Laser processing head with extremely simple structure and laser processing system

Abstract

The invention discloses a laser processing head with an extremely simple structure. The laser processing head comprises a first shell and a second shell, wherein the first shell is internally provided with a light emitting channel and a cooling cavity which are axially through; the cooling cavity is located at the other end of the light emitting channel, the other end, away from the cooling cavity, of the light emitting channel extends to form a mounting structure, and the mounting structure is used for directly and fixedly mounting the first shell to the mounting surface of a second shell; an end cap is accommodated in the cooling cavity, one end of the end cap is provided with a laser optical fiber, and the end, away from the end cap, of the optical fiber penetrates through the first shell; by means of the laser machining head, the problems that an existing laser machining head is large in size, complex in assembly, not prone to centering adjustment and poor in cooling effect can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of laser processing, and particularly to a laser processing head and a laser processing system with an extremely simple structure.

Background Art

[0002] A laser processing system includes a laser and a processing head. Among them, the laser is used to provide a laser source for the processing head, so that the processing head controls the laser beam to perform laser cutting, laser welding and other operations. The output end of the laser includes a laser output head, and the processing head is composed of a light guiding and focusing part, a cooling part, a blowing part and a mechanical adjustment part.

[0003] In a laser processing system, the interface between the laser output head and the laser processing head needs to ensure that the laser can be coupled into the laser processing head without loss and accurately as much as possible. Currently, QBH and QD standard interfaces are mainly used in high-power lasers. The above interfaces are usually two-piece, consisting of a laser output head configured by the laser, that is, a standard plug, and a standard socket assembled on the laser processing head. The connection between the fiber optic plug and the fiber optic socket, and the connection between the fiber optic socket and the laser processing head must ensure sealing and be hermetically separated from the surrounding environment to prevent dirty particles from entering the beam path of the laser processing head.

[0004] However, during high-power laser processing, high-speed tremors will inevitably occur, resulting in increased wear between the fiber optic plug and the fiber optic socket, and between the fiber optic socket and the laser processing head. The generated particles enter the beam path of the laser processing head, which is extremely likely to burn out the optical lens.

[0005] Chinese Patent CN2021102220171, as Figure 1 shown, provides a new type of laser output head 20 that integrates the fiber optic plug and the fiber optic socket. By directly installing the laser output head 20 on the laser processing head 10, the wear between the fiber optic plug and the fiber optic socket is avoided. At the same time, the integrated structure enables the cooling channel originally only provided in the laser output head to extend to the fiber optic socket part, which can timely dissipate heat at the position where the end cap is located, and can efficiently take away the heat generated at the position where the end cap is located by the laser returning from the laser processing head.

[0006] However, due to the large power density carried by the laser, when the laser irradiates on the reflecting mirror and the focusing lens, even if the reflecting mirror and the focusing lens only absorb a very small part of the laser energy, it will still cause the reflecting mirror, the focusing lens and the light passing tube to heat up. Especially when the laser head works for a long time, it will cause the temperature of the light passing to rise, which will damage the focusing lens and the reflecting mirror. Especially during processing such as cutting, the temperature will gradually increase, and the temperature will affect the stability and accuracy of laser processing. If the heat dissipation is not timely, it is very easy to burn out the optical components in the processing head.

[0007] Traditional laser processing heads generally have cooling channels set up inside the processing head, and flowing cooling media is introduced into the cooling channels to remove the heat accumulated in the laser processing head. However, as the power of the laser head becomes higher and higher, the energy during processing becomes larger and larger, and the requirements for the cooling system are gradually increasing. Existing laser heads generally use a multi-channel water circulation method to cool the laser head, but this method makes the installation steps complicated.

[0008] At the same time, during the machining process, the installation errors between the various mechanical parts of the machining head will cause the optical path and gas path of the machining head to be misaligned, affecting the machining effect. [Summary of the invention]

[0009] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing head and its laser with a minimalist structure, so as to solve the problems of the existing laser processing head being large in size, complex in assembly, difficult in centering and adjusting, and having poor cooling effect.

