Laser processing system, laser processing method, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide a laser processing system and the like which can effectively grasp the whole aspects of laser processing.SOLUTION: A laser processing system 1 includes: a laser oscillator 10 for emitting a laser beam; a galvano scanner 20 for drawing an image on a processing object H by the laser beam, on the basis of drawing data specifying the irradiation position of the laser beam; a measurement device such as a power meter M and / or a sensor 70 for measuring at least any one of the laser beam and the processing object H irradiated with the laser beam; and an intensive collection device 63 for intensively collecting laser device operation information on the operation of the laser oscillator 10, drawing device operation information on the operation of the galvano scanner 20, and measurement information measured by the measuring device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a laser welding system that irradiates a laser beam onto a welding object to perform a welding process. This laser welding apparatus includes a laser device (such as a laser light source) that emits a laser beam and a drawing device (such as a galvanometer scanner) that draws with the laser beam on the welding object based on drawing data. Patent Document 1 also discloses correcting a control command to the drawing device in order to suppress displacement of the irradiation position of the laser beam due to vibration.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As described above, in a laser processing system such as a laser welding system, since different devices such as a laser device, a drawing device, and a control device perform various processes, it has been difficult to grasp the entire content of the actually performed laser processing.

[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 effectively grasp the entire content of a laser processing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, a laser processing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser device that emits laser light, a drawing device that draws with the laser light on a workpiece based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position of the laser light, a measuring device that measures at least one of the laser light and the workpiece irradiated with the laser light, and an aggregating collection device that aggregately collects laser device operation information regarding the operation of the laser device, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of the drawing device, and measurement information measured by the measuring device.

[0007] According to this aspect, based on the laser device operation information, drawing device operation information, and measurement information that are aggregately collected, the overall state of the laser processing can be effectively grasped.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a laser processing method. This method includes executing aggregately collecting laser device operation information regarding the operation of a laser device that emits laser light, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of a drawing device that draws with the laser light on a workpiece based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position of the laser light, and measurement information measured by a measuring device that measures at least one of the laser light and the workpiece irradiated with the laser light.

[0009] Still another aspect of the present disclosure is a storage medium. This storage medium stores a laser processing program that causes a computer to execute aggregately collecting laser device operation information regarding the operation of a laser device that emits laser light, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of a drawing device that draws with the laser light on a workpiece based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position of the laser light, and measurement information measured by a measuring device that measures at least one of the laser light and the workpiece irradiated with the laser light.

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

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, the whole picture of the laser processing can be effectively grasped.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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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 drawings, the same or equivalent components, members, processes, etc. are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant 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 particularly mentioned. The embodiments are examples 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 present disclosure. The embodiments are presented, for convenience, as being decomposed into components for each function and / or function group for realizing the same. 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 modification examples may be disclosed in parallel, but any components of each embodiment and / or each modification example 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 the jig I. The laser processing system 1 includes a laser oscillator 10 that emits laser light, a galvano scanning device 20 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.

[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 (equivalent 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 (equivalent 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. Coordinates mean 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 once breaks 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 for changing the output of the laser beam 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 laser light or stop emitting laser light by sending a command to the laser oscillator 10. The control device 50 may send drawing data to the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20 and send a scanning start command, thereby causing the galvanometer scanning device 20 to start a series of operations based on the drawing data.

[0024] <Laser processing control process> FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of the laser processing control process executed by the control device. The program 51a of the laser processing control process is stored in a non-transitory storage medium such as the storage unit 51. The control device 50 may be configured to read a program stored in a portable non-transitory storage medium and execute the program. The above-mentioned portable non-transitory storage medium may store the program 51a of the laser processing control process.

[0025] When the laser processing control process is started, the control device 50 inputs drawing data (drawing data before correction) representing the irradiation position of the laser light (step S1).

[0026] FIG. 4(A) is a diagram for explaining an example of the drawing data. In the figure, the line L0 represents a series of irradiation positions of the laser light. The drawing data input in step S1 is data including a series of coordinates representing the line L0. The coordinates are represented as values in a reference coordinate system (coordinate axes X0, Y0) preset in the work area Q where the laser light is irradiated. In the reference coordinate system, when the workpiece H and the jig I are placed without deviation, the coordinates at which the workpiece H and the jig I, or their alignment marks M1, M2 are located are defined. The defined positions are indicated by a two-dot chain line. The positions of the alignment marks M1, M2 when there is no positional deviation are denoted as the reference positions O1, O2 of the alignment marks M1, M2.

[0027] The drawing data input in step S1 indicates the irradiation position of the laser beam required for the workpiece H when the workpiece H is installed without misalignment. The drawing data may be input by the operator via the data reader 54, or may be created in advance in the control device 50.

[0028] Next, when the workpiece H is set in the working area, the control device 50 inputs the position deviation information of the workpiece H from the position deviation monitoring device 40 (step S2).

