Laser processing device

Abstract

To provide a laser processing device having high processing efficiency.SOLUTION: A laser processing device includes a laser oscillator, first deflection means capable of deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, second deflection means which is arranged serially with the first deflection means on an optical path of a laser beam and can deflect the laser beam, and a control part. The first deflection means has higher response speed than that of the second deflection means. When a first coordinate is made to coincide with a center of a scanning range of the second deflection mans, and when a plurality of processing holes where a center coordinate is positioned within the scanning range of the second deflection means are processed, the control part sets a target coordinate of the second deflection means at the first coordinate, and in this state, the plurality of processing holes are processed by scanning with a laser beam by the first deflection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a laser processing apparatus has been disclosed that realizes trepanning processing that achieves both high processing throughput and high processing quality by separately providing a scanner that performs a positioning operation with respect to a predetermined processing position on a printed circuit board and a scanner that performs a trepanning operation for drawing the outer shape of a via hole (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] More specifically, when performing trepanning processing, the laser processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 positions a galvanometer scanner that performs the positioning operation so that the irradiation position of the processing beam becomes the center coordinates of the processing hole, and controls a galvanometer scanner that performs the trepanning operation so that the laser beam constantly repeats drawing a trepanning locus.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the laser processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when performing trepanning processing on a plurality of via holes, it is necessary to perform a positioning operation by the galvanometer scanner each time a hole is processed. Therefore, if the positioning operation takes time, the processing speed cannot be increased, and the processing efficiency is reduced.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing apparatus with high processing efficiency.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is , a laser oscillator and , a first deflecting means capable of deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, a second deflecting means disposed in series with the first deflecting means on the optical path of the laser beam and capable of deflecting the laser beam, and a control unit for controlling the first deflecting means and the second deflecting means, wherein the first deflecting means has a faster response speed than the second deflecting means, and the control unit aligns a first coordinate with the First center of the scanning range of the deflecting means, When to First when machining a plurality of machining holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the deflecting means, When the first coordinate is set as the center-of-gravity position coordinate of the center coordinates of the plurality of processing holes, and the target coordinates of the second deflecting means are set to the first coordinates, and in this state, the laser beam is scanned by the first deflecting means to machine the plurality of machining holes. A laser processing apparatus characterized by this. One aspect of the present invention includes a laser oscillator, a first deflection means capable of deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, a second deflection means disposed in series with the first deflection means on the optical path of the laser beam and capable of deflecting the laser beam, and a control unit for controlling the first deflection means and the second deflection means. The first deflection means has a faster response speed than the second deflection means. When the first coordinate coincides with the center of the scanning range of the first deflection means, when processing a plurality of processing holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the first deflection means, the first coordinate is set as the coordinate of the midpoint between the center coordinate of the processing hole closest to the origin position and the center coordinate of the processing hole farthest from the origin position among the plurality of processing holes, and the target coordinate of the second deflection means is set to the first coordinate. In this state, the laser beam is scanned by the first deflection means to process the plurality of processing holes. A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above is provided.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a laser processing apparatus with high processing efficiency can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, a laser processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are based on the state when the object to be processed is viewed in a plan view.

[0011] <Schematic Configuration of Laser Processing Apparatus> As shown in FIG. 1, a laser processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a laser processing apparatus that performs drilling on a printed circuit board W as an object to be processed placed on a processing table movable in the XY-axis directions. In addition to the above-described processing table, the laser processing apparatus 1 includes a laser oscillator 2, a first positioning mechanism 3, a second positioning mechanism 5, a focusing (Fθ) lens 6, a control unit 7, and the like.

[0012] The laser oscillator 2 is, for example, an ultraviolet (UV) laser or a carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) laser oscillator, and the generated laser beam is emitted from the laser oscillator 2 as a laser pulse.

