A large-format laser processing system and method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface

Abstract

The present invention discloses a large-format laser processing system based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface, including a computer equipped with a graphics card and an HDMI interface, an HDMI decoder, a galvanometer servo driver, a galvanometer, a motion stage servo driver, a motion stage, and a laser; the computer is electrically connected to the HDMI decoder through the HDMI interface, and the computer can interact with the galvanometer servo driver, the motion stage servo driver, and the laser through the HDMI decoder. The galvanometer servo driver is electrically connected to the galvanometer and is used to drive its movement, and the motion stage servo driver is electrically connected to the motion stage and is used to drive its movement. The present invention also discloses a large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface. The large-format laser processing system and method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface of the present invention greatly reduce costs, get rid of the dependence on industrial chips, reduce the impact of unstable chip supply chains, and improve the stability of overall prices and delivery times.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of laser processing, and in particular, to a large-format laser processing system and method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface. Background Art

[0002] Galvanometers are widely used in the laser field and have the characteristics of high speed and high precision. However, galvanometer processing can only control the beam to move in a small range. To expand the processing range of galvanometer lasers, the industry usually combines a large-range moving stage with a galvanometer for joint processing, which brings the problem of coordinated control between the moving stage and the galvanometer. Basically, galvanometers and moving stages are in two different industrial fields. Due to their high servo bandwidth, galvanometers are usually used with dedicated laser marking cards. Marking cards usually use PCI, PCEe, and USB communications and can achieve an instruction refresh frequency of 100kHz; while the servo bandwidth of a large-range moving stage is much lower than that of a galvanometer and usually uses relatively low-speed protocols for control communication, such as etherCAT, RS485, RS232, etc. The instruction refresh frequency using these protocols is generally around 1kHz, and the highest does not exceed 20kHz. Therefore, it is obvious that it is difficult to coordinate the linkage of two protocols with completely different instruction refresh frequencies.

[0003] And there are mainly three technical solutions for existing large-range laser processing, which are introduced separately below.

[0004] First, the high-speed bus solution, which is the best in performance, represented by Aerotech and Polaris. They have developed unique high-speed bus communications based on fiber optic communication and gigabit Ethernet respectively, and update the position commands of the moving stage and the galvanometer simultaneously at a frequency of 100KHz - 200KHz. Using the high-speed bus solution can once and for all solve the linkage problem between the galvanometer and the moving stage, but it must use a high-performance computing unit to complete, resulting in extremely high hardware costs. In addition, the moving stage moves more slowly than the galvanometer, and using an instruction refresh frequency of 100kHz causes a certain degree of performance waste to a certain extent.

[0005] Second, the protocol conversion solution. The most common is to use etherCAT to convert to SL2-100 to achieve bridging between the moving stage controller and the galvanometer controller. For example, etherCAT refreshes the position command at a frequency of 20kHz, and the galvanometer controller performs 5-point fitting interpolation between two points to achieve the same frequency of the two protocols. This solution maximally alleviates the refresh frequency difference between the two protocols. However, the disadvantages are also obvious. The interpolated value of the fitting still has a gap from the true value. Moreover, it is relatively difficult to make etherCAT refresh at a frequency of 20kHz, and the hardware cost is still very high.

[0006] Thirdly, the scheme of using a marking card to support encoder input can collect the position value of the moving stage in real time, so as to dynamically correct the angle of the galvanometer according to the actual position. However, this will increase the computing workload of the marking card. In addition, it increases the complexity of the system cables, bringing additional unreliable factors.

[0007] To sum up, these three technical schemes have problems such as extremely high hardware costs, certain performance waste, and additional unreliable factors. Importantly, the existing technical schemes rely heavily on industrial-level motion control cards (chips) or marking cards. When the semiconductor supply chain is unstable and the chip price and delivery period are seriously uncontrollable, it will bring instability to the overall price and delivery period of large-scale laser processing. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to provide a large-format laser processing system and method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface. The laser processing software is used to convert the graphics card of the computer into a controller for laser processing. An auxiliary HDMI decoding circuit is built using consumer-grade chips with a large market demand to implement an HDMI decoder. Finally, an ordinary computer and an HDMI decoder are used to replace the complex industrial laser processing system, greatly reducing the cost, getting rid of the dependence on industrial chips, reducing the impact of unstable chip supply chains, and improving the stability of the overall price and delivery period.

[0009] To achieve the above object, the technical scheme adopted by the present invention is: a large-format laser processing system based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface, including a computer equipped with a graphics card and an HDMI interface, an HDMI decoder, a galvanometer servo driver, a galvanometer, a moving stage servo driver, a moving stage, and a laser;

[0010] The computer is electrically connected to the HDMI decoder through the HDMI interface. The computer can interact with the galvanometer servo driver, the moving stage servo driver, and the laser through the HDMI decoder. The galvanometer servo driver is electrically connected to the galvanometer and is used to drive its movement. The moving stage servo driver is electrically connected to the moving stage and is used to drive its movement.

