JP6422182B2 - Laser processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus.

  In recent years, processing with a laser processing apparatus having a high degree of processing freedom has been generalized even for long workpieces such as paper and film. For example, the example concerning patent document 1 is described.

  In a general laser processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, laser light 108 emitted from a laser light emitting apparatus (not shown) is condensed by a condensing lens (convex lens) 107 and can be moved in its optical path. By arranging a mirror 106 or the like, the optical path is guided in each direction of, for example, 181 to 185, and condensed at the focal point 192, respectively. Processing such as drilling and cutting of the workpiece 9 is performed by the condensed laser light.

  By the way, since the distance from the mirror 106 to the focal point is determined by the focal length specific to the condenser lens 107, the focal point is distributed on a spherical surface centered on the mirror 106. Therefore, the region most suitable for processing (hereinafter referred to as “processing region 191”) has a spherical shape. On the other hand, since the long workpiece 9 is flat, the entire planar surface of the workpiece 9 cannot be focused accurately. As a result, particularly when a long workpiece 9 is continuously processed, the larger the width of the workpiece 9 is, the more the laser beam is shifted from the focal point at the end in the width direction. Therefore, the machining becomes insufficient and the machining accuracy is likely to be lowered. In addition, since the laser beam strikes obliquely with respect to the processing surface as the end in the width direction is reached, for example, when opening a hole, a hole inclined with respect to the thickness direction of the workpiece 9 is opened, and the processing accuracy is increased. descend.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the focal length is changed by moving the position of the condenser lens (convex lens) 207 in accordance with the distance to the workpiece 9, and the position of the focal point 292 is distributed on a plane. It is possible. By this method, the processing region 291 becomes planar. If the planar processing region and the surface of the workpiece 9 are made to coincide with each other, even a wide workpiece 9 can be processed at the focal point over the entire processing region, so that the processing becomes insufficient. The problem can be prevented. However, this method does not solve the problem that the laser beam strikes the processing region 291 at an angle. Further, since it is necessary to brake the condenser lens 207, it is difficult to increase the processing speed.

  One method to solve the problem of the laser beam hitting obliquely is to limit the processing point to one point without changing the focal point position, and to move the processing point on the surface of the workpiece by moving the entire processing device. It is made to move with respect to a thing and make a processing area flat. Another way to solve the problem of the laser beam hitting diagonally is to limit the processing point to one point, move the workpiece in a two-dimensional direction, and move the workpiece to the processing point. Processing is performed only at the optimal processing point where the light hits perpendicularly. In Patent Document 1, a long workpiece can be freely moved back and forth in the advancing direction, and the entire workpiece can also be moved in the width direction using a guide rail in the Y axis direction (width direction). This is possible (see paragraph [0024]).

JP 2002-035982 A

  However, in both the method of moving the entire processing apparatus on the surface of the workpiece and the method of moving the workpiece in the two-dimensional direction, it is necessary to move a large device and the workpiece over the entire surface in the two-dimensional direction. As the apparatus becomes larger, it becomes difficult to increase the processing speed.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and continuously processes a long workpiece having a configuration capable of improving the processing speed while ensuring the processing accuracy. It is providing the laser processing apparatus for.

  (1) A laser processing apparatus of the present invention is a laser processing apparatus for continuously processing a long workpiece, a laser emitting unit for emitting a laser beam, and the emitted laser beam A guiding unit for guiding laser light to an arbitrary processing point on a processing region occupying a certain area on a plane, a condensing unit for condensing the guided laser light on the processing point, and the workpiece And a workpiece supply section for continuously supplying to the processing area. The condensing unit can condense the laser beam to any of the processing points on the processing region without moving all or part of the condensing unit during the processing. In addition, the laser beam is condensed substantially perpendicular to the processing region at any of the processing points.

  According to the above configuration, the laser beam is guided to any processing point on the processing area that occupies a certain area on the plane. Can be directed. Since it has a workpiece supply part for continuously supplying the workpiece to the processing area and a condensing part for condensing the laser beam at the processing point, it is condensed at the processing point on the processing area. Laser light enables processing such as drilling and cutting on the surface of the supplied workpiece. The condensing unit condenses the laser light substantially perpendicular to the processing area at any processing point. In other words, since the laser beam does not strike obliquely with respect to the processing region, accurate processing becomes possible. Furthermore, the condensing unit can condense the laser beam at any machining point on the machining area, so that it can be placed on a plane without moving the device relative to the workpiece. Processing can be performed on the entire processing region. In addition, since the light collecting unit can perform light collection over the entire processing region without moving all or part of the light collecting unit during processing, there is no need to control the position of the light collecting unit during processing. . As a result, the processing speed can be increased without decreasing the processing accuracy.