[0013] The first positioning mechanism 3 includes a pair of acousto-optic elements 31 and 32 (Acousto-Optics Defrector, hereinafter referred to as AOD), and is a deflecting means (first deflecting means) for deflecting the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 by these AODs 31 and 32 to position the irradiation position. The first AOD 31 and the second AOD 32 are arranged in series on the optical path. The first AOD 31 is configured to be able to deflect the laser beam in the X-axis direction on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W. The second AOD 32 is configured to be able to deflect the laser beam in the Y-axis direction on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W.

[0014] The second positioning mechanism 5 is arranged in series on the downstream side of the first positioning mechanism 3, and is a deflecting means (second deflecting means) for deflecting the laser pulse that has passed through the first positioning mechanism 3 by a pair of galvanoscanners 51, 52. The first galvanoscanner 51 is configured to be able to deflect the laser beam in the X-axis direction on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W. The second galvanoscanner 52 is configured to be able to deflect the laser beam in the Y-axis direction on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W.

[0015] Furthermore, since the AOD has a response speed about 100 times faster than that of the galvanoscanner, the first positioning mechanism 3 has a faster response speed than the second positioning mechanism 5. Also, regarding the scanning range of the laser beam, the scanning range of the pair of AODs is generally a square with a side length of 200 to 600 [μm] on the surface to be processed. In comparison, the galvanoscanner has a larger scanning range. For this reason, the first positioning mechanism 3 has a narrower scanning range of the laser beam than the second positioning mechanism 5.

[0016] The laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 2 is deflected by the first positioning mechanism 3 and the second positioning mechanism 5, and the irradiation positions in the XY-axis directions on the printed circuit board W are positioned. Specifically, the sum of the displacement by the first AOD 31 and the displacement by the first galvanoscanner 51 becomes the displacement in the X-axis direction of the laser pulse on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W. Also, the sum of the displacement by the second AOD 32 and the displacement by the second galvanoscanner 52 becomes the displacement in the Y-axis direction of the laser pulse on the processing surface of the printed circuit board W.

[0017] The control unit 7 that controls the laser processing apparatus 1 includes a positioning control unit 71, a first AOD control unit 72, a first driver 74, a second AOD control unit 73, a second driver 75, a first scanner control unit 76, a second scanner control unit 77, and the like. The positioning control unit 71 is configured to read the processing program P and generate and output command values for the first positioning mechanism 3 and the second positioning mechanism 5 based on the read processing program P. Specifically, the positioning control unit 71 outputs a command value Xa in the X-axis direction to the first AOD control unit 72 and a command value Ya in the Y-axis direction to the second AOD control unit 73. Also, it outputs a command value Xs in the X-axis direction to the first scanner control unit 76 and a command value Ys in the Y-axis direction to the second scanner control unit 77.

[0018] The first AOD control unit 72 and the second AOD control unit output an AOD drive signal to the first AOD 31 and the second AOD 32 via the first and second drivers 74 and 75 based on the command values Xa and Ya. Also, the first scanner control unit 76 and the second scanner control units 76 and 77 control the rotation angles of the mirrors of the first galvanometer scanner 51 and the second galvanometer scanner 52 based on the command values Xs and Ys.

[0019] Furthermore, the positioning control unit 71 also functions as a laser oscillation control unit, outputs a shot signal for commanding the oscillation and attenuation of the laser beam to the laser oscillator 2, and controls the intensity, pulse width, etc. of the laser pulse emitted from the laser oscillator 2.

[0020] When the laser processing apparatus 1 performs drilling on the printed circuit board W by irradiating it with laser pulses, the positioning control unit 71 reads the processing program P, and performs the drilling according to the read processing program P. The processing program P describes a list of the center coordinates of each processing hole to be processed. The positioning control unit 71 sequentially reads the center coordinates of the processing holes from the list of the center coordinates of the processing holes, analyzes the coordinates, creates command values (target coordinates) Xa, Ya, Xs, Ys for the galvanoscanners 51, 52 and the AODs 31, 32, and transmits them to the respective control units 72, 73, 76, 77. Each of the control units 72, 73, 76, 77 controls the AODs 31, 32 of the first positioning mechanism 3 and the galvanoscanners 51, 52 of the second positioning mechanism 5 based on the command values (target coordinates) Xa, Ya, Xs, Ys.

