A gas chamber device and system for laser processing with a protective gas filled

Abstract

The present invention discloses a gas chamber device and system for laser processing with a protective gas filled therein. The gas chamber device includes a gas chamber main body and a plurality of motion units. The gas chamber main body includes a processing chamber. Gas ports are respectively provided at the bottom position of the front side and the top position of the rear side of the processing chamber. A workpiece fixture and a gas concentration monitoring sensor are arranged inside the processing chamber. Among them, the workpiece fixture is used for clamping the workpiece to be processed; the gas concentration monitoring sensor is used for monitoring the oxygen concentration in the processing chamber, and when the oxygen concentration is greater than a preset threshold, a protective gas filling instruction is issued, so as to introduce the protective gas into the processing chamber through the air inlet according to the filling instruction; the plurality of motion units are used to control the three-dimensional motion and rotational motion of the workpiece to be processed in the processing chamber. The present invention can, on the premise of ensuring a strict protective gas atmosphere during the laser processing, enable the workpiece to perform free multi-dimensional motion and at the same time reduce the amount of protective gas required.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of laser precision machining, and particularly to a gas chamber device and system for filling a protective gas in laser machining. Background Art

[0002] The scope of laser machining covers almost all metallic and non-metallic materials. The laser beam can be focused to a very small size, thus being particularly suitable for precision machining. Laser thermal machining generally utilizes the thermal effect generated by the interaction between the laser and the material to melt the material and then solidify it to complete processes such as welding, shaping, cladding, and polishing.

[0003] During the interaction between the laser and the material, when the material contacts oxygen in the air during the melting and solidification processes, an oxidation reaction will occur, which will affect the properties and appearance of the material, especially during the precision machining process. Existing methods to avoid the contact between the material and air are as follows: 1. Placing the workpiece in a vacuum environment; 2. Adding a blowing device to the processing head to form a protective environment on the surface of the workpiece processing area with a high-speed flowing gas; 3. Placing the workpiece statically in a processing gas chamber, and realizing the required machining by the movement of the laser and the moving platform.

[0004] However, with the wide application of laser precision machining, the sizes and shapes of workpieces to be machined are diverse, and the demands are extensive. The existing methods to avoid the contact between the material and air are difficult to meet the actual needs. For example, the vacuum environment has strict requirements for airtightness and is not suitable for being too large in volume. It is difficult to add a motion device in the vacuum environment to realize the movement and inversion of the workpiece. The existing blowing devices do not meet the requirements of precision machining. If the gas flow rate is too high, it will affect the surface morphology of the molten pool formed on the surface of the workpiece due to the thermal effect. If the gas flow rate is reduced, a strict protective gas environment cannot be formed, and the gas consumed by the blowing method is usually dozens of times that of the gas chamber with a flowing gas. The existing flowing gas chamber can only hold samples and cannot make the samples move in the gas chamber. Therefore, how to form a strict protective gas atmosphere during the laser machining process while enabling the workpiece to perform free multi-dimensional movement and reducing the amount of protective gas required is still an urgent problem to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the related art to some extent. For this reason, the first object of the present invention is to provide a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser machining, which can form a strict protective gas atmosphere during the laser machining process, enable the workpiece to perform free multi-dimensional movement, and reduce the amount of protective gas required at the same time.

[0006] The second object of the present invention is to provide a system for filling a protective gas in laser machining.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention is realized through the following technical solutions:

[0008] A gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing, comprising:

[0009] A placement platform 10;

[0010] A gas chamber main body 20, the gas chamber main body 20 is arranged on the placement platform 10, the gas chamber main body 20 includes a processing chamber 21, gas ports 210 are respectively opened at the front bottom position and the rear top position of the processing chamber 21, and a workpiece fixture 211 and a gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 are arranged inside the processing chamber 21;

[0011] Wherein, the workpiece fixture 211 is used for clamping the workpiece to be processed; the gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 is used for monitoring the oxygen concentration in the processing chamber 21, and when the oxygen concentration is greater than a preset threshold, a protective gas filling instruction is issued, so as to introduce the protective gas into the processing chamber 21 through the air inlet in the gas port 210 according to the filling instruction.