(2) The condensing unit preferably includes an fθ lens.
Since the fθ lens can focus the deflected beam on a flat image surface, by using this lens, the focusing over the entire processing region is performed, and all or a part of the focusing unit is moved during processing. It can be easily done without. Further, at any processing point, it is possible to easily collect the laser light substantially perpendicular to any processing position on the surface that condenses the laser light substantially perpendicular to the processing region. Therefore, the configuration of the laser processing apparatus of the present invention becomes easy.

(3) the induction part is preferably provided at least two mirrors mounted in the axial direction are different rotational axes together.
According to the above configuration, the laser light can be guided in a two-dimensional direction, that is, a region on a plane by sequentially reflecting the laser light on the mirrors attached to the rotation shafts having different axial directions. Therefore, the laser beam can be guided to an arbitrary processing point on the processing area that occupies a certain area on the plane.

  (4) It is preferable that the supply is performed at a constant speed in the same direction and direction during the processing. As described above, in the present invention, machining can be performed on the entire machining area existing on a plane without moving the apparatus relative to the workpiece. Therefore, as long as the workpiece is planar, if the supply is performed at a constant speed in the same direction and direction, it is possible to process the entire workpiece in a necessary range. Since it is only necessary to supply the workpiece in the same direction and direction at a constant speed, the workpiece can be processed compared to changing the supply direction and direction according to the processing or changing the supply speed. The structure and control of the article supply unit can be simplified.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a laser processing apparatus for continuously processing a long workpiece, the laser processing apparatus having a configuration capable of improving the processing speed while ensuring the processing accuracy. can do.

It is a perspective view of the laser processing apparatus concerning an embodiment. It is a front view of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view of the laser processing apparatus concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a galvano scanner and an fθ lens used in the laser processing apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is an optical path diagram showing an optical path of an fθ lens and laser light used in the laser processing apparatus. It is the optical path figure which showed the condensing lens periphery of the conventional laser processing apparatus, and the optical path of a laser beam. It is the optical path figure which showed the condensing lens periphery of the other conventional laser processing apparatus, and the optical path of a laser beam.

  Below, with reference to FIGS. 1-6, one Embodiment of the laser processing apparatus of this invention is described. In the following description, as described in the drawings, the x direction refers to the moving direction of a long film that is a workpiece. The y direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the x direction on the surface of the film, that is, the width direction of the film. Further, the z direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the x direction and the y direction, that is, a direction perpendicular to the surface of the film.

  1, 2, 3, and 4 are a perspective view, a front view, a plan view, and a side view of the laser processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, respectively. As clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, in this laser processing apparatus, the laser oscillator 1, which is a laser emitting unit for emitting laser light, the folding mirrors 21, 22, 23, the beam expander 3, and the scanning unit 4 are They are provided on substantially the same plane. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, along the plane substantially parallel to this plane, that is, along the xy plane, a long film 9 as a workpiece is moved in the x direction by a film supply device (not shown). At a constant speed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, ducts are provided between the laser oscillator 1 and the folding mirror 21 or between the folding mirror 21 and the folding mirror 22 for safety. It is not shown in other figures. Similarly, covers actually required for safety and the like are not shown.

The laser oscillator 1 which is a laser emitting part is classified by laser medium, gas laser such as CO ₂ laser and excimer laser, solid laser such as ruby laser and Nd: YAG laser, liquid laser such as dye laser, laser diode, etc. And a semiconductor laser using Examples of the excitation source include those using discharge, those using a flash lamp, those using a laser diode, and those using a chemical reaction. Any combination may be used depending on the application. In general, a carbon dioxide laser (CO ₂ laser) capable of obtaining a high output is preferable.

  The folding mirrors 21 to 23 are used to guide the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 1 to the entrance of the beam expander 3. The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 1 is sequentially reflected by the folding mirrors 21 to 23 and then incident on the beam expander 3, thereby ensuring a certain optical path length from the laser oscillator 1 to the entrance of the beam expander 3. be able to. In the meantime, an impure component in the laser beam can be removed.

