Laser processing apparatus and laser processing method

Abstract

To suppress generation of an excess current from a power source when a scanning unit restarts after coming to a standstill due to reduction in power supply.SOLUTION: When a first voltage detection circuit detects, during machining operation using laser beams, that an output voltage from a galvano DC / DC converter falls below a first threshold, a controller executes: action position acquisition processing for acquiring a present action position of a galvano scanner; return vector data generation processing for, on the basis of the present action position of the galvano scanner acquired, calculating return vector data for casing the galvano scanner to return to a reference coordinate value and causing the return vector data to generate; and return command output processing for receiving the generated return vector data and outputting a command for causing the galvano scanner to return to the reference coordinate value on the basis of the received return vector data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to a technique for laser processing an object. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a laser processing device that enables gap control, which controls the distance between the processing nozzle that irradiates the workpiece with laser light and the processing portion of the workpiece to a predetermined value, until an abnormality in the supplied power is detected, and disables it when an abnormality in the supplied power is detected. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-182105 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the laser processing device described in Patent Document 1 does not mention a scanning unit that scans with laser light when an abnormality in the power supply is detected, and therefore cannot address problems that may occur when, for example, the scanning unit stops in an unknown scanning position due to a sudden drop in the power supply. Specifically, in this case, after the scanning unit stops in an unknown scanning position, if the power supply returns to normal and the scanning unit is restarted, an overcurrent may occur in the power supply that supplies power to the scanning unit, depending on the scanning position where it stopped before the restart.

[0005] An object of the present application is to provide a technique that can prevent an overcurrent from occurring in a power supply when a scanning unit is restarted after being stopped due to a drop in power supply. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above object, the laser processing apparatus of the present application is a laser processing apparatus that irradiates a workpiece with laser light to process the workpiece, and includes a laser oscillator that oscillates laser light, a scanning unit that scans the laser light from the laser oscillator, a power supply that supplies power to the laser oscillator and the scanning unit, a voltage detection unit that detects whether the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a predetermined threshold value, an input unit that receives an input of processing data instructing the processing content of the workpiece, and a control unit that controls the laser oscillator and the scanning unit based on the processing data. The control unit includes a data generation unit that generates vector data used for the processing operation by the laser light based on the processing data received by the input unit, and a driver that receives the vector data generated and transmitted by the data generation unit and outputs an operation command for causing the scanning unit to perform a scanning operation based on the received vector data. During the processing operation by the laser light, when the voltage detection unit detects that the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a first threshold value, the control unit performs an operation position acquisition process of acquiring the current operation position of the scanning unit based on the vector data transmitted from the data generation unit to the driver, calculates feedback vector data for returning the scanning unit to a predetermined reference position based on the current operation position of the scanning unit acquired by the operation position acquisition process, performs a feedback vector data generation process of generating the calculated feedback vector data from the data generation unit, and receives the feedback vector data generated from the data generation unit by the feedback vector data generation process and outputs a feedback command for returning the scanning unit to the predetermined reference position based on the received feedback vector data.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present application, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an overcurrent from the power supply when the scanning unit restarts after stopping due to a decrease in the supplied power.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a laser processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 2 shows a control configuration of the laser processing apparatus 1. Note that in FIGS. 1 and 2, a part of the basic configuration is omitted, and the dimensional ratios of the drawn parts are not necessarily accurate. Also, in FIG. 1, the vertical direction is as shown in the figure.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 2, the laser processing apparatus 1 is composed of a PC 2 and a laser processing section 3. Since the PC 2 is a general PC, the description of its configuration is omitted.

[0011] The laser processing section 3 performs marking (printing) processing by two-dimensionally scanning the processing laser beam P on the processing surface 8 of the object to be processed 7. The laser processing section 3 includes a controller 6.

[0012] The controller 6 is composed of a computer and is connected to the PC 2 so as to be capable of two-way communication via, for example, USB, Ethernet, wireless LAN, RS-232C, etc. The controller 6 drives and controls the laser processing section 3 based on the printing information, parameters, various instruction information, etc. transmitted from the PC 2.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the laser processing unit 3 includes a laser oscillation unit 12, a guide light unit 15, a dichroic mirror 101, an optical system 70, a camera 103, a galvanometer scanner 18, an fθ lens 19, etc., and is covered with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing cover (not shown).

