JPWO2020194625A1 - Laser equipment and laser processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The laser device (100) includes a plurality of laser diodes (1,2-1,2,2-n) and a plurality of laser diodes (1,2-1,2-2,2-n). The first power source (3), which is a power source for supplying power to at least one first laser diode (1), and the first of a plurality of laser diodes (1,2-1,2,2-n). A second power supply (4), which is a power source for supplying power to a second laser diode (2-1, 2, 2-n), which is a laser diode other than the first laser diode (1), and a first power supply (3). ) And a control device (5) for controlling the second power source (4). The second power supply (4) is a power supply having specifications corresponding to higher output power than the first power supply (3).

Description

The present invention relates to a laser device and a laser processing machine having a plurality of laser diodes.

A laser device having a plurality of laser diodes can realize a high output by combining the laser beams emitted from the respective laser diodes as compared with the case where the laser beam is output by a single laser diode. The laser device is output into high power, which is the output power corresponding to the maximum rating of the laser device, and low power, which is the output power lower than the maximum rating, according to the application of the laser beam output by the laser device. The power of the laser beam may be switched. Low power means output power on the order of 10W to 100W. High power means output power on the order of 1 kW to 10 kW.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method of adjusting the output power of a laser device having a plurality of laser diodes. The laser apparatus according to Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of diode banks, each of which includes at least one laser diode, and adjusts the output power by controlling the power supply to each diode bank by a power source.

Special Table 2018-503966

When the laser device according to Patent Document 1 switches the output power between high power and low power to output the laser beam, the load of the power supply at the time of low power is lower than the load at the time of high power. To do. The larger the difference between high power and low power, the significantly lower the load at low power than the load at high power. Since the specifications of the power supply used in the laser device correspond to the maximum rating of the laser device, in the laser device of Patent Document 1 above, the larger the difference between the high power and the low power, the lower the power. Sometimes it becomes difficult to provide a stable power supply. Therefore, in the laser apparatus of Patent Document 1, the larger the output power range, the more likely the output becomes unstable when the output power is low. Therefore, according to the technique of Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is difficult to output a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a laser apparatus capable of outputting a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam. And.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the laser device according to the present invention is a power source that supplies power to a plurality of laser diodes and a first laser diode that is at least one of the plurality of laser diodes. Controls the first power supply, the second power supply that supplies power to the second laser diode, which is a laser diode other than the first laser diode among a plurality of laser diodes, and the first power supply and the second power supply. It is provided with a control device for the purpose of. The second power supply is a power supply with specifications corresponding to a higher output power than the first power supply.

The laser apparatus according to the present invention has an effect that a stable laser beam can be output when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam.

The figure which shows the structure of the laser apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the electrical connection of a plurality of laser diodes included in the laser apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows the structure of the laser apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the laser apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the laser processing machine which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Hereinafter, the laser apparatus and the laser processing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The laser device 100 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of laser diodes (LDs), a first power supply 3, a second power supply 4, and a control device 5. The first power source 3 is a power source that supplies electric power to the first LD1 which is one of a plurality of LDs. The second power source 4 is a power source that supplies electric power to the second LDs 2-1, 2, ..., 2-n, which are LDs other than the first LD1 among the plurality of LDs. n is an integer of 3 or more. The first power supply 3 is a power supply having specifications corresponding to the output power of the first LD1. The second power supply 4 is a power supply having specifications corresponding to higher output power than the first power supply 3, and is a power supply having specifications corresponding to the total output power of each second LD2.

The first LD1 emits a laser beam by using the electric power supplied by the first power source 3. Each of the second LD2-1, 2, 2, ..., 2-n emits a laser beam by using the electric power supplied by the second power source 4. In FIG. 1, the solid arrow between the first power source 3 and the first LD1 indicates the power supply to the first LD1 by the first power source 3. The solid arrows between the second power supply 4 and the second LD2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n are the second LD2-1, 2-2, ... By the second power supply 4. , 2-n represents the power supply. In the following description, the second LD2 shall be referred to as the second LD2-1, 2, 2, ..., 2-n without distinction. In FIG. 1, the first LD1 and the second LD2 are simply referred to as “LD”. The number of the second LD2s included in the laser apparatus 100 may be a plurality, and may be an arbitrary number.

