Laser processing system

Abstract

To provide a laser processing system that can enhance an operation rate by reducing frequencies at which processing is stopped, when a cut product cannot be carried out by a carrying-out device.SOLUTION: A laser processing system 100 includes: a processing head 3 that cuts a work-piece W by irradiating the work-piece W with a laser beam; a carrying-out device 5 that absorbs and carries out a product cut from the work-piece W; a position detection sensor 7 that detects positions of upper surfaces of the work-piece W and the product P; and a control part 9 that executes control of processing the product P cut out from the work-piece W by driving the processing head 3. When the carrying-out device 5 cannot absorb and carry out the product P after the product P is cut out from the work-piece W, the control part 9 makes the position detection sensor 7 detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the work-piece W and the product P, detects a level difference between the work-piece W and the product P on the basis of the detected positions of the upper surfaces of the work-piece W and the product P, and when a difference in height difference of the detected level difference is below a predetermined value, keeps on processing the product P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a laser processing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a laser processing system in which a discharge device adsorbs, lifts, and carries out cut pieces that have been cut and separated from a plate-shaped workpiece by a laser cutting machine. In the laser processing system of Patent Document 1, when the discharge device fails to lift up the cut pieces, the adsorption of the cut pieces by the suction pad is released, and a work shooter provided below the laser cutting machine is opened to carry the cut pieces downward. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-130736 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional laser processing system described above, if a product that is to be cut from a workpiece is attached to the workpiece due to a cutting defect or the like, the product cannot be sucked and carried out by the carrying-out device or carried downward by the workpiece chute, and therefore processing had to be stopped. As a result, the number of times processing had to be stopped increased, and the operating rate of the laser processing system decreased. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A laser processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a processing head mounted on a laser cutting machine which irradiates a workpiece with a laser beam to cut it, a discharge device which adsorbs and transports the product cut from the workpiece, a position detection sensor which detects the position of the top surface of the workpiece and the product, and a control unit which drives the processing head to execute control to process the product from the workpiece, wherein if the discharge device is unable to adsorb and transport the product after the product has been cut from the workpiece, the control unit causes the position detection sensor to detect the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece and the product, detects a step between the workpiece and the product based on the detected positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece and the product, and continues processing of the product if the detected difference in height of the step is less than a predetermined value.

[0006] According to a laser processing system of one embodiment of the present invention, when the difference in height of the step between the workpiece and the cut product is below a predetermined value, processing of the product continues, thereby reducing the number of times processing is stopped and improving the operating rate of the laser processing system. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, the number of times processing is stopped when the cut product cannot be removed by the removal device can be reduced, thereby improving the operating rate of the laser processing system. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a processing continuation determination process performed by the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining laser cutting by the laser cutting machine of the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the conveyance of a product by a conveyance device of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a case where a product is under a workpiece in the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the dropping of a product at a work shooter in a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a cutting area by a control unit of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a diagonal line by the control unit of the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method for detecting the positions of the upper surfaces of a workpiece and a product by a control unit of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for detecting the positions of the upper surfaces of a workpiece and a product by a control unit of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 11A] FIG. 11A is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a cutting area and a diagonal line by a control unit of a laser processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 11B] FIG. 11B is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a cutting area and a diagonal line by the control unit of the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 11C] FIG. 11C is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a cutting area and a diagonal line by the control unit of the laser processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a method for detecting the positions of the upper surfaces of a workpiece and a product by a control unit of a laser processing system according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [Laser cutting machine] Hereinafter, the laser processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the laser processing system. As shown in FIG. 1, the laser processing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a processing head 3 that irradiates a laser beam to cut a workpiece W, a carrying-out device 5 that picks up and carries out the product P cut from the workpiece W, a position detection sensor 7 that detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, and a control unit 9 that drives the processing head 3 to execute control to process the product P from the workpiece W. When the carrying-out device 5 cannot pick up and carry out the product P after the product P is cut from the workpiece W, the control unit 9 causes the position detection sensor 7 to detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, detects a step between the workpiece W and the product P based on the detected positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, and continues processing the product P when the height difference of the detected step is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0010] The laser processing system 100 includes a laser cutting machine 1, which moves a processing head 3 and a workpiece W relative to one another and performs laser cutting on the metal workpiece W to process a product P. The laser cutting machine 1 is a combined machine that combines a punch press and a laser cutting machine, but since the feature of this embodiment is the laser cutting process, a description of the punch press will be omitted. The laser cutting machine 1 may be a stand-alone laser cutting machine. The laser cutting machine 1 includes a processing head 3 and a control unit 9.

