Continuous and pulse laser mixed cleaning device and method

Abstract

The invention provides a continuous and pulse laser mixed cleaning device and method, relates to the technical field of laser cleaning, and solves the technical problem that it is difficult to give consideration to the cleaning effect and the cleaning efficiency in the prior art. And the pulse laser and the continuous laser are connected with the PC control end through the motion controller. The pulse laser and the continuous laser are combined, the continuous laser and the pulse laser are mixed and then output, the advantages of two laser types are achieved under the condition that energy loss is reduced as much as possible, and on the premise that the cleaning quality is not compromised, the cleaning time is greatly shortened to be close to or even superior to the level of a continuous laser cleaning machine; the production bottleneck is effectively relieved, the overall operation efficiency is improved, and the application range of the laser cleaning field is wider.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of laser cleaning, and in particular to a laser hybrid cleaning device and method. Background Art

[0002] Lasers are mainly divided into two categories: continuous lasers and pulsed lasers, each with unique advantages and limitations. Continuous lasers have a long focal depth and a commonly used gun tip that can clean a wide area, which makes the cleaning efficiency high, but it is not effective for cleaning certain materials such as rubber. Pulsed lasers have a narrow focal depth and a narrow cleaning width, but they have stronger penetration and accuracy. Although the cleaning effect is good, the cleaning efficiency is low.

[0003] In the field of industrial applications, with the rapid development of lasers and the continuous deepening of research on the mechanism of laser cleaning, surface quality monitoring and characterization methods have become increasingly complete and comprehensive, the surface quality of laser cleaning materials has been improved, and the cleaning accuracy and efficiency have gradually increased. The laser cleaning objects are divided into two parts: substrates and cleaning objects. The substrates mainly include steel, light alloys, non-ferrous metals, etc. The cleaning objects mainly include rust, oxide film, paint layer, coating, oil stains and particles. According to the different cleaning objects, the laser cleaning equipment on the market is further subdivided into two categories: pulsed lasers and continuous lasers. Pulsed lasers refer to lasers with a single laser pulse width of less than 0.25 seconds and work once every certain period of time. It has a large output power and penetration, but the focal depth and the cleanable width are narrow. Although the cleaning effect is good, the cleaning efficiency is low. Continuous lasers are lasers that emit light continuously, that is, they have a stable working state, a long focal depth, and a commonly used gun head that can clean a long width, which makes the cleaning efficiency high, but the cleaning effect is not good for some specific materials. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the technical problems that the prior art is difficult to strike a balance between cleaning effect and cleaning efficiency and has a narrow cleaning range, the present invention proposes a method for mixed cleaning of continuous and pulsed lasers, which mixes continuous laser and pulsed laser and outputs them, and has the advantages of both types of lasers while minimizing energy loss. By complementing the advantages of the two types of lasers, the application scope of the laser cleaning field is expanded.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is achieved as follows: A continuous and pulse laser mixed cleaning device comprises a laser cleaning module, wherein the laser cleaning module comprises a pulse laser and a continuous laser, and the pulse laser and the continuous laser are connected to a PC control terminal through a motion controller.

[0006] Preferably, the laser cleaning module also includes a semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror and a galvanometer; the pulse laser and the continuous laser are respectively arranged on both sides of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror, the output ends of the pulse laser and the continuous laser are arranged on the same straight line with the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror, and the output end of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror is arranged on the same straight line with the center point of the galvanometer; the pulse laser, the continuous laser and the galvanometer are all connected to the motion controller.

[0007] Preferably, the semi-transparent and semi-reflective hybrid mirror is a triangular prism hybrid mirror, one angle of the triangular prism hybrid mirror is a right angle, the cross section of the triangular prism hybrid mirror is a right triangle, and the prism sides corresponding to the two right-angled sides of the right triangle are coated with metal silver film or gold film.