[0029] FIG. 4(B) is a diagram for explaining an example of the position deviation information. In the figure, the workpiece H, the jig I, and the alignment marks M1 and M2 shown by solid lines represent the actual situation in the working area Q. The position deviation information detected by the position deviation monitoring device 40 is the information of the deviations (displacement vectors) A1 and A2 in FIG. 4(B). The deviations A1 and A2 indicate the direction and amount of deviation from the reference positions O1 and O2 of the alignment marks M1 and M2. From the information of the deviations A1 and A2, the amount of deviation in the rotational direction and the amount of deviation in the translational direction of the workpiece H and the jig I can be calculated. The standard coordinate system (coordinate axes X0, Y0) and the actual coordinate system (coordinate axes X1, Y1) shifted in the rotational direction and the translational direction based on the position deviation information are shown superimposed.

[0030] Subsequently, the control device 50 creates the drawing data corresponding to the position deviation, that is, the drawing data representing the irradiation position of the laser beam corresponding to the misaligned workpiece H, as the corrected drawing data (step S3).

[0031] FIG. 5(A) is a diagram for explaining the input drawing data and the corrected drawing data. In this figure, line L0 indicates a series of coordinates included in the drawing data input in step S1, and line L1 indicates a series of coordinates included in the corrected drawing data. The corrected drawing data (line L1) is obtained by performing coordinate transformation according to the positional deviation information (the amount of deviation in the rotation direction and the amount of deviation in the translation direction) input in step S2 on each coordinate of the drawing data (line L0) input in step S1. In the example of FIG. 5(A), by performing coordinate transformation between the reference coordinate system (X0, Y0) and the actual coordinate system (X1, Y1), the drawing data is rewritten as the corrected drawing data. In step S3, the control device 50 performs such calculations to create the corrected drawing data. The corrected drawing data includes a series of coordinates in which line L1 of the actual coordinate system is represented as values in the reference coordinate system.

[0032] Subsequently, the control device 50 sends the corrected drawing data to the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20 (step S4), and then, the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20 sends a command to start the operation to the laser oscillator 10 to start the processing (step S5).

[0033] FIG. 5(B) is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the object to be processed having a positional deviation and the corrected drawing data. Since the corrected drawing data is sent to the control driver 26, the irradiation position of the laser beam is controlled based on the corrected drawing data. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the laser beam is irradiated along line L1 corresponding to the misaligned object to be processed H, and the same processing as when there is no positional deviation is performed on the misaligned object to be processed H. Then, when a series of operations of the galvanometer scanning device 20 based on the drawing data are completed, the processing is terminated.

[0034] <Comparison with Comparative Example> Here, another correction method will be described as a comparative example. When it is desired to shift the irradiation position of the laser beam by a predetermined amount in the rotational direction and the translational direction from a series of coordinates shown in the drawing data, a correction method of adding correction to the analog signals respectively output from the control driver 26 to the first motor 22 and the second motor 24 can be adopted. Also with this correction method, since the analog signals are corrected, the rotation amounts of the first motor 22 and the second motor 24 are corrected, and the laser beam can be irradiated at a position shifted from the coordinates shown in the drawing data. However, in such a correction method, the characteristics of the mirror rotation mechanism and the driving characteristics of the motor affect the correction amount of the irradiation position of the laser beam. Therefore, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of correction. Further, when the mechanism or specifications of the galvano scanning device are different, the method of correcting the analog signal is different, so there is the complexity that an appropriate method of correcting the analog signal must be searched for each type of galvano scanning device. Also, in the correction method of the comparative example, since the irradiation position of the laser beam is corrected in real time during processing by feedback control, there is a problem that correction delay is likely to occur.

[0035] On the other hand, in the correction method of the present embodiment, the control driver 26 only needs to perform a standard operation. That is, in the present embodiment, although the coordinate values of the drawing data are changed by the correction, the control driver 26 performs a standard operation of controlling the driving of 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 (step S5 in FIG. 3). Therefore, according to the processing control process of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the difficulty of improving the correction accuracy in the correction method of the above comparative example, and the correction accuracy can be greatly improved. Further, according to the processing control process of the present embodiment, the complexity of searching for a correction method for each type of galvano scanning device becomes unnecessary, and there is an advantage that the same correction process can be applied to various types of galvano scanning devices. Further, in the correction method of the present embodiment, since the process of dealing with the positional deviation of the workpiece H before processing (the control device 50 inputs positional deviation information and corrects the drawing data) is performed, there is an advantage that correction delay does not occur as in the above comparative example.