The control device 5 controls the entire laser device 100. The control device 5 controls the power supply to the first LD1 by the first power supply 3 by outputting the power supply command to the first power supply 3. The control device 5 controls the power supply to the second LD2-1, 2, 2, ..., 2-n by the second power supply 4 by outputting the power supply command to the second power supply 4. In FIG. 1, the broken line arrow between the control device 5 and the first power supply 3 represents the output of the power supply command by the control device 5. The dashed arrow between the control device 5 and the second power supply 4 represents the output of the power supply command by the control device 5.

The laser apparatus 100 is a collection including an optical coupling unit 6 for coupling laser beams emitted from each of the first LD1 and the second LD2-1, 2, ..., 2-n, and one or more lenses. It has an optical optical system 7. The optical coupling unit 6 combines a plurality of laser beams into one laser beam by coupling the plurality of laser beams to each other. In the following description, the laser beam obtained by coupling may be referred to as a coupling beam. The optical coupling unit 6 emits a coupling beam. The coupled beam emitted from the optical coupling portion 6 is incident on the focused optical system 7. The laser device 100 outputs a coupled beam that has passed through the focused optical system 7. The laser apparatus 100 condenses the coupled beam by the condensing optical system 7, so that the coupled beam is incident on a transmission path such as a process fiber outside the laser apparatus 100.

In FIG. 1, the solid arrow between the first LD1 and the optical coupling portion 6 indicates that the laser beam is emitted from the first LD1 to the optical coupling portion 6. The solid arrows between the second LD2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n and the optical coupling portion 6 are from the second LD2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n. This indicates that the laser beam is emitted to the optical coupling unit 6. The solid arrow between the optical coupling unit 6 and the condensing optical system 7 indicates that the coupled beam is emitted from the optical coupling unit 6 to the condensing optical system 7. A solid arrow directed from the focusing optical system 7 to the outside of the laser device 100 indicates that a coupled beam is emitted from the focusing optical system 7 to the outside of the laser device 100.

It is assumed that the method of coupling a plurality of laser beams by the optical coupling unit 6 is arbitrary. The optical coupling unit 6 has an element or a configuration capable of coupling a plurality of laser beams. The optical coupling unit 6 has a configuration in which a plurality of optical fibers through which a laser beam passes are coupled to one optical component, a configuration in which the optical paths of the respective laser beams are overlapped into one, and a configuration in which a plurality of laser beams having different wavelengths are diffracted. It is possible to use a diffraction grating for combining laser beams, and a polarizing element for combining laser beams into one by utilizing the difference in polarization characteristics between two laser beams having different polarization directions.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the electrical connection of a plurality of laser diodes included in the laser apparatus shown in FIG. The first power supply 3 and the first LD1 are connected in series. The second power supply 4 and the second LD2-1, 2, 2, ..., 2-n are connected in series. The circuit for supplying power to the first LD1 by the first power supply 3 and the circuit for supplying power to the second LD2 by the second power supply 4 are separated from each other.

The laser apparatus 100 switches the output power of the laser beam between high power and low power. The high power is an output power corresponding to the maximum rating of the laser device 100, and is an output power when each of the plurality of LDs emits a laser beam. The low power is an output power lower than the maximum rating of the laser apparatus 100, and is an output power when the first LD1 emits a laser beam and the second LD2 stops emitting the laser beam. In the first embodiment, the low power means an output power on the order of 10 W to 100 W. High power refers to output power on the order of 1 kW to 10 kW.

When outputting a high-power laser beam, the control device 5 outputs a power supply command to the first power source 3 and the second power source 4. The first LD1 emits a laser beam by receiving a power supply from the first power source 3. Each second LD2 emits a laser beam by receiving power supplied from the second power source 4. The laser apparatus 100 combines the laser beams from all of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s to output the combined beam. As a result, the laser device 100 outputs a high-power laser beam.

When outputting a low-power laser beam, the control device 5 outputs a power supply command to the first power supply 3 and stops the output of the power supply command to the second power supply 4. The first LD1 emits a laser beam by receiving a power supply from the first power source 3. The laser device 100 outputs only the laser beam from the first LD1. As a result, the laser device 100 outputs a low-power laser beam. In this way, the control device 5 outputs the power supply command output to both the first power supply 3 and the second power supply 4, and to only the first power supply 3 of the first power supply 3 and the second power supply 4. Switch to output. The laser device 100 switches the output power of the laser beam between high power and low power by switching the output of the power supply command by the control device 5.

LDs with the same output are used for the first LD1 and the second LD2. An LD having an output different from that of the second LD2 may be used for the first LD1. For the first LD1, an LD having a lower output than the second LD2 may be used, or an LD having a higher output than the second LD2 may be used. For the first LD1, an LD that matches the output power at the time of the above low power is used.