[0014] The laser oscillation unit 12 is composed of a laser oscillator 21 and the like. The laser oscillator 21 is composed of a CO2 laser, a YAG laser, etc., and emits a processing laser beam P. The optical diameter of the processing laser beam P is adjusted (for example, enlarged) by a beam expander (not shown).

[0015] The guide light unit 15 is composed of a visible semiconductor laser 28 and the like. The visible semiconductor laser 28 emits a guide light Q which is visible coherent light, for example, red laser light. The guide light Q is made into parallel light by a lens group (not shown), and further, by two-dimensional scanning, for example, an image of a printing pattern (hereinafter referred to as an "object") to be marked (printed) with the processing laser beam P, an image of a rectangle surrounding the object, etc. are drawn as a locus (persistence of vision due to reflection) on the processing surface 8 of the processing object 7. That is, the guide light Q does not have the ability to perform marking (printing) processing.

[0016] The wavelength of the guide light Q is different from the wavelength of the processing laser beam P. In this embodiment, for example, the wavelength of the processing laser beam P is 1064 nm, and the wavelength of the guide light Q is 650 nm.

[0017] In the dichroic mirror 101, almost all of the incident processing laser beam P is transmitted. Also, in the dichroic mirror 101, at a substantially central position where the processing laser beam P is transmitted, the guide light Q is incident at an incident angle of 45 degrees and is reflected at a reflection angle of 45 degrees onto the optical path of the processing laser beam P. The reflectivity of the dichroic mirror 101 has wavelength dependence. Specifically, the dichroic mirror 101 has a surface treatment of a multilayer film structure of a dielectric layer and a metal layer, has a high reflectivity with respect to the wavelength of the guide light Q, and is configured to transmit almost all (99%) of the light of other wavelengths.

[0018] Note that the dashed-dotted line in Fig. 1 indicates the optical axes 10 of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q. Also, the direction of the optical axis 10 indicates the path directions of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q.

[0019] The optical system 70 includes a first lens 72, a second lens 74, and a moving mechanism 76. In the optical system 70, the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q that have passed through the dichroic mirror 101 enter and pass through the first lens 72. At this time, the optical paths of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q are reduced by the first lens 72. Also, the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q that have passed through the first lens 72 enter and pass through the second lens 74. At this time, the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q are made parallel by the second lens 74. The moving mechanism 76 includes an optical system motor 80 and a rack and pinion (not shown) that converts the rotational motion of the optical system motor 80 into a linear motion, and moves the second lens 74 in the path direction of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q by controlling the rotation of the optical system motor 80.

[0020] Note that the moving mechanism 76 may be configured to move the first lens 72 instead of the second lens 74, or may be configured to move both the first lens 72 and the second lens 74 so that the distance between the first lens 72 and the second lens 74 changes.

[0021] The galvanometer scanner 18 two-dimensionally scans the processing laser beam P that has passed through the optical system 70 and the guide beam Q. In the galvanometer scanner 18, a galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and a galvanometer Y-axis motor 32 are attached such that their respective motor axes are orthogonal to each other, and scanning mirrors 18X and 18Y attached to the tip ends of the respective motor axes face each other inward. Then, by rotationally controlling each of the motors 31 and 32 to rotate each of the scanning mirrors 18X and 18Y, the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q are two-dimensionally scanned. This two-dimensional scanning direction is the X direction and the Y direction. In the galvanometer scanner 18, a reference position, which is the initial position (angle) of each of the scanning mirrors 18X and 18Y that starts the scan operation, is set when the operation of the laser processing starts or when the power of the laser processing apparatus 1 is turned on. The reference position is indicated by a reference coordinate value in a coordinate signal, and when the galvanometer scanner 18 takes this reference coordinate value, no unreasonable load is applied to each of the motors 31 and 32, and a stable scan operation can be started. Generally, this reference coordinate value is often set to the origin (0, 0) in the XY coordinate system of the laser irradiation region, and also in this embodiment, the reference coordinate value is the origin.

[0022] The fθ lens 19 condenses the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q that have been two-dimensionally scanned by the galvanometer scanner 18 onto the processing surface 8 of the workpiece 7. Therefore, the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q are two-dimensionally scanned in the X direction and the Y direction on the processing surface 8 of the workpiece 7 by the rotational control of each of the motors 31 and 32.