[0036] As described above, according to the laser processing system 1, the laser processing method, and the program 51a of the present embodiment, the control device 50 inputs drawing data representing the irradiation position of the laser beam (step S1), and inputs the position deviation information of the workpiece H (step S2). Then, the control device 50 corrects the drawing data based on the position deviation information to create corrected drawing data corresponding to the position deviation of the workpiece H (step S3). Then, the control device 50 outputs the corrected drawing data as drawing data for scanning control. By such processing, as shown by comparison with the comparative example, an effect that the correction accuracy can be significantly improved is obtained. Furthermore, for various galvanometer scanners with different mechanisms and specifications, an effect that the same correction process can be applied with less complexity and the position deviation of the workpiece H can be dealt with is obtained.

[0037] Specifically, the drawing data is data indicating the irradiation position of the laser beam when there is no position deviation of the workpiece H, and the corrected drawing data is data indicating the irradiation position of the laser beam corresponding to the position-deviated workpiece H. With this configuration, it is possible to irradiate the laser beam at the position required for the position-deviated workpiece H using the drawing data created without considering the position deviation.

[0038] Furthermore, the galvanometer scanner 20 includes a first motor 22 and a second motor 24 that drive the first mirror 21 and the second mirror 23, respectively, and a control driver 26 that outputs drive signals to the first motor 22 and the second motor 24. Then, the corrected drawing data output by the control device 50 is sent to the control driver 26 as drawing data for scanning control. With this configuration, it is possible to perform a process for dealing with the position deviation of the workpiece H in front of the galvanometer scanner 20.

[0039] Furthermore, the positional deviation information is information including the amount of deviation in the rotational direction and the amount of deviation in the translational direction of the alignment marks M1 and M2 attached to the jig I of the object H to be processed. Further, the process of creating the corrected drawing data (step S3) includes a process of coordinate-transforming the coordinates of the drawing data according to the amount of deviation in the rotational direction and the amount of deviation in the translational direction described above. By such a process, it becomes possible to create corrected drawing data with high correction accuracy by calculation with less load.

[0040] As described above, one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the control device 50 directly outputs the corrected drawing data to the control driver 26 has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, the corrected drawing data output by the control device 50 may be sent to the control driver 26 after passing through a data processing unit that performs various other data processes. Further, in the above-described embodiment, two alignment marks M1 and M2 attached to the jig I are shown as marks for detecting the positional deviation of the object H to be processed, but the alignment mark may be one mark capable of identifying the direction, or may be three or more marks. Further, if the alignment mark is provided along with the object H to be processed, it may be attached to a configuration other than the jig I, or may be attached to the object H itself. Further, the mark for detecting the positional deviation of the object H to be processed does not have to be a mark dedicated to alignment, and for example, any identifiable mark attached to the object H to be processed may be applied. "Attached" means being in a relationship of moving together with the object H to be processed so that the relative position with the object H to be processed does not change. Further, the object H to be processed may be installed in the work area Q without passing through the jig I.

[0041] In the above-described embodiment, an example where there is no change in the positional deviation during processing was shown. However, the present disclosure can also be applied when the amount of positional deviation of the object H to be processed changes during processing. In this case, each time the positional deviation changes, the control device updates the corrected drawing data and sends the updated drawing data to the galvanometer scanning device 20. Then, when the drawing data is updated, the galvanometer scanning device 20 may be configured to drive based on the updated drawing data. In addition, the details shown in the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the laser processing control process executed by the control device. For the content common to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the same reference numerals are given and the overlapping description is omitted.

[0043] The laser processing control process program 51a may be stored in the storage unit 51 in the control device 50 as in the first embodiment, may be stored in a storage unit (not shown) in the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20, may be stored in a distributed manner in the storage unit 51 in the control device 50 and the storage unit (not shown) in the control driver 26, or may be stored in a storage unit in a host computer (not shown) that controls the entire laser processing system 1. Also in the first embodiment, the laser processing control process program 51a may be stored in a storage unit (not shown) in the control driver 26 of the galvanometer scanning device 20, may be stored in a distributed manner in the storage unit 51 in the control device 50 and the storage unit (not shown) in the control driver 26, or may be stored in a storage unit in a host computer (not shown) that controls the entire laser processing system 1.

[0044] In this embodiment, the correction of the positional deviation from the reference state (desired state) of the object H to be processed and / or each irradiation position is performed in two steps. The first correction procedure is an initial correction procedure performed using the object H to be processed for initial correction (one object to be processed), and the second correction procedure is an in-process correction procedure performed using the object H to be processed for this processing (another object to be processed). Note that the first correction procedure or the initial correction procedure may be omitted, and only the second correction procedure or the in-process correction procedure may be executed. "S" in the flowchart means step or process.

[0045] In S0, the object H to be processed for initial correction and the jig I are installed or fixed in the work area Q. Subsequently, the laser processing control processes S1 to S5 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are executed as an initial correction procedure for the object H to be processed for initial correction installed in S0. As a result of this initial correction procedure S1 to S5, as described above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, the positional deviations in the overall rotational direction and translational direction of the jig I and the object H to be processed are effectively corrected. Note that the object H to be processed (the one installed in S0) used in the initial correction procedure S1 to S5 may be used only for this initial correction, or may be adopted as a product (or the processed product for this processing) when the corrected positional deviation is within the allowable range.