Here, a comparison between a comparative example in which all of the plurality of LDs included in the laser apparatus 100 are connected in series with a common power supply and the first embodiment will be described. In the comparative example in which all the LDs and the power supply are connected in series, the power supply supplies power to all the LDs regardless of whether the power is high or low. The laser device 100 outputs a low-power laser beam by reducing the current flowing through each LD. The laser device 100 outputs a combined beam by combining the laser beams from all the LDs not only at high power but also at low power.

When all LDs and power supplies are connected in series, the larger the difference between high power and low power, the significantly lower the load at low power than at high power. Therefore, the larger the difference between the high power and the low power, the more difficult it is for the power supply to stably supply power when the power is low. Further, since laser oscillation by LD requires a current higher than a specific current called a threshold current, there is a limit to reducing the output of each LD. The laser device 100 has high power and low power because it is necessary to pass a current higher than the threshold current to each LD and it is necessary to combine the laser beams from each LD to output the laser beam. The larger the difference, the more difficult it is to output a low-power laser beam. Further, the lower the current flowing through the LD, the more unstable the output of the LD, which makes it difficult for the laser apparatus 100 to stably output a low-power laser beam.

The laser apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment has the first power source 3 and the second power source 4, so that the power supply to the first LD1 is performed independently of the power supply to the second LD2. When the power of the laser device 100 is low, stable power can be supplied to the first LD1 by supplying power to the first LD1 by the first power supply 3 having specifications corresponding to the output power of the first LD1. It becomes. Therefore, the laser apparatus 100 can stably output a low-power laser beam even when the difference between the high power and the low power is large.

Further, in the laser apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, since the circuit for supplying electric power to the first LD1 and the circuit for supplying electric power to each second LD2 are separated from each other, the laser apparatus 100 has a low power. In addition, the output of the laser beam by the second LD2 can be stopped. When the laser device 100 has a low power, only the laser beam emitted by the first LD1 is output from the laser device 100, so that the laser device 100 has a low power even when the difference between the high power and the low power is large. The beam can be easily output. Further, the laser apparatus 100 can send a current capable of stably outputting the laser beam to the first LD1 when the power is low. Therefore, the laser device 100 can stably output a low-power laser beam.

The number of first LD1s in the laser apparatus 100 is not limited to one. The number of the first LD1 may be two or more. When two or more first LD1s are provided, the first power supply 3 and each first LD1 are connected in series. In this case as well, the laser device 100 can stably output a low-power laser beam.

According to the first embodiment, the laser apparatus 100 has a first power supply 3 which is a power supply for supplying power to the first LD1 and a power supply which is a power supply for supplying power to the second LD2 and has a higher output power than the first power supply 3. By having a second power source 4 which is a power source having specifications corresponding to the above, it is possible to stably output a low-power laser beam even when the output power range is large. As a result, the laser device 100 has the effect of being able to output a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The laser device 101 is an example of the laser device 100 according to the first embodiment. The laser device 101 according to the second embodiment has a wavelength dispersion element 11 which is an optical coupling unit 6. The laser device 101 is a laser device called a Direct Diode Laser (DDL). In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the configurations different from those in the first embodiment will be mainly described.

Each of the plurality of LDs of the laser apparatus 101, the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s, emits laser beams having different wavelengths from each other. Further, the laser device 101 has a partial reflection mirror 12 and a condensing optical system 7. The partial reflection mirror 12 is a mirror that resonates a plurality of laser beams having different wavelengths from each other between the first LD1 and each of the plurality of second LD2s. The partial reflection mirror 12 reflects a part of the incident laser beam and transmits a part of the incident laser beam for each of the plurality of laser beams.

The wavelength dispersion element 11 is a diffraction grating that diffracts each of a plurality of laser beams. The wavelength dispersion element 11 transmits a plurality of laser beams incident from each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s in a state where the directions of the optical axes of the laser beams are different from each other, and aligns the optical axes with each other to the partial reflection mirror 12. To proceed. Further, the wavelength dispersion element 11 transmits a plurality of laser beams incident from the partial reflection mirror 12 in a state where the optical axes coincide with each other to each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s by making the directions of the optical axes different from each other. To proceed. The optical axis is an axis representing the center of the luminous flux of the laser beam. The laser beam travels in the direction of the optical axis.