[0023] The processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q have different wavelengths. Therefore, when the distance between the first lens 72 and the second lens 74 in the optical system 70 is constant, the positions where the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q are focused (hereinafter referred to as "focal position F") are different in the vertical direction. Therefore, the focal position F of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q is adjusted to match the processing surface 8 of the workpiece 7 by adjusting the distance between the first lens 72 and the second lens 74 in the optical system 70.

[0024] Also, even when the position of the processing surface 8 of the object to be processed 7 varies in the vertical direction, in the same manner, the focal position F of the processing laser beam P and the guide beam Q is adjusted to be aligned with the processing surface 8 of the object to be processed 7 by adjusting the distance between the first lens 72 and the second lens 74 in the optical system 70.

[0025] The camera 103 is provided near the fθ lens 19 in a state of being directed toward the processing surface 8 of the object to be processed 7. Thereby, the camera 103 can image, for example, the guide beam Q irradiated onto the processing surface 8 of the object to be processed 7 and display it on a liquid crystal display (LCD) 56 described later, enabling the user to confirm whether the alignment between the processing image to be performed and the object to be processed 7 is appropriate.

[0026] Next, the control configuration of the laser processing unit 3 that constitutes the laser processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the laser processing unit 3 is composed of a controller 6, a galvano driver 36, a laser driver 37, a semiconductor laser driver 38, an optical system driver 78, a camera 103, and the like. The controller 6 controls the entire laser processing unit 3. The galvano driver 36, the laser driver 37, the semiconductor laser driver 38, the optical system driver 78, and the like are electrically connected to the controller 6. Also, an external PC 2 is connected to the controller 6 and the camera 103 so as to enable two-way communication. The controller 6 is configured to be able to receive each piece of information (for example, printing information, parameters for the laser processing unit 3, various instruction information from the user, etc.) transmitted from the PC 2. The camera 103 is configured to be able to receive each piece of information (for example, imaging instruction information, etc.) transmitted from the PC 2 and to be able to transmit the captured image to the PC 2.

[0028] The controller 6 includes a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43, a galvanometer controller 35, a laser controller 34, a laser driver 37, etc. The CPU 41 is an arithmetic unit and a control unit that controls the entire laser processing unit 3. The CPU 41, the RAM 42, and the ROM 43, etc. are interconnected by a bus (not shown) and data is exchanged between them.

[0029] The RAM 42 is for temporarily storing various calculation results calculated by the CPU 41, vector data 44 (to be described later with reference to FIG. 3), etc.

[0030] The ROM 43 stores various programs. For example, it stores programs such as the format conversion software 6a (to be described later with reference to FIG. 3), the vector data conversion software 6b, and control processing programs (to be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6).

[0031] The CPU 41 performs various calculations and controls based on various programs stored in the ROM 43.

[0032] Based on the information input from the controller 6, the optical system driver 78 drives and controls the optical system motor 80 to move the second lens 74.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows the sequence for generating various types of data. The PC 2 transmits print information to the controller 6 in response to a user instruction. The print information is information indicating the characters and graphics to be printed. When the CPU 41 of the controller 6 receives the print information, it activates the format conversion software 6a stored in the ROM 43 as described above and converts the print information into a language recognizable by the controller 6 based on the format conversion software 6a. The format-converted character information is then passed to the vector data conversion software 6b. The vector data conversion software 6b is also stored in the ROM 43 as described above, and the CPU 41 converts the converted character information into vector data based on the vector data conversion software 6b. The vector data is used by the laser processing unit 3 when performing printing using the processing laser light P. The converted vector data is then supplied to the FPGA 6c. FPGA is an abbreviation for "Field-Programmable Gate Array." Based on the supplied vector data, the FPGA 6c generates an intensity signal indicating the output intensity of the laser oscillator 21 and supplies it to the laser oscillator 21, and also generates a coordinate signal indicating the scanning coordinates of the processing laser light P and supplies it to the galvanometer driver 36. In this embodiment, the intensity signal is a PWM signal, and the coordinate signal is an analog signal. In this way, the FPGA 6c fulfills the roles of the galvanometer controller 35, the laser controller 34, and the laser driver 37.