[0021] When the laser irradiation position is positioned, a shot signal is output from the positioning control unit 71, and the laser oscillator 2 emits a laser pulse with a laser intensity and a pulse width corresponding to the shot signal. The laser pulse emitted from the laser oscillator 2 sequentially enters the first positioning mechanism 3 and the second positioning mechanism 5, is deflected in the XY-axis directions by the AODs 31, 32 and the galvanoscanners 51, 52, and then enters the condenser lens 6. Then, it is condensed at a predetermined position on the printed circuit board W, and drilling is performed on the printed circuit board W.

[0022] Note that the above-described positioning control unit 71, the AOD control units 72, 73, the drivers 74, 75, and the scanner control units 76, 77 may be realized as one function (process) of the control program of the laser processing apparatus 1 or as independent circuits. For this reason, the control unit 7 includes at least one storage unit in which the control program is stored and at least one CPU (arithmetic unit) that executes the control program.

[0023] <Drilling Processing Control> Next, the drilling process control in the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example the case where a plurality of processing holes are processed by trepanning. Note that trepanning is, for example, a processing method in which a laser beam is pulsed a plurality of times on a concentric circle to process a hole having a diameter equal to or larger than the spot diameter of the laser beam.

[0024] Specifically, when performing trepanning, the positioning mechanism of the laser beam performs a positioning (PTP; Point-to-Point) operation to position the irradiation position of the laser beam, and then executes a path following (CP; Continuous Path) operation to move the irradiation position of the laser beam in accordance with the shape of the processing hole. Then, by emitting a pulsed laser a plurality of times during this CP operation (hereinafter, this operation is referred to as a trepanning operation), one processing hole is trepanned. When trepanning a plurality of processing holes, each processing hole is trepanned while the above PTP operation and CP operation are repeated.

[0025] FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing the processing path of trepanning in the comparative example. The black dots in FIG. 2(a) are the command values (target coordinates) of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52, the circles are the processed holes subjected to trepanning, and the arrows indicate the movement operations of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52. Also, the pitch between each processing hole is 100 [μm], and the processed hole diameter is 30 [μm].

[0026] In this comparative example, the PTP operation employs an algorithm (program) that sets the center coordinates of each processing hole as the target coordinates. Also, the PTP operation is executed by the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 of the second positioning mechanism 5, and the CP operation is executed by the AODs 31 and 32 of the first positioning mechanism 3. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2(b), in this comparative example, the command values Xs and Ys of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 in the PTP operation are the center coordinates of the processing holes.

[0027] That is, when the positioning control unit 71 reads the machining program P, the positioning control unit 71 generates command values Xs and Ys for one of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 for each machining hole center coordinate described in the machining program P. Then, after the PTP operation is performed based on the generated command values Xs and Ys, the trepanning operation is performed by the AODs 31 and 32 and the laser oscillator 2. In Fig. 2(a), since 32 machining holes are being trepanned, in this case, the moving operation (PTP operation) of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 and the trepanning operation are repeated 32 times (i.e., the same number as the number of machining holes to be machined), and a plurality of machining holes are machined. Note that for each machining hole center coordinate, one command value Xa and Ya for the AODs 31 and 32 are also generated. However, in this comparative example, since the PTP operation is executed only by the galvanoscanners 51 and 52, the command values Xa and Ya are always (0, 0).