[0046] In a state where the overall positional deviation of the jig I and the object H to be processed is corrected through the initial correction procedure S1 to S5 as described above, in S6, the object H to be processed for this processing is installed or fixed to the jig I and the work area Q. The subsequent series of processes is an in-process correction procedure for the object H to be processed for this processing installed in S6. S1 to S5 in this in-process correction procedure are the same as the above-described initial correction procedure S1 to S5, but the positional deviation information to be corrected is different. Specifically, while the initial correction procedure corrects the overall positional deviation of the object H (and the jig I) as the correction target, the in-process correction procedure corrects the fine deviation of each position in the object H or each irradiation position of the laser beam as the correction target.

[0047] In S1 of the correction procedure during machining, the control device 50 inputs drawing data (drawing data before correction) representing the irradiation position of the laser beam. In S3, the control device 50 creates the drawing data after correction. As will be described later, this S3 is repeated for a plurality of workpieces H for main machining. In the first S3, the correction amounts for the overall rotation and translation of the workpiece H and the jig I obtained through the initial correction procedures S1 to S5 are used.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the drawing data after correction created in S3. Points P1 to P5 in the figure represent the dot-like irradiation positions of the laser beam irradiated onto the workpiece H for main machining. Note that the irradiation positions of the laser beam for main machining may be linearly continuous like the line L0 shown in FIG. 4. The drawing data created or corrected in S3 is data including the coordinates representing each of the points P1 to P5. The coordinates are represented as values in the actual coordinate system (coordinate axes X1, Y1) in which the overall positional deviation in the rotational direction and the translational direction has been corrected through the initial correction procedures S1 to S5.

[0049] In S4, the control device 50 sends the drawing data after correction created in S3 to the control driver 26 of the galvano scanner device 20. In S5, the control driver 26 of the galvano scanner device 20 sends a command to start operation to the laser oscillator 10, thereby starting the machining process for the workpiece H for main machining installed in S6.

[0050] In S2 after the irradiation of the laser beam to each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 (i.e., the main machining) based on the drawing data as shown in FIG. 7 created in S3 is completed, the position deviation monitoring device 40 inputs the position deviation information of each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 to the control device 50 based on an image obtained by photographing the imaging region R including the workpiece H after main machining irradiated with the laser beam (the one installed in S6) using a camera or the like.

[0051] Here, the position deviation information of each irradiation position P1 to P5 may be obtained based on the reference position N included in the image (i.e., the imaging region R) and the displacement or distance between each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5. The reference position N is the position of an arbitrary reference object that is imaged by a camera or the like together with the object H to be processed or each irradiation position P1 to P5. The reference object is an object whose absolute position, orientation, size, etc. are recognized by the control device 50, and is, for example, the aforementioned alignment mark, jig I, or a characteristic structure or shape in the work area Q or the like.

[0052] FIG. 8 schematically shows the irradiation positions P1 to P5 with position deviation, as compared to FIG. 7 showing the ideal irradiation positions P1 to P5 without position deviation. The circles indicated by dotted lines in the figure are the ideal irradiation positions shown in FIG. 7, and the black circles are the irradiation positions P1 to P5 on the object H to be processed where the laser light is actually irradiated. Each arrow or vector indicating the displacement from each ideal irradiation position to each actual irradiation position P1 to P5 is the deviation of each irradiation position P1 to P5 detected by the position deviation monitoring device 40 (S2).

[0053] As schematically shown in FIG. 8, the position deviation that occurs during the actual processing of the object H to be processed may vary depending on each position on the object H to be processed or each irradiation position P1 to P5 of the laser light. This is typically considered to be because when laser processing is continuously performed on a large number of objects H to be processed, the temperature of the first mirror 21 and / or the second mirror 23 in the galvanometer scanning device 20 rises and becomes distorted. In particular, as a result of the amount or time of the laser light hitting each mirror 21, 23 varying from position to position, different deviations may appear for each irradiation position P1 to P5 as shown in FIG. 8. The deviation of each irradiation position P1 to P5 of the laser light due to such local distortion of the mirrors 21, 23 is not appropriately corrected by an overall process such as the initial correction procedures S1 to S5.

[0054] Therefore, in S7, the position deviation monitoring device 40 and / or the control device 50 calculates a correction amount for correcting the deviation for each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 detected in S2 for each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5. FIG. 9 schematically shows the correction amount for each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 (or the irradiation order) calculated or generated in S7. As shown in the figure, for each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5, an X correction amount in the X1 direction and a Y correction amount in the Y1 direction in the actual coordinate system are calculated and recorded in the form of a table or a table or the like. Such a set of the X correction amount and the Y correction amount is the inverse vector of the vector representing the position deviation in FIG. 8.