[0034] 4 shows the flow of various signals within the laser processing unit 3. The power supply unit 90 supplies a power supply voltage of, for example, 48 V to the laser processing unit 3, specifically to the laser oscillator 21, the galvanometer DC / DC converter 91, etc. The galvanometer DC / DC converter 91 converts the 48 V power supply voltage from the power supply unit 90 to a power supply voltage of, for example, 15 V, and supplies the converted 15 V power supply voltage to the galvanometer driver 36 and the galvanometer motors 31, 32. Note that a DC / DC converter and the like are also provided separately, which receives power from the power supply unit 48 and converts it into a power supply voltage suitable for the semiconductor driver 38 and the optical system driver 78, but these are not shown and will not be described in detail.

[0035] Also, the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is input to the first voltage detection circuit 95 and the second voltage detection circuit 96. The first voltage detection circuit 95 outputs a notification signal to the controller 6 while the output voltage of the power supply unit 90 is below a first threshold value, for example, 20V. On the other hand, the second voltage detection circuit 96 outputs a notification signal to the controller 6 while the output voltage of the power supply unit 90 is below a second threshold value, for example, 16V.

[0036] The controller 6 outputs an enable signal (hereinafter referred to as "EN signal") for operating the galvanometer DC / DC converter 91 to the galvanometer DC / DC converter 91. Also, the controller 6 outputs a coordinate signal and an excitation control signal to the galvanometer driver 36 and outputs an intensity signal to the laser driver 37.

[0037] The galvanometer driver 36 includes a drive signal generation circuit 36a, an excitation control circuit 36b, and a transistor circuit 36c. The drive signal generation circuit 36a generates a drive signal for driving the galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and the galvanometer Y-axis motor 32 based on the coordinate signal supplied from the controller 6. On the other hand, the excitation control circuit 36b performs excitation control based on the excitation control signal supplied from the controller 6. The drive signal generated by the drive signal generation circuit 36a is input to the input side of the transistor circuit 36c, and the excitation on / off signal from the excitation control circuit 36b is input to the control input of the transistor circuit 36c. When the excitation on signal is input, the transistor circuit 36c outputs the input drive signal directly to the galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and the galvanometer Y-axis motor 32, and when the excitation off signal is input, the output of the input drive signal is stopped. Note that although not shown, so-called bypass capacitors having appropriate capacitances are arranged in the circuits constituting the controller 6, the galvanometer DC / DC converter 91, and the galvanometer driver 36. Therefore, even if the power supply to these circuits is interrupted for some reason (e.g., momentary power failure), the voltage in the circuit does not immediately become zero. The bypass capacitor plays a role of a backup power supply, and the voltage can be gradually decreased while consuming power and maintaining the voltage for a certain period of time.

[0038] The control process executed by the laser processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIGS. 5 and 6 show the procedure of the control process executed by the controller 6, particularly the CPU 41. This control process is started, for example, when an instruction to start printing is given to the laser processing apparatus 1. Hereinafter, in the description of the procedure of each process, the step will be denoted as "S".

[0039] In FIG. 5, first, the CPU 41 starts printing (S12). Next, the CPU 41 determines whether the first voltage detection circuit 95 has detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is below the first threshold value (S14). This determination is made by determining whether the first voltage detection circuit 95 is outputting the above notification signal. In the determination of S14, if the first voltage detection circuit 95 has not detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is below the first threshold value (S14: NO), the CPU 41 waits until the first voltage detection circuit 95 detects that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is below the first threshold value. When the first voltage detection circuit 95 detects that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is below the first threshold value (S14: YES), the CPU 41 advances the process to S16.

[0040] In S16, when the laser oscillator 21 is outputting, the CPU 41 stops the laser output of the laser oscillator 21. Specifically, the CPU 41 passes data to the vector data conversion software 6b such that vector data from which an intensity signal becomes "0" is generated by the vector data conversion software 6b. When the laser output of the laser oscillator 21 has stopped or is in a stopped state, further, the power supply from the power supply unit 90 to the laser oscillator 21 is stopped.

[0041] Next, the CPU 41 determines whether printing has been completed (S18). In this determination, if printing has not been completed (S18: NO), the CPU 41 acquires the final coordinate value from the FPGA 6c (S20). The final coordinate value is the coordinate value of the coordinate signal output by the FPGA 6c when the laser output was stopped in S16 above.

