Laser processing device

Abstract

To provide a laser processing device capable of efficiently collecting chips which cannot be sucked upward and performing cleaning.SOLUTION: A laser processing device for processing a workpiece placed on a processing table by irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam includes: a holding part formed inside the processing table; a recovery hole formed in the processing table and communicating an upper surface of the processing table with the holding part to allow chips of the workpiece to fall into the holding part; an air flow path for supplying compressed air to the holding part; and a collection container connected to the holding part for storing the chips discharged from the holding part. The compressed air is supplied to the holding part to discharge the chips in a state in which the recovery hole is closed by an unprocessed workpiece.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus that performs drilling by irradiating a workpiece placed on a processing table with a laser beam. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional laser processing devices, such as those described in Patent Document 1, use a suction duct below the laser processing head to suction and collect molten dust generated by laser processing from above the workpiece. However, while suction and collection of molten dust from above is possible when drilling small-diameter holes by repeatedly irradiating the same location with a laser, when forming relatively large through-holes by trepanning, such as those for positioning in subsequent processes, large chips are generated that cannot be suctioned above the workpiece. To address this issue, it is undesirable for chips to remain on the processing table. Therefore, a chip collection hole and chip storage space could be provided at the position where the positioning opening is formed when the workpiece is placed on the table, allowing the chips to fall into the space and be cleaned from the processing table whenever a certain amount accumulates. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-71153 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, when cleaning after accumulating a certain amount of chips in the storage space provided on the processing table, it is conceivable that the worker would use a suction device such as a vacuum cleaner to suck out the chips from the collection hole, but this can lead to uneven cleaning or chips not being collected depending on the individual worker, which can leave chips around the collection hole. Also, it is not appropriate for the worker to collect and clean the chips themselves because it takes time for preparation, etc.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a laser processing apparatus that can efficiently collect and clean chips that cannot be sucked upward. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention provides a laser processing device that processes a workpiece placed on a processing table by irradiating it with a laser beam, the device comprising: a storage section formed inside the processing table; a recovery hole formed in the processing table that connects the upper surface of the processing table to the storage section and allows workpiece chips to fall into the storage section; an air flow path that supplies compressed air to the storage section; and a collection container that is connected to the storage section and collects chips discharged from the storage section, and is characterized in that compressed air is supplied to the storage section while the recovery hole is blocked with an unprocessed workpiece, thereby discharging the chips. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the laser processing device of the present invention, chips that cannot be sucked upward can be efficiently collected and cleaned. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a laser processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating a processing table according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration in the vicinity of a recovery hole of a workpiece placing table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration in the vicinity of a recovery hole of a workpiece placing table according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Representative embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a laser processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the laser processing apparatus 1 is composed of a laser processing machine 10 that processes a workpiece placed on a processing table 15, a supply machine 30 that supplies unprocessed workpieces to the processing table 15, and a recovery machine 40 that recovers workpieces from the processing table 15 after laser processing.

[0010] The supply machine 30 is composed of a rail 31, a slider 32 that can move back and forth on the rail 31 in the X direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1), a lifter 33 provided on the slider 32, and a supply suction head 34 that is supported by the lifter 33 so as to be movable in the Z direction (up and down direction in FIG. 1). A spring 35 is provided between the supply suction head 34 and the lifter 33, and the suction head 34 is biased in a direction away from the lifter 33.

[0011] The supply suction head 34 is box-shaped with a hollow space inside, and its underside has multiple openings that communicate with the hollow space. The hollow space is connected to a vacuum source, and by creating a vacuum, the workpiece is sucked and held on the underside. The supply machine 30 uses the suction head 34 to move an unprocessed workpiece W (e.g., a ceramic green sheet) placed on a supply table 36 to the upper surface of the processing table 15 of the laser processing machine 10. The underside of the suction head 34 is large enough to cover the processing area on the workpiece surface.

[0012] The processing table 15 of the laser processing machine 10 is composed of a table base 16 and a workpiece mounting table 17. The table base 16 is movable in the X and Y directions (front-back and left-right directions in FIG. 1) on the bed 13. The workpiece mounting table 17 is mounted and fixed on the upper surface of the table base 16. A processing head 11 serving as a laser irradiation head is provided above the processing table 15 in front of a column 12 fixed on the bed 13. Furthermore, a suction duct 14 is provided below the processing head 11 to suck in chips that melt and fly upward from the workpiece during laser processing.