The wavelength dispersion element 11 diffracts a plurality of laser beams emitted from each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s, and separates the laser beams by order. The wavelength dispersion element 11 is a transmission type diffraction grating. The wavelength dispersion element 11 couples the first-order diffracted light of each laser beam to each other, and emits the fifth-order diffracted light in a direction different from the direction of the partially reflected mirror 12. The wavelength dispersion element 11 may be a reflection type diffraction grating.

The wavelength dispersion element 11 combines a plurality of laser beams with each other by aligning the optical axes of the laser beams which are the primary diffracted light. The wavelength dispersion element 11 emits a coupled beam toward the partially reflected mirror 12. The coupled beam transmitted through the partially reflected mirror 12 is incident on the focused optical system 7. The laser device 101 outputs a coupled beam that has passed through the focused optical system 7.

The coupled beam reflected by the partial reflection mirror 12 is incident on the wavelength dispersion element 11 again. The wavelength dispersion element 11 separates the coupled beam into laser beams for each wavelength. The wavelength dispersion element 11 emits each separated laser beam toward each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s. Each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s is provided with a mirror that reflects the laser beam returned from the wavelength dispersion element 11 to each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s. The partial reflection mirror 12 and the mirrors provided in each of the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s form a resonator. The wavelength dispersion element 11 is arranged in the resonator.

As described in the first embodiment, the laser apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment can output a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam. it can. According to the second embodiment, it is possible to realize a DDL capable of outputting a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam.

Embodiment 3.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The laser device 102 according to the third embodiment has a switch 22 for switching between power supply to the first LD1 and power supply to the plurality of second LD2s. In the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the configurations different from those of the first and second embodiments will be mainly described.

The laser apparatus 102 has one power source 23 instead of the first power source 3 and the second power source 4 in the first and second embodiments. FIG. 4 shows an aspect of electrical connection between the first LD1 and the plurality of second LD2s and the power supply 23.

The second LDs 2-1 and 2, ..., 2-n are connected in series. The laser apparatus 102 has a resistor 21 connected in series with the first LD1. The switch 22 switches between a circuit having a first LD1 and a resistor 21 and a circuit having a plurality of second LD2s. The switch 22 closes the circuit having the first LD1 and the resistor 21 and opens the circuit having the plurality of second LD2s, and opens the circuit having the first LD1 and the resistor 21 and has the plurality of second LD2s. To switch from the closed state.

In a state where the switch 22 closes the circuit having the first LD1 and the resistor 21, the first LD1, the resistor 21 and the power supply 23 are connected in series. In a state where the switch 22 closes the circuit having the plurality of second LD2s, the plurality of second LD2s and the power supply 23 are connected in series.

The control device 5 controls the power supply to the first LD1 and the power supply to the second LD2 by outputting the power supply command to the power supply 23. Further, the control device 5 controls the switching operation by the switch 22 by outputting the switching command to the switch 22. In FIG. 4, the broken line arrow between the control device 5 and the power supply 23 represents the output of the power supply command by the control device 5. The dashed arrow between the control device 5 and the switch 22 represents the output of the switching command by the control device 5.

The sum of the electric resistance of the first LD1 and the electric resistance of the resistor 21 is the same as the sum of the electric resistances of the plurality of second LD2s. The laser device 102 is provided with the resistor 21 so that the difference between the load of the power supply 23 when power is supplied to the first LD1 and the load of the power supply 23 when power is supplied to the plurality of second LD2s. Can be suppressed.

When outputting a high-power laser beam, the control device 5 outputs a switching command for closing the circuit having the plurality of second LD2s to the switch 22. Further, the control device 5 outputs a power supply command to the power supply 23. Each second LD2 emits a laser beam by receiving power supply from the power source 23. The laser device 102 combines the laser beams from each of the plurality of second LD2s and outputs the combined beam. As a result, the laser device 102 outputs a high-power laser beam.

When outputting a low-power laser beam, the control device 5 outputs a switching command for closing the circuit having the first LD1 and the resistor 21 to the switch 22. Further, the control device 5 outputs a power supply command to the power supply 23. The power supply 23 supplies electric power with the same current when outputting a high-power laser beam and when outputting a low-power laser beam. The first LD1 emits a laser beam by receiving a power supply from the power supply 23. The laser device 102 outputs only the laser beam from the first LD1. As a result, the laser device 102 outputs a low-power laser beam.

The laser apparatus 102 according to the third embodiment switches the output power of the laser beam between high power and low power by switching the power supply to the first LD1 and the power supply to the plurality of second LD2s. The laser device 102 can stably supply electric power to the first LD1 by passing the same current at the time of low power as at the time of high power. Therefore, the laser device 102 can stably output a low-power laser beam even when the difference between the high power and the low power is large.