[0055] If there is an unprocessed workpiece H in S8 (Yes), the process returns to S6 and a new workpiece H for main processing is installed. In S1, the control device 50 inputs drawing data (drawing data before correction) representing the irradiation position of the laser beam. In S3, the control device 50 creates corrected drawing data. In such second and subsequent S3 to S5, the correction amount for each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 calculated in the previous S7 is used. As a result, in the previous S3 to S5, each of the irradiation positions P1 to P5 that deviated from the expected irradiation position (dotted circle) as shown in FIG. 8 is corrected to each of the expected irradiation positions P1 to P5 as shown in FIG. 7 by the X correction amount and the Y correction amount corresponding to each inverse vector.

[0056] Note that in a plurality of workpieces H on which main processing is continuously performed, the irradiation positions of the laser beam do not always exactly match. In such a case, the procedure S3 for creating the corrected drawing data may include a procedure for calculating an interpolation deviation of the obtained deviations for a plurality of irradiation positions around an irradiation position that does not include a deviation in the position deviation information obtained in S2 before the previous time, and may include a procedure for coordinate-transforming the input drawing data according to the calculated deviation.

[0057] For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the procedure S3 for creating the corrected drawing data includes a procedure for calculating the deviation obtained by interpolating the deviations already obtained for a plurality of irradiation positions P3, P5, etc. around the irradiation position P6 that does not include a deviation in the position deviation information acquired in S2 before the previous time, and may include a procedure for coordinate-transforming the drawing data for the irradiation position P6 according to the calculated deviation. As a simple example, when the irradiation position P6 for which the position deviation information has not been acquired is the midpoint of the irradiation positions P3 and P5 for which the position deviation information has been acquired, the correction amount or inverse vector for the irradiation position P6 may be the average of the correction amounts or inverse vectors already calculated for the irradiation positions P3 and P5.

[0058] If there is no unprocessed object to be processed H in S8 (No), the laser processing control process ends.

[0059] As described above, in the laser processing system 1, since different devices such as the laser oscillator 10, the galvano scanner 20, and the control device 50 perform various processes, it is difficult to grasp the entire content of the actually performed laser processing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a laser processing system 1 is proposed that can effectively grasp the entire content of the laser processing performed by each of the devices 10, 20, 50.

[0060] FIG. 10 is a schematic functional block diagram of such a laser processing system 1. The control device 50 of the laser processing system 1 includes a drawing data generation unit 61, a laser control unit 62, and an aggregated collection device 63. As long as the laser processing system 1 or the control device 50 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 of 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.

[0061] The laser processing system 1 according to this embodiment irradiates a workpiece H with laser light in a predetermined shape (for example, the aforementioned lines L0 and L1 and points P1 to P5). 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 the laser light based on the drawing data that specifies a series of irradiation positions and irradiation orders of the laser light in the predetermined shape.

[0062] 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 as necessary, and then causes the scanner head 20A to execute drawing based on the drawing data. Thus, the control device 50 (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.

[0063] The control driver 26 or the galvano scanning device 20 as a drawing device can determine the drawing 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 timing to the control device 50 (particularly, the laser control unit 62 described later).

[0064] The laser control unit 62 issues a laser control signal including an output start signal or a laser on signal for causing the laser oscillator 10 to start outputting laser light, or an output stop signal or a laser off signal for causing the laser oscillator 10 to stop outputting laser light. Specifically, the laser control unit 62 issues a laser on signal in accordance with the drawing start timing notified from the control driver 26 to cause the laser oscillator 10 to start emitting laser light. Further, the laser control unit 62 issues a laser off signal in accordance with the drawing end timing notified from the control driver 26 to cause the laser oscillator 10 to stop emitting laser light. Note that the laser on signal and the laser off signal may be represented as different states in one laser control signal. For example, a state where the laser control signal is on or at a high level may be treated as the laser on signal, and a state where the laser control signal is off or at a low level may be treated as the laser off signal.

[0065] In the laser processing system 1, various measuring devices for measuring the laser light and / or the workpiece H irradiated with the laser light may be provided during and / or before and after the laser processing of the workpiece H.

[0066] The measuring device may be a power meter M that measures the power of the laser light emitted by the laser oscillator 10. As schematically shown in FIG. 10, the power meter M may be temporarily installed at the processing position on the jig I (FIG. 1) where the workpiece H is placed during the laser processing, instead of the workpiece H, to measure the power of the laser light. The measurement of the power of the laser light by such a power meter M is preferably performed for adjusting the laser oscillator 10 before the laser processing of the workpiece H. Although not shown, the power meter M may be provided in the laser oscillator 10. This power meter M measures the power of the laser light reflected from the workpiece H or the scanner head 20A. Note that the power meter M may be fixedly or temporarily installed at a position within the working area Q adjacent to or close to the workpiece H. By directing the laser light from the scanner head 20A at such a power meter M, the power of the laser light can be measured even during the laser processing of the workpiece H.