[0011] The beneficial effect of the large-format laser processing system based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface of the present invention is that in order to simplify the large-format laser processing system, an auxiliary HDMI decoding circuit is built using consumer-grade chips with a large market demand to implement an HDMI decoder. Finally, an ordinary computer and an HDMI decoder are used to replace the complex industrial laser processing system, greatly reducing the cost, getting rid of the dependence on industrial chips, reducing the impact of unstable chip supply chains, and improving the stability of the overall price and delivery period.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, laser processing software is installed in the computer.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, it further includes a laser controller connected between the HDMI decoder and the laser.

[0014] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is also: a large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface, including the following steps. S1, the laser processing software divides the graph a to be processed;

[0015] S2, the laser processing software uses the powerful parallel computing function of the graphics card to optimize the trajectories of several divided graphs b to obtain the optimal processing sequence; and decomposes the optimized trajectories, and respectively obtains the trajectory information of the moving stage, the trajectory information of the galvanometer, and the trigger information of the laser;

[0016] S3, the laser processing software performs audio encoding on the trajectory information of the moving stage, the trajectory information of the galvanometer, and the trigger information of the laser, and encodes them into multiple 24bit / 96kHz audio data streams respectively. The laser processing software can perform video encoding on the output switch signal and encode it into a 120Hz video data stream;

[0017] S4, the HDMI decoder decodes all the above audio data streams, and then sends the decoded all audio data streams to the moving stage servo driver, the galvanometer servo driver, and the laser respectively; the HDMI decoder decodes all the above video data streams, and then synchronously sends the decoded video data stream to the moving stage servo driver, the galvanometer servo driver, and the laser; the HDMI decoder can also return the input switch signals of the moving stage, the galvanometer, and the laser;

[0018] S5, the moving stage, the galvanometer, and the laser are linked to complete laser processing.

[0019] The beneficial effect of the large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface of the present invention is that, first of all, it can significantly reduce costs. Using laser processing software to convert the graphics card of the computer into a controller for laser processing, only the development of an HDMI decoder is required to replace the traditional complex marking card and motion controller, and the HDMI decoder only needs to use the consumer-grade chips with a large market volume, which can greatly reduce the usage of industrial chips and reduce the dependence on the industrial chip supply chain. At the same time, the 24bit / 96kHz audio data stream can achieve delicate trajectory planning, and its performance can cover the instruction refresh requirements of the galvanometer at 16bit / 100kHz, and far exceed the instruction refresh requirements of the large-format moving stage at 24bit / 1kHz. Therefore, the solution provided by the present invention can reach a relatively high level in the industry in terms of performance.

[0020] In order to simplify the large-format laser processing system, a consumer-grade chip with a large market demand is used to build an auxiliary HDMI decoding circuit, so as to replace the complex laser processing industrial system with an ordinary computer and an HDMI decoder, greatly reducing the cost, getting rid of the dependence on industrial chips, reducing the impact of the instability of the chip supply chain, and improving the stability of the overall price and delivery time.

[0021] As a further improvement of the present invention, in S4, the HDMI decoder includes an input channel and nine output channels numbered from 1 to 9. The input channel is used for the back transmission of the switching signal, the output channel numbered 9 is used for the transmission of the video data stream corresponding to the switching signal, and the multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the XY axes and two spare axes of the moving stage are respectively transmitted by using the output channels numbered 5, 6, 7, and 8. The multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the X, Y, and Z axes of the galvanometer are respectively transmitted by using the output channels numbered 1, 2, and 3. The audio data stream corresponding to the trigger information of the laser is transmitted by using the output channel numbered 4.

[0022] As a further improvement of the present invention, the input switching signal includes an opening signal and a closing signal.

[0023] As a further improvement of the present invention, the output switching signal includes an alarm signal and an error signal. Description of the Drawings

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of the large-format laser processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of the large-format laser processing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the HDMI decoder according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] In the figure:

[0028] 1. Computer; 2. Graphics card; 3. HDMI interface; 4. HDMI decoder; 5. Moving stage servo driver; 6. Laser controller; 7. Laser; 8. Galvanometer servo driver; 9. Galvanometer; 10. Moving stage; 11. Laser processing software. Detailed Embodiments

[0029] The following elaborates on the preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings, so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more definite definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] Example 1

[0031] See the appendix Figure 1 As shown, a large-format laser processing system based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface in this embodiment includes a computer 1 equipped with a graphics card 2 and an HDMI interface 3, an HDMI decoder 4, a galvanometer servo driver 8, a galvanometer 9, a stage servo driver 5, a stage 10, and a laser 7;