[0013] The recovery machine 40 is composed of a rail 41, a slider 42 that can move back and forth on the rail 41 in the X direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1), a lifter 43 provided on the slider 42, and a recovery suction head 44 that is supported by the lifter 43 so as to be movable in the Z direction (up and down direction in FIG. 1). A spring 45 is provided between the recovery suction head 44 and the lifter 43, and the suction head 44 is biased in a direction away from the lifter 43.

[0014] The suction head 44 for recovery has the same configuration as the suction head 34 for supply, and is configured to suck and hold the workpiece on its underside. The recovery machine 40 uses the suction head 44 to move the machined workpiece placed on the processing table 15 to a recovery table 46.

[0015] The operations of the laser processing machine 10, the supply machine 30 and the recovery machine 40 are controlled by a control device 50.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a processing table according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the vicinity of the recovery hole of the workpiece placement table according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is a top view of the vicinity of recovery hole 18(a) in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the vicinity of the recovery hole of the workpiece placement table according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view of the vicinity of recovery hole 18(a) in Fig. 2. Processing table 15 will be described in detail using Figs. 2 to 4.

[0017] A hollow space connected to a vacuum source (not shown) is provided inside the workpiece mounting table 17, and a plurality of fine holes (also not shown) that communicate with the hollow space are formed in the upper surface of the mounting table 17. When a workpiece is placed on the upper surface of the mounting table 17, the hollow space is evacuated to a vacuum, thereby holding the workpiece by suction.

[0018] Recovery holes 18(a) to (d) with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the positioning through hole are formed in the positions where the positioning through hole will be machined when the work is placed on the upper surface of the workpiece placing table 17. As the vicinity of each recovery hole is all similar in configuration, the following will explain the configuration near recovery hole 18(a), and will omit explanations of the other recovery holes 18(b) to (d).

[0019] 3 and 4, below recovery hole 18(a) is formed a storage section 20(a) as a hollow space that is hollowed out to include recovery hole 18(a) in a top view and open to the side of mounting table 17. Because storage section 20(a) as a hollow space is provided directly below recovery hole 18(a), chips generated by trepanning when forming the positioning through-holes pass directly through recovery hole 18(a) and fall into storage section 20(a). Note that recovery hole 18(a) is formed slightly larger than the positioning through-holes, so the chips fall into storage section 20(a) without clogging in recovery hole 18(a).

[0020] An air flow path 19(a) is formed in the workpiece placement table 17 to supply compressed air into the storage section 20(a). The air flow path 19(a) is connected to a compressed air source (not shown) via air piping 22(a). When compressed air is supplied to the storage section 20, the chips in the storage section 20(a) are discharged from a side opening (discharge port 21(a)) by the wind pressure. The supply of compressed air from the compressed air source is controlled by the control section 50, so that the air can be supplied to the storage section 20(a) at any time.

[0021] Reference numeral 23(a) denotes a collection container for storing chips discharged from the storage section 20(a). The collection container 23(a) is a box-shaped container with an internal space for storing chips, and one of its sides is provided with an opening (collection port 24(a)) that is slightly larger than the discharge port 21(a) of the storage section 20(a). As clearly shown in Figure 3, the collection container 23 is detachably fixed to the side of the workpiece mounting table 17 with the discharge port 21 and collection port 24 aligned by means of screws or the like (not shown).

[0022] The laser processing apparatus 1 is controlled by the control device 50 and operates as follows. First, an unmachined workpiece W placed on the supply table 36 of the supply machine 30 is sucked and held on the lower surface of the supply suction head 34, and the suction head 34 is positioned above the workpiece placing table 17 of the laser processing machine 10. The supply suction head 34 is then lowered and stopped at a height where the workpiece sucked and held on the lower surface abuts on the upper surface of the workpiece placing table 17. In this state, the unmachined workpiece abuts on the placing table 17 so that the processing area of ​​the workpiece is covered by the suction head 34. As a result, each of the recovery holes 18(a) to (d) is blocked by the workpiece held by the supply suction head 34.

[0023] Next, compressed air is sent into the storage sections 20(a) to (d). If there are chips in the storage sections 20(a) to (d), the compressed air is sent in, which causes them to be discharged from the discharge ports 21(a) to (d) and collected in the collection containers 23(a) to (d). Note that, because the recovery holes 18(a) to (d) on the top surface of the workpiece placing table 17 are blocked by the unmachined workpiece whose machining area is covered by the suction head 34, supplying compressed air can prevent the unmachined workpiece from floating up and prevent chips and dust from spraying onto the top surface of the workpiece placing table.