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object and other related objects, the present invention provides a laser processing head with a very simple structure, the laser processing head comprising:

[0011] The laser processing head comprises a first shell and a second shell; wherein,

[0012] The first shell is provided with an axially penetrating light outlet channel and a cooling cavity;

[0013] The cooling cavity is located at the other end of the light exit channel, and a mounting structure is extended from the other end of the light exit channel away from the cooling cavity, and the mounting structure is used to directly fix the first shell to the mounting surface of the second shell;

[0014] An end cap is housed in the cooling cavity. One end of the end cap has a laser optical fiber, and the end of the optical fiber facing away from the end cap passes through the first shell.

[0015] Preferably, the mounting structure includes at least one of a flange, a thread, a connecting hole, a riveted or a snap-fit ​​structure.

[0016] Preferably, the first shell includes an outer shell and an inner shell, a cooling channel is formed between the outer shell and the inner shell, and the cooling channel is at least partially arranged around the periphery of the cooling cavity.

[0017] Preferably, the laser optical fiber is a passive optical fiber or a gain optical fiber;

[0018] Preferably, the laser optical fiber is a single or multiple output optical fibers connected to a laser module.

[0019] Preferably, the light-emitting surface of the end cap is convex and is used for outputting the collimated light after beam expansion and shaping.

[0020] Preferably, the end cap is integrally formed and there is no fusion joint with the optical fiber.

[0021] Preferably, part or all of the optical components of the laser processing head are further arranged in the cooling cavity along the light-emitting direction of the end cap.

[0022] Preferably, a through channel is provided in the second housing, and the first housing and the second housing are coaxially installed so that the laser can pass through the light-emitting channel and the through channel unobstructed.

[0023] Preferably, the second housing is of a split or integral structure.

[0024] The present invention also provides a laser processing system, which adopts the laser processing head as described in any one of the above.

[0025] As described above, the laser processing head with a minimalist structure provided by the present invention arranges the laser fiber end cap and part or all of the optical components of the laser processing head in one housing and directly fixedly connects them to other parts of the laser processing head. That is to say, no additional components for connecting the optical components are required. Thus, the plugging process with strong mechanical friction or the mechanical connection process of multiple components can be cancelled, and the risk of dirty particles entering the beam path of the laser processing head can be reduced; at the same time, through this connection, the laser beam can be coupled into the laser processing head with as little power loss and quality loss as possible. At the same time, a reliable and sealed connection between the laser fiber and the laser processing head is achieved in a simple and compact manner, solving the problems of the existing laser processing head such as large volume, complex assembly, difficult centering adjustment, and poor cooling effect.

Description of the Drawings

[0026] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by the pictures in the corresponding drawings. These exemplary illustrations do not limit the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements, unless otherwise stated, and the drawings in the figures do not constitute a proportional limitation.

[0027] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram shown is of the prior art.

[0028] Figure 2 The three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the laser processing head provided by this embodiment is shown.

[0029] Figure 3 The internal structural schematic diagram of the laser processing head provided by this embodiment is shown.

[0030] Figure 4Shown is another internal structure schematic diagram of the laser processing head provided in this embodiment.

[0031] Figure 5 Shown is a fusion splicing schematic diagram of multiple optical fibers and an end cap.

[0032] Figure 6 Shown is a fusion splicing schematic diagram of a single optical fiber and an end cap.

[0033] 11. First housing; 116. Outer housing; 114. Inner housing; 115. Cooling channel; 111. Light output channel; 113. Cooling cavity; 112. Mounting structure; 13. Optical component; 105. Optical fiber; 10. End cap; 101. Light output surface; 104. Optical fiber armor cable