[0032] A laser processing software 11 is installed in the computer 1. Using the graphics card 2, the laser processing software 11 can generate the trajectory information of the stage 10, the trajectory information of the galvanometer 9, and the trigger information of the laser 7. The computer 1 is electrically connected to the HDMI decoder 4 through the HDMI interface 3; the stage 10 is a large-stroke stage 10;

[0033] The computer 1 can interact with the galvanometer servo driver 8, the stage servo driver 5, and the laser 7 through the HDMI decoder 4. The galvanometer servo driver 8 is electrically connected to the galvanometer 9 and is used to drive its movement. The stage servo driver 5 is electrically connected to the stage 10 and is used to drive its movement.

[0034] In an example, a laser controller 6 connected between the HDMI decoder 4 and the laser 7 is further included. The laser controller 6 is electrically connected to the laser 7 and is used to drive its movement.

[0035] Example 2

[0036] See the appendix Figures 2-3 As shown, a large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface in this embodiment includes the following steps: S1. The laser processing software 11 divides the graph a to be processed, and the graph a will be separated into several graphs b;

[0037] S2. The laser processing software 11 uses the powerful parallel computing function of the graphics card 2 to optimize the trajectories of the several divided graphs b to obtain the optimal processing sequence; and decomposes the optimized trajectories to respectively obtain the trajectory information of the stage 10, the trajectory information of the galvanometer 9, and the trigger information of the laser 7;

[0038] S3. The laser processing software 11 performs audio encoding on the trajectory information of the stage 10, the trajectory information of the galvanometer 9, and the trigger information of the laser 7, and encodes them into multiple 24bit / 96kHz audio data streams. The multiple 24bit / 96kHz audio data streams are respectively transmitted using multiple channels. The laser processing software 11 can perform video encoding on the output switch signal and encode it into a 120Hz video data stream;

[0039] S4. The HDMI decoder 4 decodes all the above audio data streams and then sends the decoded audio data streams to the motion stage servo driver 5, the galvanometer servo driver 8, and the laser 7 respectively; the HDMI decoder 4 decodes the above video data stream and then synchronously sends the decoded video data stream to the motion stage servo driver 5, the galvanometer servo driver 8, and the laser 7 to turn on and off the motion stage servo driver 5, the galvanometer servo driver 8, and the laser 7; the HDMI decoder 4 can also return the input digital signal of the motion stage 10, the galvanometer 9, and the laser 7.

[0040] S5. The motion stage 10, the galvanometer 9, and the laser 7 are linked to complete the laser processing of the pattern a.

[0041] Starting from the underlying physical principle, the most commonly used galvanometer 9 has no essential difference from a speaker. Both belong to electromagnetic drive mechanisms with high response speeds. The galvanometer 9 is called a galvanometer in English, which has basically the same principle as an ammeter. The deflection angle of the lens is controlled by controlling the current, while the vibration of the eardrum is controlled by controlling the current in a speaker. The two are similar. In addition, the commonly used XY2-100 protocol of the laser marking card supporting the galvanometer 9 essentially sends 16-bit analog signals, which is completely similar to the function of a sound card. Therefore, the laser marking card can be completely removed, and the galvanometer 9 can be controlled through the sound card.

[0042] Therefore, based on this, this embodiment has been greatly expanded. The position command is sent by using the audio sending function of the HDMI protocol, and the trajectory planning of the galvanometer 9 and the motion stage 10 is carried out synchronously. In addition, the output of the digital signal is carried out by using the video signal of the HDMI decoder 4. The output digital signal is mainly an enabling signal; and the input digital signal is returned by using the Ethernet return function of the HDMI decoder 4. Importantly, combined with the high-speed parallel computing ability of the graphics card 2, the graphics card 2 is cleverly transformed into a high-performance large-format laser processing control card, realizing the simplification of complex laser processing into video and audio editing and playback.

[0043] First, it can significantly reduce costs. Using the laser processing software 11, the graphics card 2 of the computer 1 is converted into a controller for laser processing. Only the HDMI decoder 4 needs to be developed to replace the traditional complex marking card and motion controller. Moreover, the HDMI decoder 4 only needs to use consumer-grade chips with a large market demand, which can greatly reduce the usage of industrial chips and reduce the dependence on the industrial chip supply chain. At the same time, the 24bit / 96kHz audio data stream can achieve delicate trajectory planning. In terms of performance, it can cover the instruction refresh requirements of the galvanometer 9 at 16bit / 100kHz and far exceed the instruction refresh requirements of the large-format motion stage 10 at 24bit / 1kHz. Therefore, the solution provided in this embodiment can reach a relatively high level in the industry in terms of performance.