[0024] Thereafter, the suction head 34 releases the workpiece from suction, and the workpiece is fixed by suction on the workpiece mounting table 17. The suction head 34 is then raised and moved to a position where it will not interfere with processing by the laser processing machine 10. Then, using the laser processing machine 10, a laser is irradiated from the processing head 11 to perform laser processing on the workpiece on the mounting table 17. During processing, dust is collected by the suction duct 14, and molten debris other than the positioning holes formed by the trepanning process is sucked and collected above the workpiece. Then, chips generated by the trepanning process at the position of the positioning opening fall into the storage sections 20(a) to (d) through the collection holes 18(a) to (d) provided on the upper surface of the workpiece mounting table 17.

[0025] When laser processing is complete, the suction of the workpiece on the workpiece mounting table 17 is released, and the recovery suction head 44 of the recovery machine 40 is used to move the processed workpiece on the workpiece mounting table 17 to the recovery table 46. In this way, processing of one workpiece is completed. If unprocessed workpieces on the supply table 36 are to be processed next, processing continues in the same procedure.

[0026] When a predetermined amount of chips has accumulated in the collection containers 23(a) to (d), each container can be removed from the workpiece placing table 17, the chips can be discarded, and the container can be reattached.

[0027] In this embodiment, the descent of the suction head is stopped when the workpiece held by the suction head abuts the upper surface of the workpiece mounting table, and compressed air is supplied, but the descent may also be stopped when the workpiece is pressed against the upper surface of the workpiece mounting table, and compressed air may be supplied. By pressing the workpiece in this manner, it is possible to more reliably prevent the unmachined workpiece from floating up due to the wind pressure of the compressed air.

[0028] In addition, in this embodiment, the collection container is attached directly to the workpiece mounting table, but the collection container may also be located at a location separate from the processing table by connecting the discharge outlet of the storage section to the collection container via piping.

[0029] In this embodiment, a recovery hole is provided at the position where the positioning hole is machined on the top surface of the workpiece mounting table, but a recovery hole or the like may also be provided at a position other than the positioning hole where large chips are generated by the trepanning process.

[0030] As described above, the present invention uses compressed air to discharge chips from the storage section after dropping them into the storage section, thereby efficiently collecting and cleaning chips that cannot be sucked upward during trepanning. Furthermore, compressed air is supplied while the collection hole on the table top is blocked, preventing chips and other debris from spraying out onto the table top surface through the collection hole. Furthermore, because the collection hole is blocked by the unmachined workpiece held by the supply suction head, supplying compressed air to the storage section prevents the unmachined workpiece from floating up due to wind pressure, preventing chips and dust from flowing out onto the table surface through the collection hole. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1: Processing device, 10: Laser processing machine, 11: Processing head, 12: Column, 13: Bed, 14: Suction duct, 15: Processing table, 16: Table base, 17: Workpiece placement table, 18(a)-(d): Recovery hole, 19(a)-(d): Air flow path, 20(a)-(d): Storage section, 21(a)-(d): Discharge port, 22(a)-(d): Air piping, 23(a)-(d): Collection container, 24: Collection port, 30: Supply machine, 31: Rail, 32: Slider, 33: Lifter, 34: Suction head for supply, 35: Spring, 36: Supply table, 40: Collection machine, 41: Rail, 42: Slider, 43: Lifter, 44: Suction head for collection, 45: Spring, 46: Collection table, 50: Control device

Claims

1. In a laser processing device that processes a workpiece placed on a processing table by irradiating it with a laser beam, A storage section formed inside the processing table; a recovery hole formed in the processing table, which communicates the upper surface of the processing table with the storage section and allows workpiece chips to fall into the storage section; an air flow path for supplying compressed air to the storage section; a collection container connected to the storage unit and configured to collect chips discharged from the storage unit; Equipped with With the recovery hole blocked by an unmachined workpiece, compressed air is supplied to the storage section to discharge the chips. A laser processing device characterized by:

2. a feeder that holds the unmachined workpiece and supplies it to the machining table; When compressed air is supplied to the storage section, the unmachined workpiece is held by the supply machine and in contact with the processing table.

2. The laser processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

3. a feeder that holds the unmachined workpiece and supplies it to the machining table; When compressed air is supplied to the storage section, the unmachined workpiece is pressed against the processing table by the supply machine.

2. The laser processing device according to claim 1, wherein:

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