[0012] Optionally, the gas port 210 is configured to be an air inlet and an air outlet, and the gas port 210 is set as an air inlet or an air outlet according to the type and density of the protective gas.

[0013] Optionally, the opening shape of the gas port 210 is arc-shaped, so as to buffer the flow rate of the protective gas introduced into the processing chamber 21 and expand the flow area of the protective gas.

[0014] Optionally, the gas chamber main body 20 further includes:

[0015] A telescopic flexible folding mechanism 22, arranged on both sides of the processing chamber 21, the telescopic flexible folding mechanism 22 is used for stretching or compressing the length according to the size of the workpiece to be processed.

[0016] Optionally, the gas chamber device further includes: a first motion unit 30, and the first motion unit 30 includes:

[0017] A rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31, hermetically connected to the telescopic flexible folding mechanism 22 through a bearing;

[0018] A first motor, the first motor is used for driving the rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31 to rotate and driving the workpiece fixture 211 to rotate when running.

[0019] Optionally, the gas chamber device further includes: a second motion unit 40, and the second motion unit 40 includes:

[0020] A pair of gears and a rack sleeved on the pair of gears;

[0021] A second motor, which is used to drive the pair of gears to rotate and drive the rack to operate when running, so as to drive the workpiece to be processed to move in the first direction.

[0022] Optionally, the air chamber device further includes: a third motion unit 50, and the third motion unit 50 includes:

[0023] A pair of worm wheels and a pair of worm shafts, and the worm wheels are connected to the corresponding worm shafts;

[0024] A driving wheel, which is arranged between the pair of worm wheels and meshes with each worm wheel;

[0025] A third motor, which is used to drive the driving wheel to rotate when running, so as to drive each worm wheel to rotate and drive the pair of worm shafts to move in the second direction.

[0026] Optionally, the air chamber device further includes: a fourth motion unit 60, and the fourth motion unit 60 includes:

[0027] A vertical motion mechanism 61, which is arranged on the placement platform 10;

[0028] A laser processing head support structure 62, which is arranged on the vertical motion mechanism 61, and the laser processing head support structure 62 is used to support the laser processing head;

[0029] A fourth motor, which is used to drive the vertical motion mechanism 61 and drive the laser processing head to move up and down in the vertical direction when running.

[0030] Optionally, the constituent materials of the telescopic flexible fold mechanism 22 at least include: polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyimide and polyethylene naphthalate.

[0031] To achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention provides a system for laser processing with filling of protective gas, including:

[0032] The above-mentioned air chamber device; and

[0033] A control module, and the control module includes:

[0034] A motor control unit, which is used to drive the motors in the air chamber device to operate;

[0035] A gas delivery control unit, which is used to receive a protective gas filling instruction, control the introduction of the protective gas into the processing chamber according to the protective gas filling instruction, and control the flow rate of the protective gas.

[0036] The present invention has at least the following technical effects:

[0037] The present invention provides a gas chamber device and system for filling a protective gas in laser processing, and designs a gas chamber body with a retractable flexible pleat mechanism and a gas inlet and outlet structure, providing a solution for providing a stable protective gas atmosphere for the workpiece in laser processing while consuming less protective gas. At the same time, the corresponding robotic arm and its motion structure can support the workpiece to achieve three-dimensional motion and rotational motion during processing, making up for the gap in the current laser processing field where, on the premise of forming a strict protective gas atmosphere during processing, the workpiece can achieve free multi-dimensional motion while reducing the required amount of protective gas.

[0038] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, become apparent in part from the following description, or be understood through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a front view schematic diagram of the overall structure of a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a side view schematic diagram of the overall structure of a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a top view schematic diagram of the overall structure of a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the structure of a system for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0044] The following details this embodiment, and the examples of the embodiment are shown in the drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0045] The following describes a gas chamber device and system for filling a protective gas in laser processing according to this embodiment with reference to the drawings.