[0044] In this embodiment, in order to simplify the large-format laser processing system, an auxiliary HDMI decoding circuit is built using consumer-grade chips with a large market demand (made into a consumer-grade graphics card 2 to realize the production of the HDMI decoder 4), so as to use an ordinary computer 1 and the HDMI decoder 4 to replace the complex laser processing industrial system, greatly reducing costs, getting rid of the dependence on industrial chips, reducing the impact of the instability of the chip supply chain, and improving the stability of the overall price and delivery time.

[0045] Further, the trigger information of the laser 7 is sent by the laser controller 6.

[0046] In one example, see the appendix Figure 3 As shown, in S4, the HDMI decoder 4 includes an input channel and nine output channels numbered from 1 to 9. The input channel is used for the return transmission of the switching signal, and the output channel numbered 9 is used for the transmission of the video data stream corresponding to the switching signal. The multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the XY axes and two spare axes of the motion stage 10 are transmitted using the output channels numbered 5, 6, 7, and 8. The multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the X, Y, and Z axes of the galvanometer 9 are respectively transmitted using the output channels numbered 1, 2, and 3. The audio data stream corresponding to the trigger information of the laser is transmitted using the output channel numbered 4.

[0047] In one example, the input switching signal includes an enabling signal and a disabling signal. The output switching signal is mainly an enabling signal, which includes an enabling signal and a disabling signal, or can be other information such as an interrupt signal.

[0048] In one example, the output switching signal includes an alarm signal and an error signal. The output switching signal is not limited to an alarm signal and an error signal, or can be other information such as a fire signal.

[0049] A large-format laser processing system and method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0050] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and the purpose is to enable those familiar with this technology to understand the content of the present invention and implement it, and it should not be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit and essence of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface, characterized in that: It comprises a computer (1) equipped with a graphics card (2) and an HDMI interface (3), an HDMI decoder (4), a galvanometer servo driver (8), a galvanometer (9), a motion stage servo driver (5), a motion stage (10) and a laser (7); The computer (1) is electrically connected to an HDMI decoder (4) via an HDMI interface (3); the computer (1) can interact with a galvanometer servo driver (8), a motion stage servo driver (5) and a laser (7) via the HDMI decoder (4); the galvanometer servo driver (8) is electrically connected to a galvanometer (9) and is used to drive the motion thereof; the motion stage servo driver (5) is electrically connected to a motion stage (10) and is used to drive the motion thereof; The computer (1) is installed with laser processing software (11); Also included is a laser controller (6) connected between the HDMI decoder (4) and the laser (7); The method comprises the following steps: S1, laser processing software (11) segments a graphic a to be processed; S2, the laser processing software (11) uses the powerful parallel computing function of the graphics card (2) to optimize the trajectories of the several graphics b after segmentation to obtain the optimal processing sequence; and decomposes the optimized trajectories to obtain the trajectory information of the motion stage (10), the trajectory information of the galvanometer (9) and the trigger information of the laser (7); S3, the laser processing software (11) performs audio encoding on the trajectory information of the motion platform (10), the trajectory information of the galvanometer (9) and the trigger information of the laser (7), respectively encoding them into a plurality of 24-bit / 96-kHz audio data streams, and the laser processing software (11) can perform video encoding on the output switching signal, encoding it into a 120-Hz video data stream; S4, the HDMI decoder (4) decodes all the above audio data streams, and then sends all the decoded audio data streams to the motion stage servo driver (5), the galvanometer servo driver (8) and the laser (7) respectively; the HDMI decoder (4) decodes all the above video data streams, and then synchronously sends the decoded video data streams to the motion stage servo driver (5), the galvanometer servo driver (8) and the laser (7); the HDMI decoder (4) can also return the input switch quantity signals of the motion stage (10), the galvanometer (9) and the laser (7); S5, the motion platform (10), the galvanometer (9) and the laser (7) work in conjunction to complete the laser processing.

2. The large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface according to claim 1, characterized in that: In S4, the HDMI decoder (4) includes an input channel and nine output channels numbered from 1 to 9. The input channel is used for the input of the return transmission of the switching signal, and the output channel numbered 9 is used for the output of the transmission of the video data stream corresponding to the switching signal. Multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the XY axes and two spare axes of the moving stage (10) are respectively transmitted using the output channels numbered 5, 6, 7, and 8. Multiple audio data streams corresponding to the trajectory information of the X, Y, and Z axes of the galvanometer (9) are respectively transmitted using the output channels numbered 1, 2, and 3. The audio data stream corresponding to the trigger information of the laser is transmitted using the output channel numbered 4.

3. The large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface according to claim 2, wherein: The input switching signal includes an enabling signal and a disabling signal.

4. The large-format laser processing method based on a graphics card and an HDMI interface according to claim 2, characterized in that: The output switching signal includes an alarm signal and an error signal.

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