Laser processing system
By using diorganopolysiloxane as a coolant in the laser processing system, the problem of inconvenience in the use of cooling media in the prior art is solved, efficient and safe cooling effect is achieved, and leakage is detected through UV dye, suitable for all lasers Processing tasks.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380038732.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-05-06
- Filing Date
- 2023-04-12
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-03
AI Technical Summary
In laser processing systems, existing cooling media such as water and glycol-based cooling liquids are inconvenient to use in certain industrial environments, and compressed air cooling requires redesign of cooling channels, which cannot effectively derive sufficient heat in small structural spaces.
Using Diorganopolysiloxan as coolant provides efficient, safe and compatible cooling solutions by circulating in the cooling circuit without changing the plug connectors of existing optics or cables.
Reliable cooling of the optical components of the laser processing system under all usage conditions is achieved, cooling efficiency is improved, cost is reduced, and leakage detection is facilitated by adding UV dyes.
Smart Images
Figure CN119255886A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] During the laser processing process, heat is generated at various locations in the laser processing system. In the laser device itself, the laser beam is also guided through optical lenses and generates heat there that must be dissipated. For precise material processing, it is also particularly important to keep the temperature of the processing optics and scanner optics constant in order to avoid material expansion on these optics and thus focus shifts. Heat is also generated at the plug connections between the laser light cables, which can lead to material expansion and thus to changes in the beam. Laser processing systems are therefore equipped with a cooling device, which usually has a water cooling circuit. Background Art
[0002] However, in various industrial environments, such as in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, the use of water as a cooling medium for plug connections for process optics and laser light cables is not acceptable, since even small water leaks can lead to severe damage to components or systems.
[0003] As an alternative to water, glycol-based cooling liquids can also be used as coolants. However, these glycol-based cooling liquids cannot be used in all industrial environments due to their flammability. Ethylene glycol is also hygroscopic. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that over time more and more water from the surrounding air diffuses into such coolants.
[0004] An alternative to cooling with liquid coolants is cooling with compressed air. However, switching to a cooling concept based on compressed air would mean redesigning the components to be cooled. The cooling channels of the optical components and the plug connections of the laser light cables of existing laser processing systems are not designed for the pressure levels ideally required for air or gas cooling in terms of their cross-section and their course. In particular, in the plug connections of laser light cables, relatively large amounts of heat must be dissipated in a very small installation space. However, the cross-section of the cooling channels is so small that, especially at high laser powers, sufficient cooling medium can be conducted through the components essentially only with liquid cooling. Summary of the invention
[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a laser machining system in the case of which reliable cooling of the optical components of the system is ensured under all conditions of use.
[0006] This object is achieved by a laser processing system, which has a laser device, at least one processing optical device and / or scanner optical device and at least one laser cable with a plug connection, characterized in that a cooling circuit is provided, which passes through or extends at least into the processing optical device and / or scanner optical device and the plug connection of the at least one laser cable, and in which diorganopolysiloxane (diorganopolysiloxan) circulates as a coolant in the cooling circuit.
[0007] Diorganopolysiloxanes or silicone oils do not contain any water, but are hydrophobic. In addition, diorganopolysiloxanes are chemically inert, non-corrosive, non-flammable, non-conductive, non-toxic and compatible with all common building materials and sealing materials. Other positive properties include their high temperature resistance and very low freezing point. Silicone oils are also available in various viscosities. These properties enable them to be used as cooling liquids for almost all laser processing tasks, with the exception of the processing of workpieces that are subsequently coated with paint (for example in automobile body construction).
[0008] No changes are required to existing processing optics or scanner optics or plug connectors for laser cables. The cooling efficiency is higher than when compressed air is used. In addition, the use of diorganopolysiloxane as a coolant is cheaper than using compressed air.
[0009] In principle, it is also possible to use a cooling circuit with diorganopolysiloxane to cool the laser device. Preferably, however, a separate cooling water circuit can be provided to cool the laser. This makes it particularly easy to retrofit existing systems that already work with water cooling. All that is required is to set up a separate cooling circuit with diorganopolysiloxane for the optical components. Water cooling of the laser can be retained. In this case, the separate cooling circuit can be formed by a cooling device and a line leading to the optical components of the laser processing system (i.e. the processing optics and / or the scanner optics and the plug connection) and a return line therefrom, wherein the line is fixedly connected to the optical components. If the optical components are replaced, leaks that inevitably occur when opening the cooling circuit will therefore occur in the area of the cooling device and not in the area of the optical components.