  The beam expander 3 is a lens that spreads laser light into a parallel light flux having a constant magnification. This is used to adjust the incident laser light to a light flux that matches a mirror of a galvano scanner provided in the scanning unit 4. Further, the focal length of the laser beam can be adjusted by moving the beam expander 3 in the y direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, which is an image diagram, the scanning unit 4 includes two sets of galvano scanners 5 and 6 and an fθ lens 7. The galvano scanner 5 includes a mirror 51, a rotation shaft 52 attached to the mirror 51, and a control device (not shown) that controls the rotation shaft 52. By rotating the rotation shaft 52 whose rotation angle is controlled by this control device, the angle of the mirror 51 can be changed to a free angle around the rotation shaft at high speed. Therefore, the laser beam 8 applied to the mirror 51 can be reflected and guided at an arbitrary angle in the one-dimensional direction.

  The galvano scanner 6 includes a mirror 61, a rotation shaft 62 attached to the mirror 61, and a control device (not shown) that controls the rotation shaft 62. The axis direction of the rotation shaft 62 is directed in a direction different from the axis direction of the rotation shaft 52. Similarly to the galvano scanner 5, the galvano scanner 6 can freely guide the laser beam 8 applied to the mirror 61 in a one-dimensional direction. Therefore, by combining two sets of the galvano scanner 5 and the galvano scanner 6, it is possible to guide the laser beam to an arbitrary processing point on the processing area 91 that occupies a certain area in the two-dimensional direction, that is, the xy plane. It becomes. That is, the galvano scanner 5 and the galvano scanner 6 function as a guiding unit.

  Laser light guided by the galvano scanner 5 and the galvano scanner 6 is applied to the fθ lens 7. The fθ lens is a lens having an image height Y proportional to the incident angle θ and having a relationship of Y = fθ when the focal length is f. By using this fθ lens, the laser light can be condensed so that the focal point of the laser light deflected by the galvano scanner 6 is distributed on a plane.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, all of the laser beams 81 to 85 deflected by the galvano scanner 6 and incident on the fθ lens 7 are condensed almost vertically on the processing region 91. That is, the fθ lens 7 functions as a light collecting unit. If a film is supplied to the processing area 91, the film can be processed. Thus, since the laser beam is focused on the same plane regardless of the incident angle, once the processing region 91 and the film surface are made to coincide with each other before the start of processing, fθ which is a condensing part during laser processing. There is no need to move the lens 7. In addition, since the laser beam is vertically focused on the surface of the film 9, accurate processing is possible.

  As the workpiece supply unit for supplying the film 9, a winding shaft for mounting the unprocessed film 9 wound around the reel and a reel for winding the processed film are mounted in consideration of FIG. 1 and FIG. A film supply device (not shown) provided with a winding shaft is exemplified. The film 9 is sequentially supplied in the x direction by such a film supply device.

  As described above, in the laser processing apparatus of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to adjust the focal length in the vertical direction, that is, in the z-axis direction during processing. Therefore, the film supply device is moved in the z-axis direction during processing. There is no need to let them. Further, the laser beam is also guided in the width direction of the film, that is, the y-axis direction, and is condensed substantially perpendicularly to the film surface, so that it is not necessary to move the film supply device in the y-axis direction during processing. Furthermore, since the laser beam is also guided in the traveling direction of the film, that is, in the x-axis direction, and is condensed substantially perpendicularly to the film surface, the film supply speed is changed during processing or the supply direction is changed. There is no need. That is, it is sufficient if the film can be supplied at a constant speed in a certain direction and direction. Therefore, it becomes easy to make a film supply apparatus into a simple structure. Furthermore, since there are few movable parts, even if it is necessary to enlarge the apparatus for reasons such as the need to process a wide film, it is easy to cope with it.

The film 9 is processed by the laser processing apparatus as follows, for example. First, the film 9 wound around the reel, which is a workpiece, is attached to the unwinding shaft, and the unwinding end is wound around the reel attached to the winding shaft.
Subsequently, a laser beam is emitted, and when stabilized, the beam expander 3 is moved in the y direction to focus on the processing surface of the film 9. This operation may be performed with the film 9 stopped, but can be performed more accurately by performing the operation with the film 9 moved.
Then, processing starts.
After the completion of processing, the processed film wound on the winding shaft is collected.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In the laser processing apparatus of this embodiment, since the long film which is a to-be-processed object is performed at a constant speed in the same direction and direction during processing, the supply direction and direction are determined according to processing. The structure and control of the workpiece supply unit can be simplified as compared with the case where the supply rate is changed. Also, the size of the apparatus can be easily increased.

(2) The laser processing apparatus of the present embodiment, due to the provision of two mirrors 51 and 61 attached to the pivot shaft 52 and 62 the axial direction are different from each other, reflecting the laser beam 8 sequentially mirror 51 and 61 By doing so, the laser beam 8 can be guided in a two-dimensional direction, that is, in a region on a plane. Accordingly, the laser beam 8 can be guided to an arbitrary processing point on the processing area 91 occupying a certain area on the plane.