[0067] The measuring device may measure physical quantities other than the power of the laser light, such as frequency, wavelength, pulse width or duration, and pulse interval or frequency.

[0068] In addition to or instead of the measuring device such as the power meter M that measures the laser light as described above, a sensor 70 as a measuring device for measuring the workpiece H irradiated with the laser light may be provided. The aforementioned camera used for monitoring the displacement of the workpiece H and the irradiation position of the laser light by the position displacement monitoring device 40 is an example of the sensor 70. However, the sensor 70 is not limited to a camera, and any device that can measure the workpiece H during and / or before and after the laser processing based on any principle such as light, electricity, magnetism, heat, etc. may be used.

[0069] Although illustration is omitted, the measuring device according to the present disclosure may measure the environment or atmosphere in which the laser processing system 1 and / or the object H to be processed is installed. Examples of such a measuring device include a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a luminance sensor, etc. The temperature sensor may measure the temperature of a refrigerant such as cooling water that cools each part in the laser processing system 1.

[0070] The integrated collection device 63 integrally collects laser device operation information related to the operation of the laser oscillator 10, drawing device operation information related to the operation of the galvanometer scanning device 20 or the scanner head 20A, and measurement information measured by measuring devices such as the power meter M and the sensor 70. The integrated collection device 63 is preferably provided in the control device 50 that controls the laser oscillator 10 and the galvanometer scanning device 20.

[0071] The integrated collection device 63 collects laser device operation information from the laser oscillator 10 itself and / or the laser control unit 62 that controls it. Examples of the laser device operation information include processing parameters or setting parameters for the laser oscillator 10 to emit the expected laser light at the expected timing, such as the power, frequency, wavelength, pulse width or duration, pulse interval or frequency, output start time and / or output stop time of the laser light, and the time when the output of the laser light is changed during laser processing. The laser control signal (for example, a laser on signal and / or a laser off signal) emitted by the laser control unit 62 to control the laser oscillator 10 itself may be collected by the integrated collection device 63 as laser device operation information. The laser device operation information may include self-diagnosis information related to the self-diagnosis periodically performed by the laser oscillator 10.

[0072] The integrated collection device 63 collects drawing device operation information from the scanner head 20A itself and / or the control driver 26 that controls it. Examples of the drawing device operation information include the shape to be drawn by the scanner head 20A on the object H to be processed using laser light, the irradiation path or drawing path of the laser light along the shape, the scanning speed or drawing speed at which the laser light is moved along the irradiation path, and the position where the output of the laser light is changed on the irradiation path. These are drawing parameters or setting parameters for the scanner head 20A to draw a desired shape with laser light. Note that since all or part of this drawing device operation information is set by the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 61, the drawing data itself may be collected by the integrated collection device 63 as drawing device operation information.

[0073] The drawing device operation information may include correction information for the drawing data according to the measurement information of the object H to be processed by the sensor 70. For example, as described above, the position deviation monitoring device 40 and / or the control device 50 generates correction information for the drawing data for correcting the position deviation of the object H to be processed and / or each irradiation position of the laser light based on the image (measurement information) of the object H to be processed captured by the camera as the sensor 70. Such position deviation correction information may be collected by the integrated collection device 63 as drawing device operation information.

[0074] The integrated collection device 63 collects various measurement information from measurement devices such as the power meter M and the sensor 70. When the power meter M is provided in the laser oscillator 10 as described above, the integrated collection device 63 may collect measurement information on the power of the laser light reflected from the object H to be processed and the scanner head 20A from the laser oscillator 10.

[0075] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of the information collection process executed by the integrated collection device 63. In this embodiment, laser device operation information, drawing device operation information, and measurement information excluding self-diagnosis information are intensively collected by the integrated collection device 63.

[0076] In S11, it is determined whether or not a higher-level system (for example, a manufacturing system) (not shown) of the laser processing system 1 designates processing parameters as laser device operation information. If it is determined as "No" in S11, the process proceeds to S12, and the control device 50 or the laser control unit 62 sets the processing parameters of the laser oscillator 10 or the laser beam according to the operation from the operator input through the laser processing control program 51a or the input device 53 (FIG. 1). In the subsequent S13, the intensive collection device 63 collects the processing parameters set in S12 and stores them intensively in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages. If it is determined as "Yes" in S11, S12 is skipped and the process proceeds to S13, and the intensive collection device 63 collects the processing parameters designated by the higher-level system in S11 and stores them intensively in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages.