[0028] Incidentally, unlike the PTP operation performed by the galvanoscanners 51 and 52, the trepanning operation is performed by the AODs 31 and 32 and the laser oscillator 2. The AODs 31 and 32 have a response speed approximately 100 times faster than that of the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 as described above, and are comparable to the oscillation period of the laser. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 3, when the laser beam diameter is 10 [μm] and the machining pitch is 5 [μm] both in the radial direction and the circumferential direction, 20 shots of the laser beam are required to trepan a machining hole with an outer diameter of 30 [μm]. However, when the oscillation frequency of the laser oscillator 2 is 500 [kHz], the trepanning operation can be performed in a minimum time of 40 [μs] calculated from the shot period.

[0029] Note that the time required for the above trepanning operation is obtained as follows. That is, when the oscillation frequency is 500 [kHz], the time required for emitting one shot of the laser beam is 1 / 500 [kHz] = 2 [μs]. Therefore, it can be calculated as 2 [μs] × 20 shots = 40 [μs]. In the case of trepanning using a galvanoscanner, such high-speed trepanning cannot be achieved due to the limitations of the response characteristics of the galvanoscanner.

[0030] Figure 4(a) is a timing chart of the trepanning process in the above comparative example. In the case of the current positioning speed performance of the galvanometer scanners, in this comparative example, the time Ta required for the PTP operation of the galvanometer scanners 51 and 52 is at least 300 [μs] and at most 400 [μs]. Therefore, the time required for processing one hole including the PTP operation is 340 to 440 [μs] combined with the 40 [μs] which is the time required for the above trepanning process.

[0031] From the above results, it can be seen that the time Ta required for the PTP operation is the bottleneck among the time required for processing one hole. When the time required for the trepanning process is clearly longer than the time Ta required for the PTP operation, the time Ta required for the PTP operation does not pose a problem. However, in the comparative example, combined with the fact that the PTP operation needs to be executed the same number of times as the number of processed holes, the positioning time by these galvanometer scanners 51 and 52 limits the processing speed.

[0032] Therefore, in this embodiment, the positioning control unit 71 is made to function as a command value grouping processing calculation unit, and by executing the command value grouping processing, the number of positioning times of the galvanometer scanners 51 and 52 is reduced compared to the above-described comparative example.

[0033] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when the positioning control unit 71 receives the machining program P (step S1 in FIG. 5), first, it initializes the machining hole number (step S2). Then, when the machining hole center coordinates are described in the machining program P (Yes in step S3), it reads the machining hole center coordinates (X1, Y1) at the head of the described machining hole center coordinate list (step S4).

[0034] When the machining hole center coordinates (X1, Y1) are read, next, the positioning control unit 71 reads the next machining hole center coordinates (X2, Y2) in the machining hole center coordinate list (Yes in steps S5, S6, S7), and calculates the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) of the coordinate group of the machining hole center coordinates (X1, Y1) and the machining hole center coordinates (X2, Y2) (step S8).

[0035] When the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) are obtained, the stroke (ΔXk, ΔYk), which is the deviation from the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) to the machining hole center coordinates of the coordinate group, is calculated, and it is determined whether the calculated stroke (ΔXk, ΔYk) is within the stroke range (scanning range) of AOD31, 32. This is sequentially executed from the machining hole center coordinates with a faster reading order (No in steps S10 to S13).

[0036] And when the stroke (ΔXk, ΔYk) from the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) to any machining hole center coordinates within the coordinate group is within the stroke range of AOD31, 32 (|ΔXk| ≤ AODxmax and |ΔYk| ≤ AODymax) (Yes in step S13), the next machining hole center coordinates in the machining hole center coordinate list are read and added to the coordinate group (Yes in step S6, S7), and the value of the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) is updated (step S8). Note that AODymax and AODymax are the maximum displacements on one side in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction from the center of the scanning range (AOD scan area) of AOD31, 32, respectively.

[0037] And the update process of the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) (steps S6 to S14) is repeated until the stroke (ΔXk, ΔYk) from the centroid coordinates (Xc, Yc) to the machining hole center coordinates is outside the stroke range of AOD31, 32 (No in step S11).