[0042] Next, the CPU 41 passes the acquired final coordinate value and the above-mentioned reference coordinate value to which it should return to the vector data conversion software 6b, and instructs the vector data conversion software 6b to generate vector data for returning from the final coordinate value to the reference coordinate value (S22). At this time, it is preferable to instruct the vector data conversion software 6b to generate vector data for returning as fast as possible. Further, it is preferable to instruct the vector data conversion software 6b to generate vector data for returning to the reference coordinate value at a faster speed as the distance between the final coordinate value and the reference coordinate value is longer. This is intended to operate while the voltage for driving the galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and the galvanometer Y-axis motor 32 can be maintained by the above-mentioned bypass capacitor provided in the circuit constituting the galvanometer DC / DC converter 91 and the galvanometer driver 36.

[0043] Next, the CPU 41 rewrites the vector data prepared to be output to the FPGA 6c next with the vector data generated by the vector data conversion software 6b as instructed in S22 (S24).

[0044] Next, the CPU 41 causes the vector data conversion software 6b to supply vector data to the FPGA 6c (S26). When the process proceeds from S24 to S26, since vector data for returning from the final coordinate value to the reference coordinate value is supplied to the FPGA 6c, the galvanometer driver 36 generates a drive signal for returning the galvanometer scanner 18 to its reference position and supplies it to the galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and the galvanometer Y-axis motor 32.

[0045] On the other hand, in the determination of S18, when printing is completed (S18: YES), the CPU 41 passes the final coordinates of the vector data and the reference coordinate value to be returned to the vector data conversion software 6b, and instructs the vector data conversion software 6b to generate vector data that returns from the final coordinates to the reference coordinate value (S28). The difference between the process of S28 and the process of S22 is that in the process of S28, since printing is completed, the final coordinates can be known within the vector data conversion software 6b without querying the FPGA 6c, and the final coordinate value is not queried from the FPGA 6c. In contrast, in the process of S22, since printing is not completed, the final coordinates cannot be known within the vector data conversion software 6b, and the final coordinate value is queried from the FPGA 6c.

[0046] Then, after the process of S28, the CPU 41 proceeds with the process to S26. This is because there is no vector data prepared to be output to the FPGA 6c next, so the CPU 41 does not need to perform the process of S24. Whether the process proceeds from S28 to S26 or from S24 to S26, vector data that returns from the final coordinates to the reference coordinate value is supplied to the FPGA 6c. Therefore, the galvanometer driver 36 generates a drive signal to return the galvanometer scanner 18 to its reference position and supplies it to the galvanometer X-axis motor 31 and the galvanometer Y-axis motor 32.

[0047] Next, the CPU 41 determines whether the second voltage detection circuit 96 has detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is lower than the second threshold value (S30 in FIG. 6). This determination is made by determining whether the second voltage detection circuit 96 is outputting the above notification signal. In the determination of S30, if the second voltage detection circuit 96 has not detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is lower than the second threshold value (S30: NO), the CPU 41 determines whether the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has returned to the voltage of the first threshold value (S32). This determination is made by determining whether the first voltage detection circuit 95 has stopped outputting the notification signal. In the determination of S32, if it has not returned to the voltage of the first threshold value (S32: NO), the CPU 41 instructs the PC 2 to display a message indicating that the voltage is dropping on the display (not shown) of the PC 2 (S34), and then ends the control process. On the other hand, in the determination of S32, if it has returned to the voltage of the first threshold value (S32: YES), the CPU 41 ends the control process.

[0048] On the other hand, in the determination of S30 above, if the second voltage detection circuit 96 has detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is lower than the second threshold value (S30: YES), the CPU 41 turns off the power supply of the galvano driver 36 and turns off the excitation of the galvano X-axis motor 31 and the galvano Y-axis motor 32 (S36), and then ends the control process. In the process of S36, turning off the power supply of the galvano driver 36 specifically means that the controller 6 switches the EN signal output to the galvano DC / DC converter 91 to a disable signal. Also, turning off the excitation of the galvano X-axis motor 31 and the galvano Y-axis motor 32 specifically means that the controller 6 switches the excitation control signal output to the galvano driver 36 to a signal such that the galvano driver 36 outputs excitation off.

[0049] As described above, the laser processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is a laser processing apparatus 1 that irradiates a workpiece with laser light to process the workpiece, and includes a laser oscillator 21 that oscillates laser light, a galvano scanner 18 that scans the laser light from the laser oscillator 21, a power supply unit 90 that supplies power to each part of the laser processing unit 3 such as the laser oscillator 21 and the galvano DC / DC converter 91, a first voltage detection circuit 95 that detects whether the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has fallen below a predetermined threshold value, a controller 6 that receives an input of processing data instructing the processing content of the workpiece, and a controller 6 that controls the laser oscillator 21 and the galvano scanner 18 based on the processing data.