[0008] A continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning method uses the above-mentioned continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device, comprising: selecting a cleaning shape and performing parameter debugging on a PC control end according to the object to be cleaned; the PC control end issues instructions to a motion controller based on the parameters and the selected cleaning shape, the motion controller controls the pulse laser and the continuous laser to output pulse laser and continuous laser to a semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixing mirror respectively according to the set parameters, the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixing mirror mixes the pulse laser and the continuous laser into a new laser and transmits it to a galvanometer, and the galvanometer converts the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line or other shapes for cleaning.

[0009] Preferably, the other shapes include arc, circle and Z-shape.

[0010] Preferably, the embedded program of the motion controller includes multiple basic interpolation programs. The motion controller executes the linear interpolation program in the basic interpolation program to control the galvanometer to convert the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line; the motion controller executes the arc interpolation program in the basic interpolation program to control the galvanometer to convert the laser point generated by the new laser into an arc.

[0011] Preferably, the parameters include the new laser power intensity, the duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser and the continuous laser; the new laser power intensity is controlled by adjusting the power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulse laser; the embedded program of the motion controller also includes a control program for controlling the pulse laser and the continuous laser.

[0012] Preferably, the power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulsed laser is 3.8-4.5:1.

[0013] Preferably, the parameter debugging method is: connecting the motion controller to the PC control end, connecting the parameter input ports of the pulse laser and the continuous laser to the motion controller, calling the control program on the PC control end and writing the code to control the pulse laser and the continuous laser through the motion controller, thereby completing the parameter debugging.

[0014] Preferably, the control content includes the switching state, laser power intensity, duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser and the continuous laser.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The present invention utilizes a combination of pulsed lasers and continuous lasers to significantly shorten the cleaning time to a level close to or even better than that of a continuous laser cleaning machine without compromising the cleaning quality, effectively alleviating production bottlenecks and improving overall operating efficiency. At the same time, it inherits and optimizes the technical advantages of pulsed laser cleaning machines to ensure that the surface of the items to be cleaned is clean and free of residue after cleaning, meeting the strict requirements of high-precision processing and use. The successful development and application of the present invention will fill the gap between cleaning technology and efficiency in the current market, bring revolutionary changes to the field of laser cleaning, and promote technological upgrades and efficiency improvements in related industrial chains. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a subroutine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] In the figure, 1 is the PC control terminal, 2 is the motion controller, 3 is the pulse laser, 4 is the continuous laser, 5 is the semi-transparent and semi-reflective hybrid mirror, and 6 is the galvanometer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] Example 1 A continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device, such as Figure 1As shown, it includes a laser cleaning module, which includes a pulse laser 3 and a continuous laser 4, and the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 are connected to the PC control terminal 1 through a motion controller 2. Among them, the laser cleaning module uses the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 to generate a combined laser beam, the motion controller 2 is mainly used to drive the laser cleaning module to move under the control of the PC control terminal 1, and the PC control terminal 1 is mainly used to issue movement instructions to the motion controller 2, thereby controlling the movement of the laser cleaning module.

[0022] Specifically, the laser cleaning module further includes a semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror 5 and a galvanometer mirror 6 .

[0023] Among them, the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 are respectively arranged on both sides of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror 5, the output ends of the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 are arranged on the same straight line with the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror 5, and the output end of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror 5 is arranged on the same straight line with the center point of the galvanometer 6. The pulse laser 3, the continuous laser 4 and the galvanometer 6 are all connected to the motion controller 2. The pulse laser 3 is used to generate pulsed laser, and the continuous laser 4 is used to generate continuous laser. The galvanometer 6 includes an XY axis lens and a motor, and the galvanometer 6 controls the output position of the laser by controlling the rotation angle of the XY axis lens through the motor.

[0024] The semi-transparent and semi-reflective hybrid mirror 5 is a triangular prism hybrid mirror, one of the corners of the triangular prism hybrid mirror is a right angle, the cross section of the triangular prism hybrid mirror is a right triangle, and the prism sides corresponding to the two right angles of the right triangle are plated with a metal silver film. The metal silver film has a certain resistance to laser, is not easy to fall off, and has a low damage threshold and a long working life. The energy loss of the new laser mixed by the continuous laser and the pulsed laser through the semi-transparent and semi-reflective hybrid mirror is within 4%.