[0034] 12. Second housing; 121. Through-channel; 122. Mounting surface

Detailed implementation manners

[0035] To facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is expressed as "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or there can be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. When an element is expressed as "electrically connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or there can be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. The terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "bottom", etc. used in this specification indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are 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 thus cannot be construed as a limitation to the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terms used in the description of the present invention in this specification are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0037] In addition, the technical features involved in different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0038] Such as Figures 2 to 6As shown, this embodiment provides a laser processing head 1 with a minimalist structure. The innovative structural design lies in setting the laser fiber end cap 10 and some or all of the optical components 13 of the laser processing head in the first housing 11, and directly fixedly connecting them to other parts of the laser processing head, that is, the second housing 12 shown in the figure. That is to say, no additional components for optical component connection are required. Thus, the plugging process with strong mechanical friction or the mechanical connection process of multiple components can be cancelled, reducing the risk of dirty particles entering the beam path of the laser processing head; at the same time, through this connection, the laser beam can be coupled into the laser processing head with as little power loss and quality loss as possible. At the same time, a reliable and sealed connection between the laser fiber and the laser processing head is achieved in a simple and compact manner.

[0039] The design of this laser processing head with a minimalist structure can be applied to most processing head devices that combine an optical path and other accessories, such as handheld laser welding heads, automatic laser welding heads, and automatic laser cutting heads.

[0040] As Figure 4 shown, an axially penetrating light output channel 111 is provided inside the first housing 11. One end of the light output channel 111 extends outward with an installation structure 112 for directly fixedly installing the first housing 11 onto the installation surface 122 of the second housing 12. It can be understood that the installation structure 112 includes at least one of a flange, a thread, a connection hole, a riveting or clamping structure, and the installation surface 122 has an adapted setting for cooperating and connecting with the installation structure 112.

[0041] One end of the light output channel 111 is provided with a cooling cavity 113. The contour of the cooling cavity 113 is adapted to the end cap 10 and the external optical path optical components of the laser processing head, for respectively holding and accommodating the end cap and the optical components therein.

[0042] The cooling cavity 113 is located at one end of the light output channel 111. The first housing 11 further includes an outer first housing 114 and an inner first housing 116. A cooling channel 115 is formed between the outer first housing 113 and the inner first housing 114. The cooling channel 115 at least partially surrounds the outer periphery of the cooling cavity 113, for providing heat dissipation and cooling to the end cap and the optical components accommodated therein.

[0043] Since the cooling cavity 113 can directly hold the optical components, eliminating the traditional optical component mounting bracket, the part between the light output channel 111 and the cooling channel 115 can be regarded as a diaphragm, further avoiding the aggregation of reflected light, and thus effectively reducing the temperature at the position of the end cap and the optical components. Therefore, the heat dissipation effect of the laser output head can be improved, which means that the laser processing head can withstand more impacts brought by the laser returning from the laser processing equipment.

[0044] The end cap 10 is received in the cooling cavity 113. One end of the laser optical fiber 105 facing away from the end cap 10 passes through the first housing 11, is encapsulated in the optical fiber armored cable 104, and is connected to the laser module in the laser, and is used to transmit laser to the laser processing head.

[0045] The laser optical fiber 105 can be a passive optical fiber commonly used in the prior art, such as a double-clad energy transfer optical fiber or a triple-clad energy transfer optical fiber, etc., or can be an active optical fiber that combines gain amplification and energy transfer, making the optical path design of the laser more simple. Correspondingly, a cooling channel (not shown in the figure) for cooling the gain optical fiber will also be provided in the optical fiber armored cable 104. This cooling channel can be kept in communication with the cooling channel 115 of the housing 10, or the same cooling source can be adopted.

[0046] In this embodiment, the laser optical fiber 105 can be a single optical fiber or multiple optical fibers connected to multiple laser modules or lasers.

[0047] According to the light output direction of the end cap 10, one or more optical components are coaxially arranged in the cooling cavity 113 for beam shaping of the output.

[0048] In traditional welding head or cutting head optics, two to four spherical or non-lens lenses are used to focus Gaussian light. As a special design of this embodiment, integrating one of the mirrors onto the surface of the quartz rod can reduce the number of lenses to only one focusing lens, achieving a high degree of integration of the processing head, reducing the volume of the processing head and the cost.