[0046] Figure 1The figure is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a gas chamber device for filling a protective gas in laser processing provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 1 shown, the gas chamber device includes: a placement platform 10 and a gas chamber main body 20.

[0047] Among them, the gas chamber main body 20 is arranged on the placement platform 10. The gas chamber main body 20 includes a processing chamber 21. Gas ports 210, namely gas grooves, are respectively opened at the bottom position of the front side and the top position of the rear side of the processing chamber 21. A workpiece fixture 211 and a gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 are arranged inside the processing chamber 21.

[0048] In this embodiment, the workpiece fixture 211 is used to clamp the workpiece to be processed. The gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 is specifically arranged near the processing area inside the processing chamber 21, and it can, according to the processing requirements, monitor the gas concentration in the processing area in real time. For example, when it is necessary to strictly isolate oxygen during the processing, the gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 can be used to monitor the oxygen concentration in the processing chamber 21, and when the oxygen concentration is greater than the preset threshold, it issues a protective gas filling instruction, so that the external control module can pass the protective gas into the processing chamber 21 through the intake port in the gas port 210 according to the filling instruction, so as to increase the gas inflow rate and increase the concentration of the protective gas in the processing chamber 21. Of course, the gas concentration monitoring sensor 212 in this embodiment can also directly transmit the monitored gas concentration value to the external gas concentration receiving and processing unit, and the gas concentration receiving and processing unit performs subsequent arithmetic processing.

[0049] In this embodiment, the gas port 210, namely the gas groove, is connected to the intake and outlet structure, and it can be set as an intake port and an outlet port. Specifically, it can be set as an intake port or an outlet port according to the type and density of the protective gas.

[0050] For example, when the protective gas is argon, since the relative molecular mass of argon is larger than that of air, the gas hole 210 at the bottom position of the front side of the processing chamber 21 can be set as the intake hole, and the gas hole 210 at the top position of the rear side can be set as the outlet hole. When the relative molecular mass of the input gas is smaller than that of air, the gas hole 210 at the bottom position of the front side can be set as the outlet hole, and the gas hole 210 at the top position of the rear side can be set as the intake hole.

[0051] The intake and outlet structure of the gas hole 210 in this embodiment is an arc structure, which can be used to buffer the flow rate of the protective gas introduced into the gas chamber and expand the gas circulation area, so that the gas entering the gas chamber is more uniform and the diffusion area is larger.

[0052] Please continue to refer to Figure 1, the air chamber main body 20 further includes: a retractable flexible pleat mechanism 22, which is arranged on both sides of the processing chamber 21. The constituent material of the retractable flexible pleat mechanism 22 is a flexible material with a certain hardness, including but not limited to: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyimide (PI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). Its structure and length can be stretched or compressed according to the size of the processed sample, and the stretching direction can be positive stretching or negative stretching.

[0053] The air chamber device further includes a first motion unit 30, and the first motion unit 30 includes: a rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31 and a first motor. Among them, the rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31 is hermetically connected to the retractable flexible pleat mechanism 22 through a bearing, and the position of the rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31 is adjustable; the first motor is connected to the rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31. When the first motor operates, it can drive the rotatable workpiece clamping arm 31 to rotate, and drive the workpiece fixture 211 to rotate, thereby driving the workpiece to be processed to perform a rotational motion in the processing chamber 21.

[0054] The air chamber device further includes a second motion unit 40, and the second motion unit 40 includes: a pair of gears and a rack sleeved on the pair of gears; and a second motor. When the second motor operates, it can drive the pair of gears to rotate, and drive the rack to operate, thereby driving the processing robotic arm connected to the rack to move in the Figure 1 x-axis direction marked in, that is, driving the workpiece to be processed manipulated by the processing robotic arm to move in the first direction.