Further, when the laser device 102 according to the third embodiment has low power, the circuit for supplying power to the first LD1 and the circuit for supplying power to each second LD2 are switched by the switch 22. In addition, the emission of the laser beam by the second LD2 can be stopped. When the laser device 102 has a low power, only the laser beam emitted from the first LD1 is output from the laser device 102, so that the laser device 102 has a low power even when the difference between the high power and the low power is large. The beam can be easily output. Further, the laser apparatus 102 can send a current capable of stably outputting the laser beam to the first LD1 when the power is low. Therefore, the laser device 102 can stably output a low-power laser beam.

According to the third embodiment, the laser apparatus 102 can switch between the circuit having the first LD1 and the circuit having the plurality of second LD2s, so that the output power range is low even when the output power range is large. The power laser beam can be output stably. As a result, the laser device 102 has the effect of being able to output a stable laser beam when the output power is switched between low power and high power to output the laser beam.

Embodiment 4.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser processing machine according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The laser processing machine 200 according to the fourth embodiment has the laser apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The laser machining machine 200 processes the workpiece 35 by irradiating the workpiece 35 with a laser beam emitted from the laser apparatus 100. In the fourth embodiment, the same components as those of the first to third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the configurations different from those of the first to third embodiments will be mainly described.

The laser machining machine 200 includes a machining machine drive unit 31 that is a portion where the workpiece 35 is machined, and a machining machine control device 32 that controls the entire laser machining machine 200. The processing machine drive unit 31 has a processing head 34 that emits a laser beam and a table 36 on which a work piece 35 is placed. Further, the processing machine drive unit 31 includes an axis drive unit that moves the processing head 34 in the Z-axis direction, which is the vertical direction, and an axis drive unit that moves the table 36 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in the horizontal plane. Have. As a result, the processing machine drive unit 31 relatively moves the processing head 34 and the workpiece 35 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. In FIG. 5, the shaft drive unit is not shown.

The process fiber 33 is a transmission line for sending the laser beam emitted from the laser device 100 to the processing head 34. The processing machine control device 32 controls the laser device 100 and the processing machine driving unit 31.

When the laser processing machine 200 performs processing requiring high energy such as cutting processing of the workpiece 35, the laser apparatus 100 outputs a high-power laser beam. Further, when the laser processing machine 200 performs processing with a lower energy than in the case of cutting processing, such as laser marking on the workpiece 35, the laser apparatus 100 outputs a low-power laser beam. The laser machining machine 200 can perform machining with different energy levels by switching the output power of the laser device 100. Further, since the laser processing machine 200 can stably output the laser beam by the laser device 100 even when the level of energy required for processing is significantly different, stable processing can be performed. .. Since the laser machining machine 200 enables stable machining in an operation such as automatically performing laser marking following cutting machining, it is possible to improve the added value as an automated system.

The quality of the laser beam emitted from the first LD1 is equal to or higher than the quality of the laser beam emitted from the second LD2. Equivalent laser beam quality means that the beam parameter product (BPP), which is one of the indexes indicating the beam quality, is the same. High quality laser beam means low BPP. In this case, the laser machine 200 uses a process fiber 33 that can tolerate the beam quality of the high-power laser beam, so that when the high-power laser beam is output and when the low-power laser beam is output. In, the laser beam can be efficiently propagated from the laser device 100 to the processing head 34. Note that the quality of the laser beam, such as M ² factor representing a beam quality, or may be compared by any other index than the BPP.

The laser processing machine 200 may have the laser device 101 according to the second embodiment or the laser device 102 according to the third embodiment instead of the laser device 100. Even when the laser processing machine 200 has the laser devices 101 and 102, stable processing can be performed because the laser devices 101 and 102 can stably output the laser beam. According to the fourth embodiment, the laser processing machine 200 includes any one of the laser devices 100, 101, and 102, so that the processing using a high-power laser beam and the processing using a low-power laser beam can be performed. Has the effect of being able to perform stably.