  (3) Since the laser processing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured to be able to focus the laser beam 8 on an arbitrary processing point on the processing area 91 occupying a certain area on the plane, the entire apparatus is being processed. It is possible to accurately process the entire processing region 91 without moving it or moving the film 9 as a workpiece in the y-axis direction. Also in the x-axis direction, it is only necessary to supply the film 9 at a constant speed without changing the supply speed of the film 9 or reversing the direction of movement. Therefore, high-speed machining can be realized without lowering the machining accuracy.

  (4) In addition, since the laser beam 8 is configured to be condensed substantially vertically at any processing point in the processing region 91, accurate processing is possible over the entire processing region 91.

  (5) The laser processing apparatus of this embodiment uses the configuration of the above (3) and (4), and an fθ lens capable of condensing the deflected beam on a flat image surface is used for the condensing unit. . As a result, in order to obtain the effects (3) and (4), it is not necessary to move the entire condensing part or a part thereof during processing. Therefore, the control becomes easy, and the moving member is not in the light collecting portion, so that it is easy to increase the processing speed.

  In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.

  -In the said embodiment, although the elongate film 9 is used as a to-be-processed object, you may use another to-be-processed object. There is no particular limitation as long as it is a long workpiece, and paper, cloth, etc. may be used in addition to a film or a resin film.

In the above embodiment, the laser processing apparatus uses the folding mirrors 21 to 23 to maintain the optical path length. However, if the sufficient optical path length can be maintained, for example, the laser processing apparatus is emitted from the laser oscillator 1 The laser beam 8 may be directly incident on the beam expander 3. According to such a configuration, the apparatus is enlarged, but the number of parts can be reduced.
If it is not necessary to remove an impure component in the laser beam, the apparatus can be downsized by reducing the distance between the laser oscillator 1 and the beam expander 3.

  -In the said embodiment, although the laser processing apparatus uses the beam expander 3, it is not essential. If the luminous flux of the laser beam 8 emitted from the laser oscillator 1 is compatible with the galvano scanners 5 and 6 and the fθ lens 7, it may be omitted.

In addition, the focal length is adjusted by moving the beam expander 3 in the y direction, but other methods may be used. For example, by changing the distance d from the fθ lens 7 to the film 9 shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to make the film surface coincide with the processing region 91 without changing the focal length. Such a method can be easily achieved, for example, by using a lifting platform that moves the film supply device in the z-axis direction. According to such a configuration, it becomes easy to omit the beam expander 3 as described above. Even if the beam expander 3 is not omitted, the function of moving the beam expander 3 in the y direction and the function of moving the film supply device in the z-axis direction may be used in combination. Fine adjustment is easy.
Note that neither the movement function of the beam expander 3 in the y direction nor the movement function of the film supply apparatus in the z-axis direction need to be moved or controlled during processing. It can be a structure.

  In the above embodiment, the laser processing apparatus has two sets of galvano scanners 5 and 6, but three or more sets of galvano scanners may be used. In addition, depending on the required processing speed and accuracy, cost may be reduced by using a rotary motor scanner or a reciprocating motor scanner.

  The above embodiment and the above modification are examples of the present invention, and it is a matter of course that many other embodiments can be considered in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser emission part 21, 22, 23 ... Folding mirror 3 ... Beam expander 4 ... Scanning part 5,6 ... Galvano scanner 51, 61 ... Mirror 52, 62 ... Turning axis 7 ... f (theta) lens 8, 81-85 ... Laser Light 9 ... Film (workpiece)
91: Processing region 92 ... Processing point 106 ... Mirror 107 ... Condensing lens 108 ... Laser light 191 ... Processing region 192 ... Focus 207 ... Condensing lens 291 ... Processing region 292 ... Focus

Claims (4)

A laser processing apparatus for continuously processing a long workpiece,
A laser emitting unit for emitting laser light;
A guiding section for guiding the emitted laser light to an arbitrary processing point on a processing area occupying a certain area on a plane;
A condensing unit for condensing the induced laser beam at the processing point;
A workpiece supply unit that continuously supplies the workpiece to the processing region;
The condensing unit can condense the laser beam to any of the processing points on the processing region without moving all or part of the condensing unit during the processing. In addition, a laser processing apparatus that condenses the laser light substantially perpendicularly to the processing region at any of the processing points.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condensing unit includes an fθ lens. The induction unit is a laser machining apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 comprising at least two mirrors mounted in the axial direction are different rotational axes together.   The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supplying is performed at a constant speed in the same direction and direction during the processing.