[0055] As Figures 2 - 4 shown, the air chamber device further includes a third motion unit 50, and the third motion unit 50 includes: a pair of worm wheels, a pair of worm gears, a driving wheel and a third motor. Among them, each worm wheel is connected to the corresponding worm gear, and the driving wheel is arranged between the pair of worm wheels and meshes with each worm wheel. When the third motor in this embodiment operates, it can drive the driving wheel to rotate, thereby driving each worm wheel to rotate, and driving each worm gear to move in the Figure 1 y-axis direction marked in in the same direction, that is, driving each worm gear to move in the second direction. In this embodiment, when the worm gear moves in the y-axis direction, it can drive the workpiece to be processed manipulated by the processing robotic arm to move in the y-axis direction.

[0056] The air chamber device further includes a fourth motion unit 60, which includes a vertical motion mechanism 61, a laser processing head support structure 62, and a fourth motor. Among them, the vertical motion mechanism 61 is arranged on the placement platform 10; the laser processing head support structure 62 is arranged on the vertical motion mechanism 61, and the laser processing head support structure 62 is used to support the laser processing head. When the fourth motor in this embodiment operates, it can drive the vertical motion mechanism 61 and drive the laser processing head support structure 62 to move up and down in the vertical direction, thereby driving the laser processing head to move up and down in the vertical direction, that is, move up and down in the z-axis direction identified in Figure 1 The above.

[0057] It should be noted that the air chamber device further includes an adjustable workpiece support arm 70, which is hermetically connected to the telescopic flexible fold structure 22 through a bearing, and is used to support the air chamber body 20, and its position is adjustable.

[0058] In actual operation, the sample to be polished, that is, the workpiece to be processed, can be placed on the plane formed by x and y of the three-coordinate high-precision moving platform. This plane can move in the x and y planes. The laser light source can move in the z-axis direction. Then, the combined action of the first motion unit 30 to the fourth motion unit 60 can determine the processing trajectory line of the sample to be polished.

[0059] During the polishing process, the combined motion in the x, y, and z directions is controlled by the motion control unit of the mechanical clamping arm, and the polishing of the three-dimensional object surface is realized. The combined motion speed is specifically: v(t) = (vx(t), vy(t), vz(t)).

[0060] It should be noted that the trajectory line of a single pass of laser polishing is on the plane formed by the x and z directions. Among them, the forward speed of the laser is vy(t), which is the main speed that determines the formation and flow of the molten pool. The up and down movement speed of the laser is vz(t), which determines the distance between the laser walking trajectory line and the contour line and tries to keep it within a consistent range; the intermittent movement speed is vx(t), and the regulation of this speed is mainly to adjust the laser to the next trajectory line.

[0061] In this embodiment, the first motion unit 30 to the fourth motion unit 60 can jointly complete the three-dimensional motion and rotational motion of the sample to be polished during the processing. This set of motion methods can avoid the jitter of the sample caused by a single mechanical arm during the motion process and the relatively small range of motion speed limits, and provides a processing method for realizing three-dimensional and rotational laser processing of small and medium-sized samples in the air chamber.

[0062] Figure 5 It is a structural block diagram of a system for laser processing with a protective gas filled provided by an embodiment of the present invention. AsFigure 5 As shown, the system includes the air chamber device and the control module described above. Among them, the control module includes: a motor control unit and a gas delivery control unit.

[0063] In this embodiment, the motor control unit can be used to drive the first to fourth motors in the air chamber device to operate, so as to realize the three-dimensional and rotational movements of the sample to be polished in the air chamber. The gas delivery control unit in this embodiment can be used to receive the protective gas filling instruction sent by the gas concentration monitoring sensor, and control the introduction of the protective gas into the processing chamber according to the protective gas filling instruction, and control the flow rate or flow of the protective gas.

[0064] In summary, an air chamber device and system for laser processing with a protective gas filling proposed by the present invention designs an air chamber body with a retractable flexible pleat mechanism and an air inlet and outlet structure, and provides a solution for providing a stable protective gas atmosphere for the workpiece in laser processing while consuming less protective gas. At the same time, the corresponding robotic arm and its motion structure can support the workpiece to achieve three-dimensional motion and rotational motion during processing, filling the gap in the current laser processing field to ensure a strict protective gas atmosphere during processing while enabling the workpiece to achieve free multi-dimensional motion and reducing the required amount of protective gas.