[0077] In S14, the control device 50 selects a scenario for the laser processing of the object H to be processed. The scenario defines the figure to be drawn with the laser beam on the object H by the galvanometer scanning device 20 or the scanner head 20A, and the drawing mode and the like. The laser processing control program 51a is configured to be able to call a plurality of scenarios, and preferably, one scenario is selected from them through the higher-level system or the input device 53. In S15, the drawing data generation unit 61 generates drawing data according to the scenario selected in S14. In S16, the intensive collection device 63 collects the drawing data as the drawing device operation information generated in S15 and stores it intensively in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages.

[0078] In S17, it is determined whether there is a correction request for the drawing data generated in S15. If it is determined as "Yes" in S17, the process proceeds to S18, and the position deviation monitoring device 40 and / or the control device 50 generate correction information for correcting the position deviation of each irradiation position of the workpiece H and / or the laser beam. Although not shown, measurement information (for example, an image of the workpiece H captured by a camera) generated by a measuring device such as a sensor 70 for generating the correction information in S18 may be collected by the aggregating collection device 63 and stored in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages in an aggregated manner. If it is determined as "No" in S17, the process proceeds to S19.

[0079] In S19, the control device 50 causes the laser oscillator 10 and the galvano scanning device 20 to execute a laser processing operation based on the scenario selected in S14. Specifically, the laser oscillator 10 outputs a laser beam based on the processing parameters as the laser device operation information stored in S13, and the galvano scanning device 20 or the scanner head 20A draws a figure based on the drawing data (when passing through S18, the drawing data corrected by the correction information) as the drawing device operation information stored in S16 on the workpiece H with the laser beam.

[0080] In S20, the aggregated collection device 63 collects the correction information as the drawing device operation information generated in S18 and used in the actual laser processing in S19, and stores it intensively in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages. Thus, it is preferable that the correction information is not stored at the stage generated in S18, but is stored at the stage used in the actual laser processing in S19. This is because the generation of the correction information in S18 may be repeated before the execution of the scenario in S19. By storing only the correction information actually used in S19 and not storing the correction information not used in S19, the amount of correction information to be stored can be reduced. Also, since the correction information not used in S19 is not stored, it is possible to prevent the misunderstanding that it is related to the actual laser processing. As described above, it is preferable that the aggregated collection device 63 according to the present embodiment stores the correction information after the drawing (i.e., S19) by the galvanometer scanning device 20 or the scanner head 20A based on the drawing data corrected by the correction information.

[0081] In S21, the aggregated collection device 63 collects various measurement information from measurement devices such as the power meter M and the sensor 70 during the execution of the scenario in S19. Although not shown, the aggregated collection device 63 may collect measurement information from the measurement device before and / or after the execution of the scenario in S19.

[0082] In S22, it is determined whether the scenario started in S19 has ended. If it is determined "No" in S22, the process returns to S21, and the aggregated collection device 63 continues to collect the measurement information from the measurement device. If it is determined "Yes" in S22, the process proceeds to S23, and the aggregated collection device 63 stores intensively at least a part of the measurement information collected and temporarily buffered in S21 in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages. At this time, it is preferable that the aggregated collection device 63 selectively extracts or samples and stores, in each measurement information, a portion with a significant change that should be noted, or a portion considered useful for investigating the cause of an abnormality or defect in the laser processing.

[0083] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the information collection process executed by the aggregated collection device 63. In this embodiment, self-diagnosis information as laser device operation information is aggregated and collected by the aggregated collection device 63.

[0084] In S31, it is determined whether it is the self-diagnosis timing of the laser oscillator 10. For example, when the laser oscillator 10 performs self-diagnosis at a certain period, in S31, it is determined whether a timer (not shown) or the like has counted up to the period. Alternatively, it is determined whether the aggregated collection device 63 has counted up to the period for collecting self-diagnosis information from the laser oscillator 10 (for example, specified by the laser processing control processing program 51a). If it is determined as "No" in S31, S31 is repeated until it is determined as "Yes". If it is determined as "Yes" in S31, the process proceeds to S32, and the laser oscillator 10 executes self-diagnosis. In S33, the aggregated collection device 63 collects self-diagnosis information such as the result of the self-diagnosis executed in S32, and stores it in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages in an aggregated manner. When the galvanometer scanning device 20 has a similar self-diagnosis function, the aggregated collection device 63 may collect self-diagnosis information such as the result of the self-diagnosis of the galvanometer scanning device 20 as drawing device operation information, and store it in the storage unit 51 or other memories and storages in an aggregated manner.

[0085] FIG. 13 schematically shows various information collected over time by the aggregated collection device 63. As described above with respect to FIG. 11, the laser processing for each workpiece H is executed as a scenario (S19). Therefore, when the laser processing system 1 continuously performs laser processing on a plurality of workpieces H, as shown in FIG. 13, each scenario for each workpiece H is sequentially executed.

