing is deformed by supporting by 3-point fulcra manner one point of the resonator by a spherical bearing and the other 2-point fulcra by slide bearings perpendicular to a spherical bearing shaft. CONSTITUTION:A flange 2 of one side of main flanges 1, 2' of both sides is supported by two sets of bearings. One of the bearings is a housing 18 for containing a spherical bearing 17, and the other is supported at a housing 20 for containing a slide bearing 19 sliding perpendicularly to the direction of a laser light under a spherical bearing 22 and the bearing 11 by a slide shaft 21. Further, it is supported by a slide bearing 24 sliding in a direction that a laser light is propagated in the flange 2' and a spherical bearing. Thus, when the housing is bent in an optical axis direction, the optical axis of the resonator is not varied by the operation of the spherical bearing, and even if the housing is bent in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the resonator is not deformed by the similar operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a gas laser device for metal processing such as metal cutting, welding, and heat treatment.

(Prior art) The resonator of a conventional gas laser device is shown in Figs. 3(a) to (d).
As shown in the figure, main flanges 2 and 2' are attached to both ends of the main pipe 1 whose interior is oil-cooled, and the main flanges 2 and 2'
, 2' are provided with a cathode 4 via an insulator 3, and an anode 6 is attached via an insulator 3 to the mounting leg 5 of the main pipe 1. A glass discharge tube 7 is arranged between the anodes 6, and the main flange 2
, 2' are provided with total reflection mirrors 8., 2', respectively. half mirror
9 is installed.

Generally, the above-mentioned constituent unit of a gas laser device is housed in a case 10 made of lightweight steel, as shown in FIG. 6. When installing the resonator unit in the housing 10, be careful not to cause the resonator unit to be deformed due to thermal distortion of the housing 10 due to the rise in temperature inside the housing due to heat dissipation during laser oscillation. It is necessary to That is, when the resonator unit is deformed due to thermal distortion of the casing 10, the total reflection mirror 8. Cathode 4. Anode 6, cathode 4. The optical axis between the half mirrors 9 is no longer in a straight line, and the output is greatly reduced.

In order to prevent such deformation, the main flange 2 side is connected to the rod 12. when fixing the main flange and the housing as shown in FIGS. ■Place it on a block 14 that allows left and right positioning via a roller bearing 13. FIG. 3(d) is an enlarged view thereof.

In this conventional example, the main flange 2' side is fixed with two bolts 15 as shown in FIG. 3(c).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, in another conventional example, instead of fixing with bolts, the resonator is attached via a steel ball 16 so as not to be affected by the deformation of the casing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) When laser oscillation is performed in the state shown in FIG.
The inside of the main pipe 1 expands and bends, and the bolt-fixed side becomes a cantilever as the casing deforms, causing the main pipe 1 to bend.

Furthermore, the main pipe 1 is heated by the heat dissipated from the discharge tube 7, and is cooled inside with oil controlled at 30°C ± 3°C. The surface temperature difference reaches as much as 8°C to 10°C, which increases the bending deformation of the main pipe 1.

The axial elongation of the main pipe 1 is absorbed by the slide mechanism of the roller bearing in the V-block groove.

Such bending of the main pipe 1 causes a deformation equivalent to a lifting of 50 μm to 65 μm at the roller bearing position, and as a result, the 500 W laser output value decreases by 4.2% to 6.5%.

In the example of the fixing method via the steel ball 16 in Fig. 4,
The decrease in the laser output mentioned above can be suppressed to 0.5% to 1.2%, but since the resonator unit is not fixed in the vertical direction, it is easily affected by vertical vibration, and the output stability as shown in Figure 3 Compared to ±1.5%, it becomes ±2.2%, which has a considerable influence on processing performance such as cutting steel plates.

In fact, said housing is located near a mechanical booster for circulating laser gas at high speed and is subjected to rotational vibrations of said mechanical booster.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the optical axis of the resonator from changing even if the casing is deformed.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention devises a support mechanism that supports both ends of a resonator. That is,
The present invention provides that one end of the resonator is attached on a first combination mechanism of a first spherical bearing attached to a laser device housing and a first slide bearing that slides in the direction in which the laser beam advances; a second set 5 of a second spherical bearing having one side of the other end of the device attached to the laser device housing and a second slide bearing sliding in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the laser beam advances;
The present invention is characterized in that it is mounted on a matching mechanism, and that it is mounted on a third spherical bearing whose other end is fixed to the housing.