The configuration shown in the above-described embodiment shows an example of the content of the present invention, can be combined with another known technique, and is one of the configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

1 1st laser diode, 2,2-1,2,2-n 2nd laser diode, 3 1st power supply, 4th 2nd power supply, 5 control device, 6 optical coupling part, 7 condensing optical system, 21 Resistance, 22 switches, 23 power supplies, 31 processing machine drive units, 32 processing machine control devices, 33 process fibers, 34 processing heads, 35 workpieces, 36 tables, 100, 101, 102 laser devices, 200 laser processing machines.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the laser device according to the present invention is a power source that supplies power to a plurality of laser diodes and a first laser diode that is at least one of the plurality of laser diodes. The first power supply, the second power supply that supplies power to the plurality of second laser diodes that are laser diodes other than the first laser diode among the plurality of laser diodes, and the first power supply and the second power supply. It is provided with a control device for controlling the above. The second power supply is a power supply with specifications corresponding to a higher output power than the first power supply. The circuit for supplying power to the first laser diode by the first power supply and the circuit for supplying power to the plurality of second laser diodes by the second power supply are separated from each other. The first power supply and the first laser diode are connected in series. The second power supply and each of the plurality of second laser diodes are connected in series.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the laser device according to the present invention is a power source that supplies power to a plurality of laser diodes and a first laser diode that is at least one of the plurality of laser diodes. The first power supply, the second power supply that supplies power to the plurality of second laser diodes that are laser diodes other than the first laser diode among the plurality of laser diodes, and the first power supply and the second power supply. It is provided with a control device for controlling the above. The first power supply is a power supply having specifications corresponding to the output power of the first laser diode. The second power supply is a power supply having specifications corresponding to a higher output power than the first power supply, and is a power supply having specifications corresponding to the total output power of each of the plurality of second laser diodes. The circuit for supplying power to the first laser diode by the first power supply and the circuit for supplying power to the plurality of second laser diodes by the second power supply are separated from each other. The first power supply and the first laser diode are connected in series. The second power supply and each of the plurality of second laser diodes are connected in series. The quality of the laser beam emitted from the first laser diode is equal to the quality of the laser beam emitted from each of the plurality of second laser diodes, or the quality of the laser beam emitted from each of the plurality of second laser diodes. Higher than.

Claims (10)

With multiple laser diodes
A first power supply that supplies power to the first laser diode, which is at least one of the plurality of laser diodes, and a first power supply.
A second power supply that supplies power to a second laser diode, which is a laser diode other than the first laser diode among the plurality of laser diodes, and has specifications corresponding to a higher output power than the first power supply. Power supply and
A control device that controls the first power supply and the second power supply,
A laser device comprising. The circuit for supplying power to the first laser diode by the first power supply and the circuit for supplying power to the second laser diode by the second power supply are separated from each other. The laser device according to claim 1. The first power supply is a power supply having specifications corresponding to the output power of the first laser diode.
The laser device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second power source is a power source having specifications corresponding to the total output power of each of the second laser diodes. The output power of the first laser diode is on the order of 10 W to 100 W, and the output power is on the order of 10 W to 100 W.
The laser device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the total output power of each of the second laser diodes is on the order of 1 kW to 10 kW. The control device controls the power supply by the first power supply and the power supply by the second power supply by outputting a power supply command to the first power supply and the second power supply.
The output of the power supply command is switched between an output to both the first power supply and the second power supply and an output to only the first power supply among the first power supply and the second power supply. The laser device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The quality of the laser beam emitted from the first laser diode is equal to or higher than the quality of the laser beam emitted from the second laser diode or higher than the quality of the laser beam emitted from the second laser diode. The laser device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the laser device is characterized. Each of the plurality of laser diodes emits laser beams having different wavelengths from each other.
A mirror that resonates a plurality of laser beams having different wavelengths with each of the plurality of laser diodes.
A wavelength dispersion element that advances the plurality of laser beams incident from each of the plurality of laser diodes in a state where the directions of the optical axes of the laser beams are different from each other to the mirror by aligning the optical axes with each other.
The laser apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the laser apparatus is provided. With multiple laser diodes
A first power supply that supplies power to the first laser diode, which is at least one of the plurality of laser diodes, and a first power supply.
A second power supply that supplies power to a second laser diode, which is a laser diode other than the first laser diode among the plurality of laser diodes, and has specifications corresponding to a higher output power than the first power supply. Power supply and
A control device that controls the first power supply and the second power supply,
Has a laser device equipped with
A laser processing machine characterized in that the workpiece is processed by irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam emitted from the laser apparatus. The laser device has high power, which is the output power when each of the plurality of laser diodes emits a laser beam, and the first laser diode emits a laser beam and the second laser diode emits a laser beam. The laser processing machine according to claim 8, wherein the output power is switched between low power, which is the output power when the laser is stopped. The laser device is characterized in that the output power is set to the high power when cutting the workpiece and the output power is set to the low power when the laser marking is performed on the workpiece. The laser processing machine according to 9.

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