[0025] Optionally, the prism side surfaces corresponding to the two right-angled sides of the right-angled triangle are plated with a metal gold film.

[0026] Optionally, the cross section of the triangular prism hybrid mirror is an isosceles right triangle.

[0027] Example 2 A continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning method, using the continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device described in Example 1, comprising: According to the items to be cleaned, the PC control terminal 1 selects the cleaning shape and performs parameter debugging; the PC control terminal 1 issues instructions to the motion controller 2 based on the parameters and the selected cleaning shape, and the motion controller 2 controls the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 to output the pulse laser and the continuous laser to the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixer 5 according to the set parameters, and the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixer 5 combines the pulse laser and the continuous laser into a new laser and transmits it to the galvanometer 6, and the galvanometer 6 converts the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line or other shapes for cleaning. The other shapes include arc, circle and Z shape.

[0028] Specifically, if the laser point generated by the new laser is not converted into a straight line or other shapes by the galvanometer 6, the combined laser beam is focused on a point, the cleaning efficiency is extremely low, and the direction and position cannot be controlled. Therefore, converting the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line or other shapes by the galvanometer 6 for cleaning can effectively improve the cleaning efficiency.

[0029] Furthermore, the program embedded in the motion controller 2 includes some basic interpolation programs. For example, a straight line interpolation program can directly draw a straight line from the current point to the target point; an arc interpolation program can draw an arc from the current point to the target point.

[0030] The motion controller 2 controls the galvanometer 6 to convert the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line by executing the linear interpolation program; and controls the galvanometer 6 to convert the laser point generated by the new laser into an arc by executing the arc interpolation program.

[0031] For a circle, if you draw a circle directly, you only need to enter the center (X, Y) and radius. If you need to fill a circle, you can do so by programming a loop structure. In this loop, each time a circle is drawn, the radius is reduced by a value related to the filling integrity until the radius is reduced to zero. The loop ends and the filling effect of the circle is achieved.

[0032] For the Z-shape, enter the starting point coordinates (x, y) and the end point coordinates (A, B), and then program a loop structure to alternately draw using two linear interpolation programs. The first program draws a straight line from (x, y) to (x+(n-1), y), and the second program draws a straight line from (x, B) to (x+(n-1), B), where n is the number of loops. This loop will continue until the coordinates of (x+(n-1), B) are equal to the end point coordinates (A, B), at which point the loop ends. The number of loops n can also be adjusted by a value based on the completeness of the filling.

[0033] The parameter adjustment includes the new laser power intensity, the duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4.

[0034] Furthermore, the new laser power intensity is the total power output by the new laser. The new laser power intensity is precisely controlled by adjusting the power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulsed laser. Since the energy intensities of the continuous laser and the pulsed laser are different, the pulsed laser has a higher intensity than the continuous laser under the same power, and there is a large difference in the prices of the two lasers under the same power. Therefore, after comprehensive consideration of various aspects, the power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulsed laser is 3.8-4.5:1. In this embodiment, the power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulsed laser is 4.2:1.

[0035] The duty cycle refers to the ratio of the actual working time to the total time of the laser in one working cycle; for example, if the working cycle of the laser is 10 microseconds, and the actual working time of the laser is 1 microsecond in these 10 microseconds, then the duty cycle of the laser is 10%. The duty cycle directly affects the intensity of cleaning: when the duty cycle is high, the cleaning intensity is correspondingly enhanced; when the duty cycle is low, the cleaning intensity will be weakened. The speed refers to the moving speed of the laser, which determines the cleaning efficiency: the faster the speed, the fewer times the same place is cleaned; the slower the speed, the more times the cleaning is done.

[0036] The program embedded in the motion controller 2 also includes a control program for controlling the laser. When performing parameter debugging, the motion controller 2 is connected to the PC control terminal 1 via a network cable, and the parameter input ports of the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 are connected to the motion controller 2. The corresponding control program is called and the code is written on the PC control terminal 1 to achieve precise control of the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4 by the motion controller 2, thereby completing parameter debugging. The control content includes the switch state, laser power intensity, duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser 3 and the continuous laser 4.