(Function) In the present invention, when the housing is bent in the optical axis direction, the optical axis of the resonator does not change due to the action of the spherical bearing, and even when the housing is bent in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the same effect occurs. The resonator does not deform due to the action.

Furthermore, even if the housing extends in the direction of the optical axis or in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis,
With the position of the third spherical bearing as a fixed point, the elongation of the casing is absorbed by the first slide bearing and the second slide bearing, so that the resonator does not deform or change its position. Even when the resonator extends alone in the optical axis direction, the optical axis does not deform due to a similar effect.

(Example) As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention has a structure in which one of the main flanges 2 and 2' on both sides is supported by two sets of bearings. The bearing is shown in Figures 2(a) and (b).
As shown in (a), one is a spherical bearing 17 as shown in (a).
The other is a slide bearing 19 that slides below a spherical bearing 22 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the laser beam travels, and a housing 20 that incorporates the spherical bearing 22 on the slide shaft 21.
It is configured to be received in

Further, as shown in FIG. 2(c), the main flange 2' is supported by a slide bearing 24 and a spherical bearing that slide in the direction in which the laser beam advances.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional example, the linearity of the optical axis of the resonator deteriorated due to the deformation of the housing 10, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. When bent in the axial direction, the optical axis of the resonator does not change due to the action of the spherical bearing, and even if the housing 10 is bent in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the resonator does not deform due to the same action.

Furthermore, even if the housing extends in the direction of the optical axis or in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis,
The bearing fixing point shown in FIG. 2(a) and the position shown by point (A) in FIG. 7 are fixed points, and the resonator does not deform or change its position. Even when the resonator extends alone in the optical axis direction, the optical axis does not deform due to a similar effect.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one point of the resonator is supported by a spherical bearing, and the other two points are supported by a spherical bearing and a slide bearing in a perpendicular direction.

When the laser device of the example was used to oscillate, the output reduction rate was suppressed to 0.5% to 0.9% even though the temperature rise inside the oscillator was 30°C to 40°C, and the output The stability was also ±0.7% to 0.9%, which was a big difference from the conventional configuration, and an improvement effect was obtained.

(Effects of the Invention) In the present invention, one point of the resonator is supported by a spherical bearing, and the other two points are supported by a spherical bearing and a slide bearing in a right angle direction, so that even if the casing is deformed, There is no change in the optical axis of the resonator.

That is, in the present invention, when the housing is bent in the optical axis direction, the optical axis of the resonator does not change due to the action of the spherical bearing, and even when the housing is bent in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the same effect occurs. The resonator does not deform.

Furthermore, even if the housing extends in the direction of the optical axis or in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis,
With the position of the third spherical bearing as a fixed point, the elongation of the casing is absorbed by the first slide bearing and the second slide bearing, so that the resonator does not deform or change its position. Even when the resonator extends alone in the optical axis direction, the optical axis does not deform due to a similar effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 2 (,) to (c)
) is a sectional view of a bearing at three points according to an embodiment of the present invention. Third
Figure (a) is a front view of the conventional example, and Figure 3 (b). (c) shows the fixed point portion of the resonator, and FIG. 3(d) is a partially enlarged view thereof. Fig. 4 shows another conventional example in which the bearing part is a steel ball, and Fig. 5 shows the structure of the conventional example shown in Fig. 3(a), in which the linearity of the optical axis of the resonator changes as the casing deforms. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the linearity of the optical axis is not lost even if the housing is deformed in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a diagram showing the movement of each bearing part. Point (A) moves in a pivot shape, point (B) further slides in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and point (C) moves in the direction of the optical axis. This shows where a sliding motion has been added. 1... Main pipe, 2, 2'... Main flange, 4... Cathode, 6... Anode, 7...
・Discharge tube, 8... Total reflection mirror, 9... Output mirror, 13... Roller bearing, 16... Steel ball,
17... Spherical bearing, 19... Slide bearing. (b) (c) (d) Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] One end of the resonator was attached to the first combination mechanism of the first spherical bearing attached to the laser device casing and the first slide bearing sliding in the direction in which the laser light travels, and the resonator was attached to the laser device casing. A second spherical bearing and a second slide bearing that slide in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the laser beam travels.
A gas laser device characterized in that one side of the other end of the resonator is mounted on a combination mechanism, and the other side of the other end is mounted on a third spherical bearing fixed to a housing.