[0086] For each scenario or each laser processing operation executed in S19, a scenario ID is assigned as scenario identification information that can be used when selecting one scenario in S14. Also, regarding each scenario or each laser processing operation executed in S19, the processing parameter α as the laser device operation information stored in S13, the drawing data β as the drawing device operation information stored in S16, the measurement information γ stored in S23, etc. are intensively collected and stored by the intensive collection device 63.

[0087] In this way, the intensive collection device 63 stores an information group or dataset consisting of a scenario ID, a processing parameter α, drawing data β, measurement information γ, etc. for each scenario or each laser processing operation executed in S19. By referring to each information group, findings directly related to each scenario or each laser processing operation executed in S19 can be easily and comprehensively obtained.

[0088] Furthermore, the intensive collection device 63 may group together those related to a common laser processing operation among the laser device operation information such as the processing parameter α, the drawing device operation information such as the drawing data β, and the measurement information γ. For example, as schematically shown by the dotted rectangle in FIG. 13, the processing parameter α, the drawing data β, the measurement information γ, etc. related to a common laser processing operation executed according to a scenario with the same scenario ID (for example, "#1") may be managed by the intensive collection device 63 as one group that can be specified or referred to by the scenario ID.

[0089] As described above with respect to FIG. 12, the self-diagnostic information δ of the laser oscillator 10 differs in collection period or collection frequency from the processing parameters α, drawing data β, measurement information γ, etc., which are collected for each laser processing operation or each workpiece H. Here, since each self-diagnostic information δ is considered useful for evaluating the laser processing operations typically performed a plurality of times before it is generated, as schematically shown by the curved arrows in FIG. 13, each self-diagnostic information δ is preferably associated with the processing parameters α, drawing data β, measurement information γ, etc. related to the laser processing operations performed before it is generated. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the self-diagnostic information δ of the laser oscillator 10 related to each scenario or each laser processing operation executed in S19 can be comprehensively referred to in conjunction with other related information such as the processing parameters α, drawing data β, measurement information γ, etc.

[0090] As described above, the present disclosure has been described based on embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible for the combination of each component and each process in the embodiments as examples, and such modifications are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0091] The drawing apparatus according to the present disclosure is not limited to the galvanometer scanning apparatus 20 illustrated in the above embodiments. For example, a robot such as a robot hand or a robot arm in which the laser oscillator 10 is fixed or gripped at the tip or the like may be used as the drawing apparatus. 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.

[0092] Note that the configurations, operations, and functions of each apparatus 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 the hardware resources, for example, a processor, a ROM, a RAM, and various integrated circuits can be used. As the software resources, for example, programs such as an operating system and an application can be used.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0093] 1 Laser processing system, 10 Laser oscillator, 20 Galvano scanning device, 20A Scanner head, 26 Control driver, 40 Position deviation monitoring device, 50 Control device, 51a Laser processing control processing program, 61 Drawing data generation unit, 62 Laser control unit, 63 Aggregated collection device, 70 Sensor.

Claims

1. A laser device that emits a laser beam, A drawing device that draws with the laser beam on a workpiece based on drawing data specifying the irradiation position of the laser beam, A measuring device that measures at least one of the laser beam and the workpiece irradiated with the laser beam, An intensive collection device that intensively collects laser device operation information regarding the operation of the laser device, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of the drawing device, and measurement information measured by the measuring device, A laser processing system comprising the above.

2. The laser processing system according to claim 1, wherein the intensive collection device is provided in a control device that controls the laser device and the drawing device.

3. The laser processing system according to claim 2, wherein the control device provides the drawing data to the drawing device.

4. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the intensive collection device groups together those related to common processing among the laser device operation information, the drawing device operation information, and the measurement information into one group.

5. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drawing device operation information includes correction information for the drawing data according to the measurement information of the workpiece.

6. The laser processing system according to claim 5, wherein the intensive collection device stores the correction information after drawing by the drawing device based on the drawing data corrected by the correction information.

7. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the laser device operation information includes self-diagnosis information regarding self-diagnosis periodically performed by the laser device.

8. The laser processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the measuring device is a power meter that measures the power of the laser beam.

9. The laser processing system according to claim 8, wherein the power meter measures the power of the laser beam at the processing position where the workpiece is disposed during processing.

10. A laser processing method that executes aggregately collecting laser device operation information regarding the operation of a laser device that emits laser light, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of a drawing device that draws with the laser light on a workpiece based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position of the laser light, and measurement information measured by a measurement device that measures at least one of the laser light and the workpiece irradiated with the laser light.

11. A storage medium storing a laser processing program that causes a computer to execute aggregately collecting laser device operation information regarding the operation of a laser device that emits laser light, drawing device operation information regarding the operation of a drawing device that draws with the laser light on a workpiece based on drawing data that specifies the irradiation position of the laser light, and measurement information measured by a measurement device that measures at least one of the laser light and the workpiece irradiated with the laser light.

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