[0010] A further advantage occurs if the diorganopolysiloxane has a viscosity similar to or identical to that of water. In this case, similar flow conditions are created for the coolant when using a cooling device designed for water.
[0011] In order to make it easier to detect leaks in cooling circuits, UV (Ultraviolet) luminescent dyes can be added to diorganopolysiloxanes. By irradiating with UV light, leaks can be found very quickly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The schematic diagram shows two different cooling concepts. In the accompanying drawings:
[0013] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a laser processing system having a common cooling circuit for all components;
[0014] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a separate cooling circuit for optical components of a laser processing system is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Figure 1 The laser processing system 10 shown has a laser device 11, which is equipped with at least one laser (not shown) for providing laser radiation. In addition, processing optics and / or scanner optics 12 are provided, which are connected to the laser device 11 via a laser light cable 13 and a plug connection 14. Here, processing optics are devices that guide a processing beam to a workpiece, and scanner optics are devices that guide a scanning beam for monitoring the processing process to a workpiece. It should be understood that in a similar manner, several processing optics and / or scanner optics 12 can be connected to the laser device 11. The laser device 11 is cooled via a cooling device 15, which is connected to the laser device 11 via a coolant supply 16 and a coolant return 17. However, the cooling device 15 not only cools the laser device 11, but also cools the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12 and the plug connection 14 via a supply line 17 and a return line 18 between the laser device 11 and the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12. This means that a single cooling circuit is provided for all components of the laser processing system 10, namely the laser device 11, the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12 and the laser light cable plug connection or plug connection 14. According to the invention, instead of the cooling water usually used for cooling the laser processing system, a diorganopolysiloxane is circulated as a coolant in the cooling circuit.
[0016] Alternatively, the laser device 11 can be cooled as usual with cooling water, and a separate cooling device 19 with diorganopolysiloxane as coolant can additionally be provided, such as Figure 2 A separate cooling device 19 is connected to the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12' and the plug connection 14' for the laser light cable 13' via a supply line 20 and a return line 21 and thus cools them independently of the laser device, which is Figure 2 Not shown in the figure, but connected to the processing optics and / or the scanner optics 12' via a laser light cable 13'. Figure 2The alternative shown is particularly suitable for retrofitting existing systems. The cooling of the laser device 11 does not need to be changed for this. Only the supply line 17 and the return line 18 ( Figure 1 ), and for this purpose a separate cooling device 19 is installed, which uses diorganopolysiloxane as a coolant for the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12 ′ and the plug connection 14 ′.
[0017] When switching to cooling with diorganopolysiloxane, it is important to ensure that the cooling channels of the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12' and the plug connection 14' are thoroughly flushed with dry air in order to completely remove any water still present from the cooling channels. In addition, the processing optics and / or scanner optics 12' cooled with diorganopolysiloxane should be kept separate or separated from the water-cooled optics in the event of maintenance, so that no silicone oil is transferred to the optics that are subsequently used for the following processing task, in which the workpiece must be free of grease and oil.
Claims
1. A laser processing system (10) comprising a laser device (11), at least one processing optical device and / or scanner optical device (12, 12') and at least one laser optical cable (13, 13') with a plug connection (14, 14'), characterized in that: A cooling circuit with a cooling device (15, 19) is provided, which passes at least through the processing optics and / or scanner optics (12, 12') and the plug connection (14, 14') of the at least one laser light cable (13, 13'), and in which diorganopolysiloxane circulates as a coolant.
2. The laser processing system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling device (15) of the cooling circuit also cools the laser device (11).
3. The laser processing system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The separate cooling device (19) of the cooling circuit cools only the processing optics and / or scanner optics (12') and the plug connection (14') of the laser processing system and comprises pipelines (20, 21) leading from the separate cooling device (19) to the processing optics and / or scanner optics (12') and the plug connection (14') and back therefrom, wherein the pipelines (20, 21) are fixedly connected to the processing optics and / or scanner optics (12') and the plug connection (14').
4. The laser processing system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The diorganopolysiloxane has a viscosity corresponding to the viscosity of water.
5. The laser processing system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that A UV luminescent dye is added to the diorganopolysiloxane.
6. A cooling circuit with a cooling device (15, 19) in a laser processing system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims.