Laser processing system, laser processing method, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide a laser processing system and the like which can integrally treat output reduction of a laser device and drawing of a drawing device.SOLUTION: A laser processing system 1 for emitting a laser beam onto a processing object H by a predetermined figure includes: a laser oscillator 10 for emitting the laser beam; a scanner head 20A for drawing the figure on the processing object H by the laser beam, on the basis of drawing data specifying the irradiation position and the irradiation order of the laser beam in the figure; and a control part 60 for specifying an output reduction start timing of starting lowering of the output of the laser beam emitted by the laser oscillator 10, on the basis of the drawing data, prior to drawing completion of the figure by the scanner head 20A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a laser processing system and the like.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a laser welding system that irradiates a welding object with laser light in a predetermined pattern to perform a welding process. The laser welding apparatus includes a laser device (such as a laser light source) that emits laser light, and a drawing device (such as a galvanometer scanner) that draws a pattern on the welding object with the laser light based on drawing data.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A typical laser device cannot immediately stop the output of laser light even when it receives an output stop signal (hereinafter also referred to as a laser off signal) for stopping the output of laser light. In this case, the output of the laser light starts to decrease upon receiving the laser off signal and reaches zero after a significant time (hereinafter also referred to as the output decrease time). On the other hand, the drawing device performs drawing based on the drawing data regardless of the output of the laser device. For this reason, drawing is performed with the laser light whose output gradually decreases during the output decrease time after the laser off signal is issued, and drawing is performed with the laser light of normal output during the time before the laser off signal is issued (hereinafter also referred to as the output non-decrease time or the normal output time). In a conventional laser welding system, it has been difficult to integrally handle the output decrease of the laser device and the drawing of the drawing device as described above.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a laser processing system or the like that can integrally handle a reduction in the output of a laser device and drawing by a drawing device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a laser processing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a laser processing system that irradiates a laser beam in a predetermined shape on a workpiece, and includes a laser device that emits a laser beam, and a drawing device that draws a shape on the workpiece with the laser beam based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the shape, and a control unit that specifies an output reduction start timing for starting a reduction in the output of the laser beam to be emitted from the laser device prior to the completion of drawing of the shape by the drawing device based on the drawing data.

[0007] In this aspect, the control unit specifies an output reduction start timing for starting a reduction in the output of the laser beam to be emitted from the laser device prior to the completion of drawing of the shape by the drawing device, so that a reduction in the output of the laser device and drawing by the drawing device can be integrally handled.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a laser processing method. This method is a laser processing method for irradiating a laser beam in a predetermined shape on a workpiece, and includes drawing a shape on the workpiece with the laser beam based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the shape, and specifying an output reduction start timing for starting a reduction in the output of the laser beam prior to the completion of drawing of the shape based on the drawing data.

[0009] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is a storage medium. This storage medium stores a laser processing program for causing a computer to irradiate a laser beam in a predetermined shape onto an object to be processed, draw the shape on the object to be processed with the laser beam based on drawing data specifying the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the shape, and specify an output reduction start timing for starting a reduction in the output of the laser beam prior to the completion of the drawing of the shape based on the drawing data.

[0010] In addition, any combination of the above-described components, or those obtained by converting these expressions into methods, apparatuses, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc., are also included in the present disclosure.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to integrally handle the output reduction of the laser device and the drawing of the drawing device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing the present disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description and / or the drawings, the same or equivalent components, members, processes, etc. are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. The scales and shapes of the respective parts shown are set for the sake of simplicity of description and are not to be construed restrictively unless otherwise specified. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. All features presented in the embodiments and combinations thereof are not necessarily essential to the essence of the present disclosure. The embodiments are presented by being decomposed into components for each function and / or function group for the sake of convenience of implementation. However, one component in the embodiments may actually be realized by a combination of a plurality of components as separate entities, or a plurality of components in the embodiments may actually be realized by one component as an integral entity. Also, a plurality of embodiments and variations can be disclosed in parallel, but any components of each embodiment and / or each variation may be combined in any manner as long as they do not inhibit each other's functions.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a laser processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the optical system of the laser processing system of FIG. 1.

[0015] The laser processing system 1 of the present embodiment is a system that irradiates a processing object H with laser light to perform processing. The type of processing is not particularly limited, such as cutting, drilling, welding, annealing, etc. The processing object H is fixed to the work area Q via a jig I. The laser processing system 1 includes a laser oscillator 10 as a laser device that emits laser light, a galvano scanning device 20 as a drawing device that moves the irradiation position of the laser light, a condenser lens 31 that condenses the laser light onto the processing object H, a position deviation monitoring device 40 that detects the position deviation of the processing object H, and a control device 50 that performs control processing. As long as the laser processing system 1 can realize at least part of the operations and / or effects described below, some of these components (for example, the position deviation monitoring device 40) may be omitted.

[0016] The galvanometer scanning device 20 includes a scanner head 20A and a control driver 26 that drives the scanner head 20A. As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner head 20A includes a first mirror 21 and a first motor (corresponding to a driving device) 22 that displace the irradiation position of the laser beam in the X direction, and a second mirror 23 and a second motor 24 (corresponding to a driving device) that displace the irradiation position in the Y direction. The first motor 22 rotationally drives the first mirror 21. The second motor 24 rotationally drives the second mirror 23.

[0017] The galvanometer scanning device 20 reflects the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 10 by the first mirror 21 and the second mirror 23, and irradiates the workpiece H through the condenser lens 31. By driving the first motor 22 and the second motor 24, the angles of the first mirror 21 and the second mirror 23 change, and the optical axis incident on the condenser lens 31 is displaced, so that the irradiation position of the laser beam irradiated on the workpiece H changes in the X-Y direction.

[0018] The control driver 26 inputs drawing data for scanning control representing the irradiation position of the laser beam. The drawing data for scanning control shows, for example, a plurality of coordinates sequentially representing a series of irradiation positions of the laser beam. A coordinate means a combination of numerical values representing the position of an arbitrary point. The plurality of coordinates included in the drawing data for scanning control are a series of coordinates arranged in sequence corresponding to the order of change of the irradiation position of the laser beam. The series of coordinates may include a portion where the coordinate values change continuously and a portion where the coordinate values are intermittent. The portion where the coordinate values change continuously is a drawing portion where the irradiation position of the laser beam changes linearly in succession. The portion where the coordinate values are intermittent is a drawing portion where the irradiation position of the laser beam is once interrupted and moves to another location. Note that in the laser processing control processing program 51a or the drawing data, as will be described later, the irradiation path or drawing path of the laser beam, the scanning speed or drawing speed for moving the laser beam along the irradiation path, the position where the ramp-down (described later) starts on the irradiation path, etc. are also set.

[0019] The control driver 26 drives the first motor 22 and the second motor 24 so that the irradiation position of the laser beam sequentially changes to a series of coordinates shown in the drawing data for scanning control. The control driver 26 outputs a drive signal to the first motor 22 and the second motor 24, and controls the amount of rotation of the first motor 22 and the second motor 24 by the drive signal. The above drive signal may be an analog signal (for example, an analog drive current). More specifically, the control driver 26 may be configured to control the amount of rotation of the first motor 22 by changing the magnitude of the analog signal output to the first motor 22, and to control the amount of rotation of the second motor 24 by changing the magnitude of the analog signal output to the second motor 24.

[0020] The position deviation monitoring device 40 detects the position and orientation of the workpiece H from, for example, an image or picture of the workpiece H taken by a digital camera, and calculates the deviation from a preset reference state. Alignment marks M1 and M2 are attached to the jig I that fixes the workpiece H, and the position deviation monitoring device 40 may calculate the above deviation by identifying the alignment marks M1 and M2.

[0021] The control device 50 is a computer that controls the laser oscillator 10 and the galvano scanning device 20 by executing a control program. The control device 50 includes a storage unit 51 that stores the control program, an input device 53 that inputs operations from an operator, a data reader 54 that reads data given by the operator, and an I / O port 55 that exchanges commands and data with an external device. The laser oscillator 10, the control driver 26 of the galvano scanning device 20, and the position deviation monitoring device 40 are connected to the I / O port 55. The control driver 26 may be mounted inside the housing of the computer that constitutes the control device 50.

[0022] The storage unit 51 stores a laser processing control processing program 51a as a laser processing program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] The control device 50 can cause the laser oscillator 10 to emit or stop emitting laser light by sending a command to the laser oscillator 10. The control device 50 may send the drawing data to the control driver 26 of the galvanometric scanning device 20 and send a scanning start command, thereby causing the galvanometric scanning device 20 to start a series of operations based on the drawing data.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram of the control unit 60 of the laser processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 60 includes a drawing data generation unit 61, a laser output control unit 62, an output non-decrease time calculation unit 63, and a timing unit 64. As long as the laser processing system 1 or the control unit 60 can realize at least a part of the operations and / or effects described below, some of these functional blocks may be omitted. These functional blocks may be realized by the cooperation of hardware resources such as a central processing unit, a memory, an input device, an output device, and peripheral devices connected to a computer, and software executed using them. Regardless of the type and installation location of the computer, each of the above functional blocks may be realized by the hardware resources of a single computer, or may be realized by combining the hardware resources distributed among a plurality of computers.

[0025] The control unit 60 is responsible for the synchronization control of the laser oscillator 10 and the galvanometric scanning device 20 (particularly, the scanner head 20A). The control unit 60 is realized by at least one of the control device 50 and the control driver 26. In the illustrated example, for convenience, substantially all functional blocks 61 to 64 of the control unit 60 are provided in the control device 50, but some or all of these may be provided in the control driver 26. For example, the drawing data generation unit 61 may be provided in the control driver 26 instead of the control device 50.

[0026] The laser processing system 1 according to this embodiment irradiates a workpiece H with laser light in a predetermined shape. Specifically, the scanner head 20A as a drawing device sequentially changes the angles of the mirrors 21 and 23, thereby drawing a predetermined shape on the workpiece H with the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 10 as a laser device. The scanner head 20A or the galvano scanning device 20 draws the predetermined shape on the workpiece H with laser light based on drawing data that specifies a series of irradiation positions and irradiation orders of the laser light in the predetermined shape.

[0027] The drawing data generation unit 61 generates drawing data based on the laser processing control processing program 51a stored in the storage unit 51. In the illustrated example where the drawing data generation unit 61 is provided in the control device 50, the drawing data generation unit 61 provides the generated drawing data to the control driver 26 of the galvano scanning device 20. The drawing data generation unit 61 or the control driver 26 that has received the drawing data performs correction on the drawing data to compensate for the positional deviation of the entire workpiece H or each irradiation position detected by the position deviation monitoring device 40 (FIG. 1) as necessary, and then causes the scanner head 20A to execute drawing based on the drawing data. Thus, the control unit 60 (that is, the drawing data generation unit 61) according to this embodiment provides the drawing data to the galvano scanning device 20 or the scanner head 20A as a drawing device. As described above, since the drawing data is generated based on the laser processing control processing program 51a, the laser processing control processing program 51a itself is interpreted as drawing data in a broad sense.

[0028] The control driver 26 or the galvano scanning device 20 as a drawing device can determine the drawing start timing of the shape by the scanner head 20A based on the drawing data. For synchronization with the control device 50 and / or the laser oscillator 10, the control driver 26 notifies the determined drawing start timing to the control device 50 (particularly, the laser output control unit 62 and the timing unit 64 described later).

[0029] The laser output control unit 62 issues an output start signal or a laser on signal for starting the output of the laser beam to the laser oscillator 10, and an output stop signal or a laser off signal for stopping the output of the laser beam to the laser oscillator 10. Specifically, the laser output control unit 62 issues a laser on signal in accordance with the drawing start timing notified from the control driver 26 to start the emission of the laser beam from the laser oscillator 10. Further, the laser output control unit 62 issues a laser off signal in accordance with the output reduction start timing described later to stop the emission of the laser beam from the laser oscillator 10. Note that the laser on signal and the laser off signal may be represented as different states in one laser output control signal. For example, a state where the laser output control signal is on or at a high level may be treated as the laser on signal, and a state where the laser output control signal is off or at a low level may be treated as the laser off signal.

[0030] FIG. 4 schematically shows the transition of the laser output of a typical laser oscillator 10. When the laser on signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62, the laser oscillator 10 raises the laser output from "0". To raise the laser output from "0" to the desired processing level, a significant time, schematically shown as the ramp-up time or the output rise time, is required. Similarly, when the laser off signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62, the laser oscillator 10 lowers the laser output from the desired processing level. To lower the laser output from the desired processing level to "0", a significant time, schematically shown as the ramp-down time or the output reduction time, is required. Further, the drawing by the scanner head 20A is performed over the time when the laser output is not "0" (drawing time), that is, the ramp-up time, the normal output time (the time when the laser output is at the desired processing level), and the ramp-down time. This drawing time starts when the laser on signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62 and ends when the ramp-down time has elapsed after the laser off signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62.

[0031] Thus, the drawing of a figure by the scanner head 20A (i.e., processing by laser light) needs to be performed taking into account changes in the laser output during the warm-up time and / or the cool-down time. FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of such drawing. In the example of this figure, the scanner head 20A draws a circle C as a figure with laser light. Note that the figure drawn by the laser light in the present disclosure is arbitrary and may be any closed curve (ellipse or polygon) not limited to the circle C, or the inside of such a closed curve may also be a "filled" figure, or an open curve or a straight line, or intermittent points or line segments. However, as will be described later, it is preferable that such a figure includes a portion where overlapping drawing (overlapping drawing portion) occurs.

[0032] As schematically shown by the arrow along the outer periphery of the circle C, the laser light is irradiated over an irradiation path longer than the outer periphery (i.e., the circumference) of one round of the circle C. When a laser on signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62 at the start point S of this irradiation path, the irradiation of the laser light by the laser oscillator 10 and the drawing by the scanner head 20A start. As described above with respect to FIG. 4, the time immediately after the drawing starts at the start point S is the warm-up time during which the laser output rises from "0" to the processing level. In order to schematically represent that the laser output during the warm-up time is lower than the processing level, a dotted arrow is used.

[0033] After the warm-up time ends and the laser output reaches the processing level, it becomes the normal output time for a while. A solid arrow is used to schematically represent that the laser output during the normal output time is at the processing level. The laser light at the processing level is scanned along the outer periphery of the circle C to be drawn and returns to the start point S. Thus, the first round of scanning of the laser light starts at a relatively low output warm-up time and ends at a relatively high output normal output time.

[0034] In the first pass scanning, since laser scanning at sufficient output cannot be performed during the lamp-up time, the process proceeds directly to the second pass scanning of the laser beam. It is preferable that the output of the laser beam immediately after the start of the second pass scanning (immediately after passing through the starting point S) is continuously maintained at the processing level from the first pass. In other words, the second pass scanning starts with a relatively high output normal output time. With such a high-output laser beam, portions that were insufficiently processed during the lamp-up time in the first pass scanning can also be sufficiently processed. Considering that laser beam irradiation continues even during the subsequent lamp-down time, it is preferable that the normal output time in the second pass scanning ends before the position on the circle C where the lamp-up time of the first pass ends.

[0035] The normal output time in the second pass scanning ends when a laser off signal is provided from the laser output control unit 62. During the subsequent lamp-down time, the laser output decreases from the processing level to "0". During this period, the scanning of the laser beam by the scanner head 20A continues and ends at the end point E where the laser output becomes "0". A dotted arrow is used to schematically represent that the laser output during the lamp-down time is lower than the processing level.

[0036] As described above, the drawing data according to the present embodiment may be such that the overlapping drawing portion (in the example of FIG. 5, the beginning portions of the lamp-up section and the normal output section in the first pass), which is the already drawn portion, is redrawn overlappingly at the end of the drawing of the closed curve (circle C). Further, in the example of FIG. 5, the output decrease start timing is after the overlapping drawing start timing of the overlapping drawing portion (the timing at which the second pass drawing starts at the starting point S). Furthermore, at least a part of the overlapping drawing portion (that is, the lamp-down section) is drawn by the laser beam after the output decrease start timing (that is, after the start of the lamp-down).

[0037] In order to perform appropriate processing along the circle C using a laser beam, in particular, the timing of switching from the normal output time to the lamp-down time, that is, the timing at which the laser-off signal is issued by the laser output control unit 62, is important. This timing is the timing at which the output of the laser beam starts to decrease as shown in FIG. 4, and hereinafter is also referred to as the output decrease start timing. If the output decrease start timing is too early, the lamp-up section where the processing was insufficient in the first round cannot be processed sufficiently. If the output decrease start timing is too late, the overlapping drawing portions of the first round and the second round will be over-processed. As will be specifically described below, according to the control unit 60 according to the present embodiment, an appropriate output decrease start timing for processing a figure such as the circle C can be specified.

[0038] Based on the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 61, the control unit 60 according to the present embodiment starts to decrease the output of the laser beam emitted to the laser oscillator 10 as a laser device prior to the completion of the drawing of a figure (such as the circle C) by the scanner head 20A as a drawing device. Specify the output decrease start timing (that is, the timing at which the laser-off signal is issued to the laser output control unit 62). In the drawing data, as shown in FIG. 5, an irradiation path or a drawing path along the circumference of the circle C from the start point S to the end point E, a scanning speed or a drawing speed for moving the laser beam along the irradiation path, and a position at which lamp-down starts on the irradiation path (hereinafter, also referred to as the lamp-down start position) are set. Therefore, the control unit 60 can calculate an appropriate output decrease start timing (that is, the lamp-down start timing) in the drawing.

[0039] Note that, in the present embodiment, as described above, the control device 50 that constitutes the main part of the control unit 60 acquires the drawing start timing based on the laser processing control processing program 51a or the drawing data from the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20. By considering the drawing start timing thus acquired from the control driver 26 together with the drawing data, the control device 50 can specify the output decrease start timing in real time.

[0040] In the example of FIG. 3, the control unit 60 includes an output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 and a timing unit 64 as components for specifying the output decrease start timing based on the drawing data and the drawing start timing. Note that as long as the control unit 60 can specify or calculate an appropriate output decrease start timing, the components for realizing it are arbitrary and are not limited to the output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 and the timing unit 64.

[0041] The output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 calculates the output non-decrease time from the start of drawing of a figure such as a circle C (corresponding to the time of the start point S in FIG. 5) to the output decrease start timing based on the laser processing control program 51a. The output non-decrease time is the time from the time when the laser on signal is input to the time when the laser off signal is input in FIG. 4. This output non-decrease time is calculated by dividing the scanning distance or drawing distance from the start point S to the ramp-down start position (the circumference of the circle C plus the distance along the circumference between the start point S and the ramp-down start position) by the scanning speed or drawing speed of the laser beam. The drawing distance and drawing speed required for this calculation are set in the laser processing control program 51a or the drawing data.

[0042] The timing unit 64 measures the elapsed time from the drawing start timing (the time when the laser on signal is emitted in FIG. 4) notified from the control driver 26 of the galvano scanning device 20.

[0043] The laser output control unit 62 compares the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 64 with the non-output-decrease time calculated by the output non-decrease time calculation unit 63. This is equivalent to monitoring in FIG. 4 whether the elapsed time from the emission time of the laser on signal has reached the non-output-decrease time, which is the sum of the ramp-up time and the normal output time, that is, whether it is the time to emit the laser off signal. Then, the laser output control unit 62 uses the timing at which the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 64 reaches the non-output-decrease time calculated by the output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 as the output decrease start timing or the ramp-down start timing, and issues a laser off signal to start decreasing the output of the laser light to the laser oscillator 10.

[0044] In the present embodiment as described above, by the control unit 60 designating the output decrease start timing for starting to decrease the output of the laser light emitted to the laser oscillator 10 prior to the completion of the drawing of the figure by the scanner head 20A, the output decrease or ramp-down of the laser oscillator 10 and the drawing by the scanner head 20A can be handled integrally.

[0045] FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically showing the laser processing method by the laser processing system 1 or the control unit 60 according to the present embodiment. "S" in the flowchart means a step or a process.

[0046] In S1, the drawing data generation unit 61 generates drawing data based on the laser processing control processing program 51a stored in the storage unit 51. In S2, the output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 calculates the output non-decrease time based on the laser processing control processing program 51a. In S3, the drawing data generation unit 61 transfers the drawing data generated in S1 to the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20. In S4, the output non-decrease time calculation unit 63 transfers the output non-decrease time calculated in S2 to the laser output control unit 62. In S5, the drawing data generation unit 61 or the control device 50 (particularly, the laser processing control processing program 51a) issues a drawing start command based on the drawing data transferred in S3 to the control driver 26 or the galvanometer scanning device 20.

[0047] In S6, the control driver 26 notifies the control device 50 of the timing or time to actually start drawing in response to the drawing start command issued in S5. In S7, the laser output control unit 62 issues a laser on signal in accordance with the drawing start timing notified in S6, and starts the output of laser light to the laser oscillator 10. In S8, the control driver 26 starts drawing by the scanner head 20A based on the drawing data transferred in S3 in accordance with the drawing start timing notified in S6. In S9, the timer unit 64 starts measuring the elapsed time from the drawing start timing notified in S6.

[0048] In S10, the laser output control unit 62 determines whether or not the elapsed time measured in S9 has counted up to the output non-decrease time transferred in S4. If it is determined "Yes" in S10, the process proceeds to S11, and the laser output control unit 62 issues a laser off signal with the timing when the elapsed time measured in S9 reaches the output non-decrease time transferred in S4 as the ramp-down start timing, and starts the decrease in the output of laser light to the laser oscillator 10. If it is determined "No" in S10, S10 is repeated until it is determined "Yes".

[0049] The above has described the present disclosure based on embodiments. Various modifications are possible for the combinations of each component and each process in the exemplary embodiments, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that such modifications are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0050] The drawing device according to the present disclosure is not limited to the galvanometer scanning device 20 exemplified in the above embodiments. For example, a robot such as a robot hand or a robot arm that holds the laser oscillator 10 may be used as the drawing device. Such a robot can drive joints based on the given drawing data and arbitrarily control the irradiation position and irradiation direction of the laser light from the laser oscillator 10.

[0051] Note that the configurations, operations, and functions of each device and each method described in the embodiments can be realized by hardware resources or software resources, or by the cooperation of hardware resources and software resources. As hardware resources, for example, a processor, ROM, RAM, and various integrated circuits can be used. As software resources, for example, programs such as an operating system and an application can be used.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0052] 1 Laser processing system, 10 Laser oscillator, 20 Galvano scanning device, 20A Scanner head, 26 Control driver, 50 Control device, 51a Laser processing control processing program, 60 Control unit, 61 Drawing data generation unit, 62 Laser output control unit, 63 Output non-decrease time calculation unit, 64 Timing unit.

Claims

1. A laser processing system for irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam in a predetermined pattern, comprising: a laser device that emits the laser beam; a drawing device that draws the pattern on the workpiece with the laser beam based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the pattern; a control unit that specifies an output reduction start timing for starting a reduction in the output of the laser beam to be emitted from the laser device prior to the completion of the drawing of the pattern by the drawing device based on the drawing data; A laser processing system comprising the above.

2. The drawing device notifies the control unit of the drawing start timing of the pattern based on the drawing data; The control unit specifies the output reduction start timing based on the drawing start timing and the drawing data. The laser processing system according to claim 1.

3. The control unit includes: an output non-reduction time calculation unit that calculates an output non-reduction time from the start of drawing of the pattern to the output reduction start timing based on the drawing data; a timer unit that measures the elapsed time from the drawing start timing; a laser output control unit that starts emitting the laser beam from the laser device in accordance with the drawing start timing, and starts reducing the output of the laser beam from the laser device with the timing when the elapsed time reaches the output non-reduction time as the output reduction start timing. The laser processing system according to claim 2, comprising the above.

4. The pattern is a closed curve; The drawing data causes a duplicate drawing portion, which is a portion already drawn, to be drawn again at the end of the drawing of the closed curve; At least a part of the duplicate drawing portion is drawn by the laser beam after the output reduction start timing. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The laser processing system according to claim 4, wherein the output reduction start timing is after the duplicate drawing start timing of the duplicate drawing portion.

6. The control unit provides the drawing data to the drawing device.

7. A laser processing method for irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam in a predetermined pattern, comprising: drawing the pattern on the workpiece with the laser beam based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the pattern. Based on the drawing data, prior to the completion of the drawing of the figure, specifying an output reduction start timing for starting the reduction of the output of the laser beam; A laser processing method for performing.

8. A laser processing program for irradiating a laser beam in a predetermined figure on a workpiece, Based on drawing data specifying the irradiation position and irradiation order of the laser beam in the figure, drawing the figure with the laser beam on the workpiece; Based on the drawing data, prior to the completion of the drawing of the figure, specifying an output reduction start timing for starting the reduction of the output of the laser beam; A storage medium storing a laser processing program for causing a computer to execute.

Images