[0038] When the strokes (ΔXk, ΔYk) from the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) to the machining hole center coordinates are outside the stroke ranges of AOD31 and 32 (No in step S11), the positioning control unit 71 aborts the update process of the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) (step S15), and sets the machining hole center coordinates read before the machining hole center coordinates outside the stroke ranges of AOD31 and 32 as one group (step S16).

[0039] Then, the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) of the machining hole center coordinates grouped as the above-mentioned one group are set as the command values Xs and Ys of the galvanometer scanners 51 and 52, and the strokes (ΔXk, ΔYk) from the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) to each machining hole center coordinate are set as the command values Xa and Ya of AOD31 and 32, and a set of these command values Xs and Ys of the galvanometer scanners 51 and 52 and the command values Xa and Ya of AOD31 and 32 is used as the grouping command value (step S17).

[0040] Then, the positioning control unit 71 repeatedly executes the above-mentioned grouping process until the last machining hole center coordinate in the machining hole center coordinate list of the machining program P is grouped (steps S18, S3 to S18), and when all the machining hole center coordinates in the machining hole center coordinate list are grouped (No in step S6), the grouping process is terminated.

[0041] When the AOD scan area is a 200 [μm] square, if trying to machine the same machining holes as in the comparative example by the method of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, for the command values (Xsi, Ysi) (i = 1, 2...) of one galvanometer scanner 51 or 52, four command values (Xak, Yak) (k = 1, 2...) of AOD31 and 32 are grouped as a set. Note that when the grouping process is performed, since a plurality of AOD commands Xa and Ya are to be sent to the AOD control units 72 and 73 on the receiving side, the AOD control units 72 and 73 on the receiving side are equipped with a hardware-software interface so that they can perform AOD trepanning machining according to the commands for the plurality of commands.

[0042] When the grouping process is performed in this way, the PHP operation from the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) to the center coordinates of each processing hole is executed by AOD31, 32. Therefore, it becomes faster than performing the PHP operation only by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52. Also, since the command values of the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 are calculated so that as many processing holes as possible are within the scan areas of AOD31, 32, for example, as shown in Fig. 2(c), the PHP operation of the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 may be performed once for every four holes processed, and the frequency of the PHP operation by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 can be reduced. For example, in the comparative example, it was necessary to perform the PHP operation by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 32 times, whereas in the method of this embodiment, the PHP operation by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 only needs to be performed 8 times.

[0043] As shown in Fig. 4(b), the time Tb required for the PHP operation by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 per time is equal to or longer than the time Ta required for the PTP operation of the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 in the comparative example (Tb≧Ta, where Tb is also about 300 to 400 [μs]). However, as described above, the number of positioning times by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the processing time can be significantly shortened compared with the comparative example.

[0044] That is, since AOD31, 32 performs the movement between the processing holes within the same group at high speed, the time required to continuously perform trepanning on four holes can be considered to be 40 [μs]×4 = 160 [μs]. Even when considering the time Tb required for the PHP operation by the galvanometer scanners 51, 52 as the worst value of 400 [μs], the processing time for four holes is 560 [μs]. Converting this to the processing time per hole, it is 560 [μs] / 4 = 140 [μs]. It can be seen that the processing time is significantly shortened compared with 340 to 400 [μs] in the comparative example. In particular, considering the recent trend of increasing the density of small-diameter holes in printed circuit boards, the higher the density of the holes to be processed, the greater the processing time shortening effect.