[0050] The controller 6 has vector data conversion software 6b that generates vector data used for the processing operation by laser light based on the processing data received by the controller 6, and an FPGA 6c that receives the vector data generated and transmitted by the vector data conversion software 6b and outputs an operation command for causing the galvano scanner 18 to perform a scanning operation based on the received vector data.

[0051] During the processing operation by laser light, when the first voltage detection circuit 95 detects that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has fallen below the first threshold value, the controller 6 performs an operation position acquisition process (S20) of acquiring the final coordinate value of the galvano scanner 18 based on the vector data transmitted from the vector data conversion software 6b to the FPGA 6c, calculates feedback vector data for the galvano scanner 18 to return to the reference coordinate value based on the final coordinate value of the galvano scanner 18 acquired by the operation position acquisition process, and performs a feedback vector data generation process (S22) of generating the calculated feedback vector data from the vector data conversion software 6b, receives the feedback vector data generated from the vector data conversion software 6b by the feedback vector data generation process, and outputs a feedback command output process (S26) of outputting a command to return the galvano scanner 18 to the reference coordinate value based on the received feedback vector data.

[0052] As described above, in the laser processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when it is detected that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has fallen below the first threshold value during the processing operation by the laser beam, the final coordinate value of the galvanometer scanner 18 is acquired based on the vector data transmitted from the vector data conversion software 6b to the FPGA 6c. Based on the acquired final coordinate value of the galvanometer scanner 18, feedback vector data for returning the galvanometer scanner 18 to the reference coordinate value is calculated. The calculated feedback vector data is generated from the vector data conversion software 6b, the feedback vector data generated from the vector data conversion software 6b is received, and a command for returning the galvanometer scanner 18 to the reference coordinate value is output based on the received feedback vector data. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an overcurrent from the power supply when the galvanometer scanner 18 restarts after stopping due to a decrease in the supply power.

[0053] Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the galvanometer scanner 18 is an example of the "scanning unit". The power supply unit 90 is an example of the "power supply". The first voltage detection circuit 95 is an example of the "voltage detection unit". The controller 6 is an example of each of the "input unit" and the "control unit". The vector data conversion software 6b is an example of the "data generation unit". The FPGA 6c is an example of the "driver". The final coordinate value is an example of the "current operating position". The reference coordinate value is an example of the "predetermined reference position".

[0054] Also, when it is detected by the first voltage detection circuit 95 that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has fallen below the first threshold value during the processing operation by the laser beam, the controller 6 executes a stop process for stopping the laser output of the laser oscillator 21. Thereby, when the laser oscillator 21 restarts after stopping due to a decrease in the supply power, there is no possibility of emitting a laser beam differently from the user's intention, so the safety is improved.

[0055] Furthermore, when the second voltage detection circuit 96 detects that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 has fallen below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value during a laser beam machining operation, the controller 6 executes a power-off process to turn off the power supply unit 90 after disconnecting the electrical connection to the galvanometer scanner 18. This ensures sufficient time between the output of a command to return the galvanometer scanner 18 to the reference coordinate value and the power being turned off, thereby ensuring that the galvanometer scanner 18 can be reliably returned to the reference coordinate value. The second voltage detection circuit 96 is an example of a "voltage detection unit."

[0056] Furthermore, in the return vector data generation process, the longer the distance between the current operating position of the galvano scanner 18 acquired in the operating position acquisition process and a predetermined reference position, the faster the return vector data that allows the galvano scanner 18 to return to the predetermined reference position is calculated, and the calculated return vector data is generated by the vector data conversion software 6b. This makes it possible to more reliably return the galvano scanner 18 to the reference coordinate values.

[0057] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0058] (1) In the above embodiment, the first and second thresholds of the power supply voltage are detected by separate voltage detection circuits, but this is not limiting and they may be detected by a single voltage detection circuit. Also, while the first and second thresholds are fixed values, they may be configured to be changeable by setting.