[0049] Such as Figures 5 - 6 As shown, the light output surface 101 of the end cap 10 is convex, which can expand and shape the output laser while collimating it. The collimated light output directly enters the focusing lens, reducing the use of optical components.

[0050] In this embodiment, the end cap 10 can be integrally formed, rather than the traditional fusion connection or glue connection with the optical fiber. There is no fusion point between it and the optical fiber, which can reduce laser loss and heat generation.

[0051] Specifically, the end cap 10 can use an optical fiber taper machine to perform reverse taper processing on the optical fiber. The integrally formed optical fiber end cap includes: an initial optical fiber section, a tapered transition section, and a uniform waist section.

[0052] The above-mentioned collimation integrated design constitutes the optical path part of the laser processing head. Compared with the traditional laser processing head, the optical path structure is more compact. The adjustment of the optical path can be completed through the adjustment parts opened outside the housing, without the need for complex and cumbersome centering adjustment procedures, the cooling is more direct and efficient, and the first housing 11 can be directly installed on the second housing 12 of the laser processing head, and the assembly is also simpler.

[0053] A through-channel 121 is provided in the second housing 12. The first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are coaxially installed, that is, the light-emitting channel 111 and the through-channel 121 are kept coaxial, so that the laser can pass through the laser processing head unobstructed.

[0054] In this embodiment, the second housing can be an integrated structure or a split design. The second housing can include the air knife part of the laser processing head, that is, all the air path components of the laser processing head are arranged therein, or it can be further divided into multiple housings, which are respectively used for installing an optical path adjustment component or a sensor monitoring component, etc. Through the detachable assembly method, the design of the laser processing head is more flexible.

[0055] In summary, for the laser processing head with an extremely simple structure according to the present invention, its innovative structural design lies in setting the laser fiber end cap and part or all of the optical components of the laser processing head in one housing and directly fixedly connecting them to other parts of the laser processing head. That is to say, no additional components for connecting the optical components are required. Thus, the plugging process with strong mechanical friction or the mechanical connection process of multiple components can be cancelled, and the risk of dirty particles entering the beam path of the laser processing head can be reduced; at the same time, through this connection, the laser beam can be coupled into the laser processing head with as little power loss and quality loss as possible. At the same time, a reliable and sealed connection between the laser fiber and the laser processing head is achieved in a simple and compact manner. Therefore, the present invention effectively overcomes various shortcomings in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

[0056] The above embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical idea disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A laser processing head with a very simple structure, characterized in that: The laser processing head comprises a first shell and a second shell; wherein, The first shell is provided with an axially penetrating light outlet channel and a cooling cavity; The cooling cavity is located at the other end of the light exit channel, and a mounting structure is extended from the other end of the light exit channel away from the cooling cavity, and the mounting structure is used to directly fix the first shell to the mounting surface of the second shell; An end cap is housed in the cooling cavity. One end of the end cap has a laser optical fiber, and the end of the optical fiber facing away from the end cap passes through the first shell.

2. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mounting structure includes at least one of a flange, a thread, a connecting hole, a riveted or a clamping structure.

3. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first shell includes an outer shell and an inner shell. A cooling channel is formed between the outer shell and the inner shell. The cooling channel is at least partially arranged around the outer periphery of the cooling cavity.

4. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The laser optical fiber is a passive optical fiber or a gain optical fiber; The laser optical fiber is a single or multiple output optical fibers connected to the laser module.

5. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light-emitting surface of the end cap is convex, and is used to output the collimated light after beam shaping.

6. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end cap is integrally formed and has no fusion point with the optical fiber.

7. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: Part or all of the optical components of the laser processing head are also arranged in the cooling cavity along the light emitting direction of the end cap.

8. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: A through passage is provided in the second shell, and the first shell and the second shell are coaxially installed, so that laser light can pass through the light outlet and the through passage without hindrance.

9. The laser processing head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second shell is a split or integrated structure.

10. A laser processing system, characterized in that: A laser processing head as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 is used.

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