[0045] As described above, in this embodiment, instead of generating one command value for the galvanoscanners 51 and 52 and the AODs 31 and 32 from one machining hole center coordinate as in the comparative example, the machining holes within the range that can be positioned by the AODs 31 and 32 are grouped together as one group, and one galvanoscanner command value is generated for this group. For each machining hole within the group, the command values for the AODs 31 and 32 are created from the difference between the machining hole center coordinate and the galvanoscanner command value, and trepanning is performed using the AODs 31 and 32 including the movement between machining holes. When the machining holes are densely arranged, since a group including a plurality of machining holes can be created, a plurality of holes can be machined for one positioning of the galvanoscanner. As a result, when executed through the machining program, the number of movements of the galvanoscanner is reduced, so that the machining speed can be improved.

[0046] In this embodiment, the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc) are used in the grouping process. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to use representative points calculated from other multiple machining holes. For example, the midpoint of the maximum and minimum values of the coordinates within the group may be used. That is, when the maximum and minimum values of the X coordinates within the group are Xmax and Xmin, respectively, and the maximum and minimum values of the Y coordinates are Ymax and Ymin, respectively, the midpoint coordinates (Xc’, Yc’) = ((Xmax + Xmin) / 2, (Ymax + Ymin) / 2) of the maximum and minimum values may be used instead of the center-of-gravity coordinates (Xc, Yc), and the check of the stroke range may be performed and grouping may be performed according to the processing flow shown in FIG. 5. Which calculation formula to use for the calculation of the representative point may be determined according to the simplicity of the calculation, the calculation speed, or the requirements related to the machining speed and the machining hole quality, and any of them may be used.

[0047] <Summary> The laser processing apparatus (1) according to this embodiment is a laser oscillator (2), a first deflecting means (3) capable of deflecting the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator (2), A second deflection means (5) which is arranged in series with the first deflection means (3) on the optical path of the laser beam and is capable of deflecting the laser beam, a control unit (7) for controlling the first deflection means (3) and the second deflection means (5), the first deflection means (3) has a faster response speed than the second deflection means (5), the control unit (7), when the first coordinates are made to coincide with the center of the scanning range of the second deflection means (5) and a plurality of processing holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the second deflection means (5) are to be processed, sets the target coordinates of the second deflection means (5) to the first coordinates, and in this state, scans the laser beam with the first deflection means (3) to process the plurality of processing holes, A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above.

[0048] For this reason, in the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(c), with respect to the processing holes whose center coordinates are located within the scan area (scanning range) of the AODs 31 and 32, the laser beam can be scanned and processed by the first deflection means (3) having a high response speed. At the same time, since it is possible to reduce the number of PTP operations by the second deflection means (5) having a relatively low response speed, the processing speed and processing efficiency of the laser processing apparatus (1) can be increased.

[0049] The plurality of processing holes are processing holes of a first group, when the first coordinates are made to coincide with the center of the scanning range of the second deflection means and the center coordinates are located outside the scanning range of the second deflection means (5), and when the center of the scanning range of the second deflection means (5) is made to coincide with a second coordinate different from the first coordinates, and a plurality of processing holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the second deflection means (5) are defined as processing holes of a second group, and when the plurality of processing holes of the second group are to be processed after the plurality of processing holes of the first group, the control unit (7), Set the target coordinates of the second deflecting means (5) to the first coordinates. In this state, scan the laser beam with the first deflecting means to machine a plurality of processing holes in the first group. Thereafter, set the target coordinates of the second deflecting means (5) to the second coordinates. In this state, scan the laser beam with the first deflecting means (3) to machine a plurality of processing holes in the second group.

[0050] In this way, for the processing holes within the scanning range of the first deflecting means (3) centered on the first coordinates and the second coordinates, since the first deflecting means (3) scans and drills the holes, the number of PTP operations by the second deflecting means (5) can be reduced.

[0051] The control unit (7) scans the laser beam with the first deflecting means (3) to perform trepanning on each of the plurality of processing holes.

[0052] In this way, by performing the trepanning operation with the first deflecting means (3) having a high response speed, the time required for the trepanning operation can be shortened.

[0053] The first coordinates are the center-of-gravity position coordinates of the center coordinates of the plurality of processing holes.