[0059] (2) In the above-described embodiment, the first voltage detection circuit 95 stops the laser output and turns off the power supply to the laser oscillator 21 at the timing when it detects that the output voltage from the power supply unit 90 is lower than the first threshold value (S16). However, the present invention is not limited to this. A third voltage detection circuit may be provided to stop the laser output and turn off the power supply to the laser oscillator 21 at the timing when it detects that the voltage is lower than a third threshold value different from the first threshold value. Alternatively, the operation may be controlled based on a determination criterion other than the output voltage from the power supply unit 90.

Explanation of Signs

[0060] 1... Laser processing apparatus, 2... PC, 6... Controller, 6a... Format conversion software, 6b... Vector data conversion software, 6c... FPGA, 18... Galvanometer scanner, 21... Laser oscillator, 31... Galvanometer X-axis motor, 32... Galvanometer Y-axis motor, 36... Galvanometer driver, 36a... Drive signal generation circuit, 36b... Excitation control circuit, 37... Laser driver, 41... CPU, 90... Power supply unit, 91... Galvanometer DC / DC converter, 95... First voltage detection circuit, 96... Second voltage detection circuit.

Claims

1. A laser processing apparatus that irradiates a workpiece with a laser beam to process the workpiece, a laser oscillator that oscillates the laser beam, a scanning unit that scans the laser beam from the laser oscillator, a power supply that supplies power to the laser oscillator and the scanning unit, a voltage detection unit that detects whether an output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a predetermined threshold value, an input unit that receives an input of processing data indicating the processing content of the workpiece, a control unit that controls the laser oscillator and the scanning unit based on the processing data, comprising: the control unit includes a data generation unit that generates vector data used for a processing operation by the laser beam based on the processing data received by the input unit, a driver that receives the vector data generated and transmitted by the data generation unit and outputs an operation command for causing the scanning unit to perform a scanning operation based on the received vector data, having: during the processing operation by the laser beam, when the voltage detection unit detects that the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a first threshold value, the control unit performs an operation position acquisition process of acquiring the current operation position of the scanning unit based on the vector data transmitted from the data generation unit to the driver, calculates return vector data for returning the scanning unit to a predetermined reference position based on the current operation position of the scanning unit acquired by the operation position acquisition process, and causes the data generation unit to generate the calculated return vector data, receives the return vector data generated by the data generation unit by the return vector data generation process, and outputs a return command for returning the scanning unit to the predetermined reference position based on the received return vector data, and executes these processes before the output voltage from the power supply returns to the first threshold value. A laser processing apparatus characterized by the above.

2. During the processing operation by the laser beam, when the voltage detection unit detects that the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a first threshold value, the control unit performs a stop process of stopping the laser output of the laser oscillator. executes The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. During the processing operation by the laser beam, when the voltage detection unit detects that the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value, the control unit A power-off process of turning off the power supply after disconnecting the electrical connection to the scanning unit is executed The laser processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

4. The scanning unit has a galvanometer motor equipped with a mirror The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that

5. In the feedback vector data generation process, feedback vector data that can return to the predetermined reference position at a faster operating speed as the distance between the current operating position of the scanning unit acquired by the operating position acquisition process and the predetermined reference position is longer is calculated, and the calculated feedback vector data is generated from the data generation unit The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that

6. A laser oscillator that oscillates a laser beam, a scanning unit that scans the laser beam from the laser oscillator, a power supply that supplies power to the laser oscillator and the scanning unit, a voltage detection unit that detects whether the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a predetermined threshold value, and an input unit that receives an input of processing data that instructs the processing content of the workpiece by the laser beam. A laser processing method using a laser processing apparatus that irradiates the workpiece with the laser beam to process the workpiece, during the processing operation by the laser beam, when the voltage detection unit detects that the output voltage from the power supply has fallen below a first threshold value Receiving vector data transmitted by the data generation unit that generates vector data used for the laser beam processing operation based on the processing data received by the input unit, and performing an operation position acquisition process for acquiring the current operation position of the scanning unit based on the received vector data and outputting an operation command for causing the scanning unit to perform a scanning operation Based on the current operation position of the scanning unit acquired by the operation position acquisition process, calculating feedback vector data for the scanning unit to return to a predetermined reference position, and performing a feedback vector data generation process for generating the calculated feedback vector data from the data generation unit Receiving the feedback vector data generated from the data generation unit by the feedback vector data generation process, and performing a feedback command output process for outputting a command to return the scanning unit to the predetermined reference position based on the received feedback vector data A laser processing method characterized by including executing before the output voltage from the power supply returns to the first threshold value.

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