[0065] It should be noted that in this article, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including one..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the said element.

[0066] Although the content of the present invention has been introduced in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be recognized that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. After those skilled in the art have read the above content, various modifications and substitutions to the present invention will be obvious. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An air chamber device for laser processing filled with protective gas, characterized in that, it includes: a placement platform (10); an air chamber main body (20), the air chamber main body (20) is arranged on the placement platform (10), the air chamber main body (20) includes a processing chamber (21), air ports (210) are respectively arranged at the front bottom position and the rear top position of the processing chamber (21), and a workpiece fixture (211) and a gas concentration monitoring sensor (212) are arranged inside the processing chamber (21); wherein, the workpiece fixture (211) is used for clamping the workpiece to be processed; the gas concentration monitoring sensor (212) is used for monitoring the oxygen concentration in the processing chamber (21), and when the oxygen concentration is greater than a preset threshold, a protective gas filling instruction is issued, so as to introduce protective gas into the processing chamber (21) through the air inlet in the air port (210) according to the filling instruction; the opening shape of the air port (210) is arc-shaped, so as to buffer the flow rate of the protective gas introduced into the processing chamber (21) and expand the flow area of the protective gas; the air chamber main body (20) further includes: a telescopic flexible folding mechanism (22), arranged on both sides of the processing chamber (21), the telescopic flexible folding mechanism (22) is used for stretching or compressing the length according to the size of the workpiece to be processed; the air chamber device further includes: a first motion unit (30), the first motion unit (30) includes: a rotatable workpiece clamping arm (31), hermetically connected to the telescopic flexible folding mechanism (22) through a bearing; a first motor, the first motor is used for driving the rotatable workpiece clamping arm (31) to rotate and driving the workpiece fixture (211) to rotate when operating; the air chamber device further includes: a second motion unit (40), the second motion unit (40) includes: a pair of gears and a rack sleeved on the pair of gears; a second motor, the second motor is used for driving the pair of gears to rotate and driving the rack to operate when operating, so as to drive the workpiece to be processed to move in the first direction; the air chamber device further includes: a third motion unit (50), the third motion unit (50) includes: a pair of worm wheels and a pair of worm shafts, the worm wheels are connected to the corresponding worm shafts; a driving wheel, arranged between the pair of worm wheels and meshing with each worm wheel; a third motor, the third motor is used for driving the driving wheel to rotate when operating, so as to drive each worm wheel to rotate and drive a pair of worm shafts to move in the second direction.

2. The air chamber device for laser processing filled with protective gas according to claim 1, characterized in that, the air port (210) is used to be set as an air inlet and an air outlet, and the air port (210) is set as an air inlet or an air outlet according to the type and density of the protective gas.

3. The air chamber device for laser processing filled with protective gas according to claim 1, characterized in that, it further includes a fourth motion unit (60), the fourth motion unit (60) includes: A vertical motion mechanism (61), disposed on the placement platform (10); A laser processing head support structure (62), disposed on the vertical motion mechanism (61), and the laser processing head support structure (62) is used to support the laser processing head; A fourth motor, which is used to drive the vertical motion mechanism (61) and drive the laser processing head to move up and down in the vertical direction when operating.

4. The air chamber device for laser processing and filling with a protective gas according to claim 3, characterized in that The constituent materials of the retractable flexible fold mechanism (22) at least include: polydimethylsiloxane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyimide, and polyethylene naphthalate.

5. A system for laser processing and filling with a protective gas, characterized in that it includes: The air chamber device according to any one of claims 1-4; and A control module, the control module includes: A motor control unit, used to drive the operation of each motor in the air chamber device; A gas delivery control unit, used to receive a protective gas filling instruction, and control the introduction of the protective gas into the processing chamber according to the protective gas filling instruction, and control the flow rate of the protective gas.

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