[0054] By setting the first coordinates or the second coordinates to the center-of-gravity position of the center coordinates of the processing holes within the group, the first coordinates and the second coordinates will be located in the region with a large number of holes. Therefore, the vicinity of the center of the scanning range of the first deflecting means (3) with relatively little correction can be used, and the processing accuracy of the processing holes can be improved.

[0055] The first coordinates are the coordinates of the midpoint between the center coordinates of the processing hole with the center coordinates closest to the origin position and the center coordinates of the processing hole with the center coordinates farthest from the origin position among the plurality of processing holes.

[0056] The first deflecting means (3) is a deflecting means for deflecting the laser beam by a pair of AODs (31, 32). The second deflecting means (5) is a deflecting means for deflecting the laser beam by a pair of galvanometer mirrors (51, 52).

[0057] In the above-described embodiment, a deflecting means including an AOD is employed as the first positioning mechanism 3. However, for example, it may be configured by a laser-positioning mechanism using a piezo-driven mirror, a galvanometer scanner, or the like. Further, particularly for a processing hole pattern with a narrow pitch, the processing speed can be improved by introducing the above-described grouping process not only in trepanning but also in punching.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0058] 2: Laser oscillator 3: First deflecting means (first positioning mechanism) 5: Second deflecting means (second positioning mechanism) 7: Control unit

Claims

1. A laser oscillator, a first deflecting means capable of deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, a second deflecting means arranged in series with the first deflecting means on the optical path of the laser beam and capable of deflecting the laser beam, and a control unit for controlling the first deflecting means and the second deflecting means, wherein the first deflecting means has a faster response speed than the second deflecting means, and the control unit when machining a plurality of machining holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the first deflecting means when the first coordinate coincides with the center of the scanning range of the first deflecting means, sets the first coordinate as the center-of-gravity position coordinate of the center coordinates of the plurality of machining holes and sets the target coordinate of the second deflecting means to the first coordinate, and in this state, scans the laser beam by the first deflecting means to machine the plurality of machining holes. A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above.

2. A laser oscillator, a first deflecting means capable of deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, a second deflecting means arranged in series with the first deflecting means on the optical path of the laser beam and capable of deflecting the laser beam, and a control unit for controlling the first deflecting means and the second deflecting means, wherein the first deflecting means has a faster response speed than the second deflecting means, and the control unit when machining a plurality of machining holes whose center coordinates are located within the scanning range of the first deflecting means when the first coordinate coincides with the center of the scanning range of the first deflecting means, sets the first coordinate as the coordinate of the midpoint between the center coordinate of the machining hole closest to the origin position and the center coordinate of the machining hole farthest from the origin position among the plurality of machining holes, and sets the target coordinate of the second deflecting means to the first coordinate, and in this state, scans the laser beam by the first deflecting means to machine the plurality of machining holes. A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above.

3. The plurality of machining holes are machining holes of a first group, wherein when the center of the scanning range of the first deflecting means is at the first coordinate, the center coordinates of each machining hole are outside the scanning range of the first deflecting means, and when the center of the scanning range of the first deflecting means is at a second coordinate different from the first coordinate, the center coordinates of each machining hole are within the scanning range of the first deflecting means. When a plurality of machining holes are defined as machining holes of a second group, the control unit Set the target coordinates of the second deflecting means to the first coordinates, and in this state, scan the laser beam by the first deflecting means to machine a plurality of processing holes in the first group. Thereafter, set the target coordinates of the second deflecting means to the second coordinates, and in this state, scan the laser beam by the first deflecting means to machine a plurality of processing holes in the second group. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.

4. The control unit scans the laser beam by the first deflecting means to trepan each of the plurality of processing holes. The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that.

5. The first deflecting means is a deflecting means for deflecting the laser beam by a pair of AODs. The second deflecting means is a deflecting means for deflecting the laser beam by a pair of galvanometer mirrors. The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that.

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