[0011] The processing head 3 is connected to a laser oscillator (not shown) that oscillates a laser beam, such as a fiber laser oscillator or a YAG laser oscillator, and irradiates the laser beam supplied from the laser oscillator toward the workpiece W. In this embodiment, the processing head 3 is configured to move in the left-right direction and the up-down direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

[0012] The carrying-out device 5 is equipped with a plurality of suction pads 11, and when the product P is cut from the workpiece W, it moves onto the product P, suctions the product P with the suction pads 11, and carries it out to a collection location. Therefore, the carrying-out device 5 can move in the left-right direction, the front-back direction, and the up-down direction perpendicular to the paper surface by operating a drive unit (not shown). In addition, the carrying-out device 5 is equipped with a position detection sensor 7.

[0013] The position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P. For example, when a laser displacement meter is used, the position detection sensor 7 irradiates laser light toward the workpiece W and receives the reflected light to measure the distance to the workpiece W. Since the position detection sensor 7 is installed in the carry-out device 5, the position of the position detection sensor 7 can be obtained from the position of the carry-out device 5, and the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P can be detected from the position of the position detection sensor 7 and the measured distance. The positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P detected in this manner are output to the control unit 9.

[0014] The control unit 9 executes control to drive the processing head 3 to process the product P from the workpiece W according to the processing program, and determines whether to continue processing when the processed product P cannot be carried out by the carrying-out device 5. Specifically, the control unit 9 causes the position detection sensor 7 to detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P when the carrying-out device 5 cannot adsorb and carry out the product P after the product P is cut from the workpiece W. Then, the control unit 9 detects a step between the workpiece W and the product P based on the detected positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, and continues processing the product P when the height difference of the detected step is equal to or less than a predetermined value. At this time, the control unit 9 may use a value obtained by an experiment or a simulation as the predetermined value, or may set the predetermined value to the plate thickness of the workpiece W.

[0015] The control unit 9 is composed of a computer having a memory, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and various interfaces. The memory and various interfaces are connected to the processor via a bus. By executing a program stored in the memory by the processor, the control unit 9 executes control to drive the processing head 3 to process the product P from the workpiece W, and executes processing to determine whether or not to continue processing when the processed product P cannot be carried out by the carry-out device 5. The control unit 9 may be mounted on an NC (Numerical Control) device (not shown) that controls the laser cutting machine 1, or may be mounted on other devices or computers.

[0016] In addition to the above components, the laser cutting machine 1 is equipped with a workpiece moving device 13, a brush table 15, and a workpiece shooter 17, as shown in Fig. 1. The workpiece moving device 13 holds one end of the workpiece W using a clamp and moves the workpiece W in the front-rear and left-right directions. The brush table 15 is located below the workpiece W, and supports the workpiece W with brushes provided on the surface of the table.

[0017] The work shooter 17 discharges the product P cut from the workpiece W downward by opening a part of the brush table 15 downward. The work shooter 17 is used when the product P cannot be carried out by the discharge device 5, and when the cut product P has slipped under the workpiece W, the work shooter 17 can be opened to collect the product P in a collection box 19. A drop detection sensor 21 is provided on the bottom surface of the collection box 19, so that the collected product P can be detected.

[0018] When the work shooter 17 is provided in this manner, if the discharge device 5 cannot adsorb and discharge the product P after the product P has been cut from the workpiece W, and if the work shooter 17 cannot discharge the product P downward, the control unit 9 causes the position detection sensor 7 to detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P. However, the work shooter 17 is not essential and does not necessarily have to be provided.

[0019] [Continue Machining Judgment Processing] Next, a description will be given of the processing continuation determination process by the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing continuation determination process.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, in step S101, the control unit 9 processes a product P from the workpiece W. The control unit 9 starts processing the first product P among the multiple products P processed from the workpiece W. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 9 drives the processing head 3 to irradiate the workpiece W with a laser beam to cut it. The control unit 9 combines the movement of the workpiece W in the left-right direction and the movement of the processing head 3 in the front-back direction to two-dimensionally irradiate the laser beam output from the processing head 3 onto the workpiece W. As a result, the processing head 3 cuts the workpiece W according to the outer shape of the product P.

[0021] In step S103, when the processing of the product P is completed, the carry-out device 5 starts carrying out the product P. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the carry-out device 5 moves to the position of the cut product P and starts the operation of sucking and lifting the product P with the suction pad 11.

[0022] In step S105, the control unit 9 judges whether the carry-out device 5 was able to pick up and carry out the product P. The carry-out device 5 is equipped with a sensor (not shown) that detects whether it has picked up and lifted the product P, so the control unit 9 judges whether the carry-out device 5 was able to pick up and carry out the product P based on information from the carry-out device 5. If the product P could not be carried out, the process proceeds to step S107, and if the product P was carried out, the process proceeds to step S119.

[0023] In step S107, the control unit 9 opens the work shooter 17. Since the control unit 9 has determined in step S105 that the product P could not be carried out, it assumes that the product P has slipped under the workpiece W as shown in Fig. 5. Then, the work shooter 17 is opened to drop and remove the workpiece W that has slipped under.

[0024] In step S109, the control unit 9 judges whether or not it has detected the drop of the product P. As shown in Fig. 6, the control unit 9 detects whether or not the product P has dropped after opening the work shooter 17 based on a signal from the drop detection sensor 21. If it has not detected the drop of the product P, the process proceeds to step S111, and if it has detected the drop of the product P, the process proceeds to step S119.

[0025] In step S111, the control unit 9 causes the position detection sensor 7 to detect the positions of the workpiece W and the upper surface of the product P. First, the control unit 9 sets a cutting area where the product P is cut from the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 9 acquires a switching position A where the cutting direction is switched when cutting the product P. For example, in FIG. 7, the cutting direction is switched at positions A1 to A12, so A1 to A12 are acquired as the switching positions. The switching positions can be acquired from the machining program.

[0026] When the switching positions A1 to A12 are acquired, the control unit 9 extracts the maximum and minimum values ​​from the X and Y coordinates of the switching positions A1 to A12, and sets the cutting area R using the extracted maximum and minimum coordinates. In Fig. 7, the Y coordinate of the switching position A1 is the minimum Y coordinate value Ymin, the X coordinates of the switching positions A3 and A5 are the minimum X coordinate value Xmin, the X coordinates of the switching positions A9 and A11 are the maximum X coordinate value Xmax, and the Y coordinate of the switching position A7 is the maximum Y coordinate value Ymax. Therefore, the control unit 9 sets the cutting area R to a quadrangular area surrounded by the four points of vertices M1 (Xmin, Ymin), M2 (Xmax, Ymin), M3 (Xmax, Ymax), and M4 (Xmin, Ymax) and including the part where the product P is to be cut.

[0027] Next, the control unit 9 sets the diagonal line L1 of the cutting area R as shown in Fig. 8. In Fig. 8, the diagonal line between the vertices M1 and M3 is set to L1, and is further extended by a predetermined length to set the start point Ls and the end point Le. The extension length may be set by obtaining an optimal length in advance through experiments or simulations. When the diagonal line L1 is set in this manner, the control unit 9 controls the unloading device 5 to move on the diagonal line L1 as shown in Fig. 9, and the position detection sensor 7 installed on the unloading device 5 detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P.

[0028] Since the diagonal line L1 is extended, the position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P in a range wider than the cutting area R. This makes it possible to detect the actual position of the top surface of the workpiece W that is not cut into the product P. The position of the top surface of the workpiece W can be calculated by adding the plate thickness of the workpiece W to the height of the brush table 15, but the brushes of the brush table 15 may tilt due to their weight or deterioration. For this reason, it is better to extend the length of the diagonal line L1 and actually measure it with the position detection sensor 7 rather than calculating the position of the top surface of the workpiece W to detect a more accurate value.

[0029] Next, as shown in Fig. 10, the control unit 9 sets the diagonal line between the vertices M4 and M2 to L2, and extends it by a predetermined length to set the start point Ls and the end point Le. Then, the control unit 9 controls the unloading device 5 to move on the diagonal line L2, and the position detection sensor 7 installed in the unloading device 5 detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P. In this way, the position detection sensor 7 is installed in the unloading device 5, and the unloading device 5 moves on the cutting area R where the product P is cut from the workpiece W, so that the position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P. However, if the processing head 3 can move in three axial directions, the position detection sensor 7 may be installed in the processing head 3.

[0030] In addition, when the shape of the product P is different, the control unit 9 sets the cutting area R and the diagonals L1 and L2 according to the shape of each product P, as shown in Figs. 11A to 11C. For example, when the shape of the product P is rectangular, the control unit 9 sets the cutting area R that matches the shape of the product P, and sets the diagonals L1 and L2, as shown in Fig. 11A. When the shape of the product P is circular, the control unit 9 sets the cutting area R in a square shape that is in contact with the circular product P, and sets the diagonals L1 and L2, as shown in Fig. 11B. Furthermore, when the shape of the product P is a shape that combines rectangles, the control unit 9 sets the cutting area R using the maximum and minimum values ​​of the X and Y coordinates, and sets the diagonals L1 and L2, as shown in Fig. 11C.

[0031] In step S113, the control unit 9 detects a step between the workpiece W and the product P based on the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P detected in step S111, and determines whether the height difference of the detected step is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0032] The control unit 9 detects the vertical positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P along the diagonals L1 and L2, and therefore detects that if there is a difference between adjacent vertical positions, there is a step at that position. Then, the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the vertical positions can be calculated to determine the height difference of the step. If the height difference of the step is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S115, and if the height difference of the step is greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S117.

[0033] The predetermined value is set in advance through experiments and simulations to a value that will not cause the step to interfere with and damage the processing head 3. The predetermined value may also be set to the plate thickness of the workpiece W. By setting the predetermined value to the plate thickness of the workpiece W, it is possible to accurately detect whether the actual product P is stuck at an angle.

[0034] In step S115, the control unit 9 determines that even if the cut product P is caught on the workpiece W, the height difference of the step is small, so that it is possible to continue processing.

[0035] In step S117, the control unit 9 determines that it is difficult to continue machining since the height difference of the step is large, outputs an alarm, stops machining, and ends the machining continuation determination process according to this embodiment.

[0036] In step S119, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the processing of all of the products P cut out from the workpiece W has been completed. If the processing of all of the products P has not been completed, the process returns to step S101, and if the processing of all of the products P has been completed, the processing continuation determination process according to this embodiment is terminated.

[0037] [Variations] In the above embodiment, a case where a laser displacement meter is used as the position detection sensor 7 is exemplified, but a touch sensor can also be used instead of the laser displacement meter. When a touch sensor is used, the touch sensor is installed in the carrying-out device 5, and the carrying-out device 5 is moved downward until the touch sensor comes into contact with the workpiece W and the product P. Then, by recording the coordinates of the position where the touch sensor comes into contact, the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P can be detected.

[0038] In addition, in the case of the laser displacement meter, a diagonal line L1 is set as shown in FIG. 9, and the position is continuously detected along the diagonal line L1, but in the case of the touch sensor, a predetermined number of measurement points S are set along the diagonal line L1 as shown in FIG. 12 to detect the position of the upper surface. The number of measurement points S is set according to the length of the diagonal line L1, for example, 3 points when it is less than 50 mm, 5 points when it is 50 mm to 100 mm, and 8 points when it is 100 mm or more. However, in either case, the start point Ls and the end point Le are not included. In this way, even when the touch sensor is used, the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P can be detected in the same way as in the case of the laser displacement meter.

[0039] [Effects of the embodiment] As described above in detail, in the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment, when the carry-out device 5 cannot suck and carry-out the product P after the product P is cut from the workpiece W, the position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, detects a step between the workpiece W and the product P based on the detected positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P, and continues processing the product P if the height difference of the detected step is equal to or less than a predetermined value. This makes it possible to reduce the number of times processing is stopped even when the carry-out device 5 cannot carry-out the cut product P, thereby improving the operating rate of the laser processing system 100.

[0040] In particular, there are three reasons why the cut product P cannot be discharged by the discharge device 5: when the product P is under the workpiece W, when the product P is tilted and caught on the workpiece W, and when the product P is not cut off from the workpiece W due to poor processing. When the product P is under the workpiece W, processing can be continued if the workpiece chute 17 is provided. However, in the other two reasons, the product P does not fall even if the workpiece chute 17 is provided, so it is not possible to determine the reason why the product P cannot be discharged. Therefore, in the conventional case, processing had to be stopped, but in this embodiment, processing of the product P can be continued according to the height difference of the step, so that the operating rate of the laser processing system 100 can be improved.

[0041] Moreover, the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment further includes a work chute 17 that discharges the cut product P downward. Then, when the discharge device 5 cannot suck and discharge the product P after the product P is cut from the work W and the work chute 17 cannot discharge the product P downward, the control unit 9 causes the position detection sensor 7 to detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the work W and the product P. As a result, when the product P has slipped under the work W, the work chute 17 can be opened to discharge the product P downward, allowing processing to continue. Therefore, the number of times processing is stopped can be reduced, and the operating rate of the laser processing system 100 can be improved.

[0042] Furthermore, in the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment, the control unit 9 sets a predetermined value to the plate thickness of the workpiece W. This makes it possible to accurately detect whether the actual product P is tilted and stuck.

[0043] Moreover, in the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment, the position detection sensor 7 is installed in the carry-out device 5, and as the carry-out device 5 moves over the cutting region R where the product P is cut from the workpiece W, the position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P. This makes it possible to move the position detection sensor 7 using the carry-out device 5, eliminating the need to provide new moving means for moving the position detection sensor 7 and reducing costs.

[0044] Furthermore, in the laser processing system 100 according to this embodiment, the position detection sensor 7 detects the positions of the top surfaces of the workpiece W and the product P in a range wider than the cutting region R. This makes it possible to detect the actual position of the top surface of the workpiece W that is not cut out as the product P, and therefore makes it possible to detect the position of the top surface of the workpiece W more accurately than when it is obtained by calculation.

[0045] As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the description and drawings forming a part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting this invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Laser cutting machine 3 Processing head 5 Unloading device 7 Position detection sensor 9. Control Unit 11 Suction pad 13 Work moving device 15 Brush Table 17 Work Shooter 19 Collection Box 21 Fall detection sensor 100 Laser Processing System A1~A12 Switching position L1, L2 diagonals Le End Point Ls Start point M1~M4 vertices P product R cutting area S measurement point Double work

Claims

1. A processing head that irradiates a laser beam onto a workpiece to cut it; a discharge device that adsorbs and discharges the product cut from the workpiece; a position detection sensor for detecting the positions of the workpiece and the top surface of the product; A control unit that drives the processing head to process the product from the workpiece, The control unit is When the carrying-out device cannot adsorb and carry-out the product after the product is cut from the workpiece, the position detection sensor detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece and the product; Detecting a step between the workpiece and the product based on the detected positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece and the product; If the detected height difference of the step is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, processing of the product is continued. Laser processing system.

2. Further, a work shooter is provided for discharging the cut product downward. The control unit, when the carrying-out device cannot adsorb and carry-out the product after the product is cut from the workpiece and the work chute cannot discharge the product downward, causes the position detection sensor to detect the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece and the product. The laser processing system of claim 1 .

3. The control unit sets the predetermined value to a plate thickness of the workpiece. The laser processing system of claim 1 .

4. the position detection sensor is installed in the discharge device, The position detection sensor detects the positions of the upper surfaces of the workpiece and the product by moving the carrying device over a cutting area where the product is cut from the workpiece. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The position detection sensor detects the positions of the workpiece and the upper surface of the product in a range wider than the cutting area. The laser processing system according to claim 4 .

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