[0037] Since the motion controller 2 can directly call the control program, there is no need for complex programming. For example, when setting the duty cycle, directly program ret = ZAux Direct SetPwmDuty(handle, 0, 0.2) to set the duty cycle to 20%. When programming with Labview, you can also directly call the ZAuxDirectSetPwmDuty VI program and enter 0.2 in the fValue port to set the duty cycle to 20%. Other parameters can also be directly called and set.

[0038] In this embodiment, the PC control terminal 1 is connected to the motion controller 2 through the IP address, and the parameter code is programmed into the corresponding event structure using labview programming. Each event structure uses a button to control a subroutine, such as Figure 2As shown, the galvanometer module and the laser module are in an event loop structure, but are controlled separately using different event results. After inputting parameters and the starting point coordinates and the end point coordinates in the subroutine, the PC control terminal 1 issues instructions to the motion controller 2, and the motion controller 2 controls the pulse laser 3, the continuous laser 4 and the galvanometer 6 to execute the instruction content.

[0039] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device, characterized in that: The laser cleaning module comprises a pulse laser (3) and a continuous laser (4), and the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4) are connected to a PC control terminal (1) via a motion controller (2).

2. The continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The laser cleaning module further comprises a semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror (5) and a galvanometer (6); the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4) are respectively arranged on both sides of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror (5); the output ends of the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4) are arranged on the same straight line with the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror (5); the output end of the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror hybrid mirror (5) and the center point of the galvanometer (6) are arranged on the same straight line; the pulse laser (3), the continuous laser (4) and the galvanometer (6) are all connected to the motion controller (2).

3. The continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The semi-transparent and semi-reflective hybrid mirror (5) is a triangular prism hybrid mirror, one corner of which is a right angle, the cross section of which is a right triangle, and the prism side surfaces corresponding to the two right angle sides of the right triangle are plated with a metal silver film or a gold film.

4. A continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning method, using the continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: include: According to the items to be cleaned, select the cleaning shape and adjust the parameters on the PC control terminal (1); The PC control end (1) issues instructions to the motion controller (2) based on the parameters and the selected cleaning shape. The motion controller (2) controls the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4) to output the pulse laser and the continuous laser to the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixing mirror (5) according to the set parameters respectively. The semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror mixing mirror (5) mixes the pulse laser and the continuous laser into a new laser and transmits it to the galvanometer (6). The galvanometer (6) converts the laser point generated by the new laser into a straight line or other shapes for cleaning.

5. The continuous and pulsed laser hybrid cleaning method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The other shapes include arc, circle and zigzag.

6. The continuous and pulsed laser hybrid cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The embedded program of the motion controller (2) includes a plurality of basic interpolation programs. The motion controller (2) executes a linear interpolation program in the basic interpolation program to control the galvanometer (6) to convert a laser point generated by a new laser into a straight line; the motion controller (2) executes an arc interpolation program in the basic interpolation program to control the galvanometer (6) to convert a laser point generated by a new laser into an arc.

7. The continuous and pulsed laser hybrid cleaning method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The parameters include the new laser power intensity, the duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4); the new laser power intensity is controlled by adjusting the power ratio of the continuous laser and the pulse laser; the embedded program of the motion controller (2) also includes a control program for controlling the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4).

8. The continuous and pulsed laser hybrid cleaning method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The power ratio of the continuous laser to the pulsed laser is 3.8-4.5:

1.

9. The continuous and pulsed laser mixed cleaning method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The parameter debugging method comprises: connecting a motion controller (2) to a PC control terminal (1), connecting parameter input ports of a pulse laser (3) and a continuous laser (4) to the motion controller (2), calling a control program and writing a code on the PC control terminal (1), and controlling the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4) through the motion controller (2), thereby completing parameter debugging.

10. The continuous and pulsed laser hybrid cleaning method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The contents of control include the switching state, laser power intensity, duty cycle and speed of the pulse laser (3) and the continuous laser (4).

Images