Laser Cutting Thermal Compensation for Glass Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laser cutting of glass substrates for display apparatuses often results in overheating due to increased laser irradiation during acceleration/deceleration sections, leading to product quality degradation.
Innovation Solution
A laser cutting apparatus and method that employs uniform heating compensation by maintaining constant laser beam velocity and adjusting irradiation parameters, such as pulse interval or intensity, during shifts in direction to prevent excessive thermal energy accumulation at speed change points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the laser beam movement speed is reduced at shift points to change direction, then the laser beam can follow the desired cutting path, but thermal energy accumulates excessively causing overheating
Solution Approach 1:
The laser beam is made to overrun the shift point before actually changing direction, so that the deceleration and directional change occur after the laser has already passed the critical cutting location. This preliminary positioning action prevents thermal accumulation at the shift point while still achieving the desired cutting path.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser beam movement is extended beyond the two-dimensional cutting path into a third dimension of time and space by allowing the beam to travel beyond the shift point. This dimensional extension separates the directional change from the cutting action, preventing overheating at direction-change locations.
2Temperature
If the laser beam moves at constant velocity, then uniform thermal energy is applied, but the laser beam cannot change direction to follow non-linear cutting shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The laser beam is positioned in advance beyond the shift point before directional change occurs. This preliminary action allows the beam to maintain constant velocity during the critical cutting portion while still achieving direction changes for non-linear shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting path is divided into multiple sections with shift points, and the laser beam processes each section separately by overrun decelerating at shift points. This segmentation allows constant velocity motion within each section while enabling direction changes at boundaries.
3Ease of operation
If the laser beam decelerates at shift points, then the direction can be changed, but the irradiation amount increases causing product quality degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The laser beam is made to overrun the shift point before decelerating and changing direction. This preliminary positioning ensures that the deceleration occurs after the laser has passed the critical cutting location, preventing quality degradation at shift points while maintaining directional changing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser beam rushes through the shift point area by maintaining constant velocity and overrun decelerating beyond the shift point. This skipping approach avoids the harmful effect of deceleration at the exact location where cutting quality is most sensitive.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents overheating and maintains uniform laser irradiation across the cutting area, reducing product defects and improving quality by avoiding speed change sections during cutting.
Implementation Method 1
a process of irradiating a laser beam onto a substrate of the product to cut the substrate into a desired size and shape
Implementation Method 2
an irradiation amount of the laser beam relatively increases. Accordingly, product quality may be degraded due to an overheating phenomenon
Data Source
AI summary
A laser cutting apparatus and a laser cutting method are provided. A laser cutting method includes: preparing an object on a stage; cutting the object into a set shape by relatively moving and irradiating a laser beam along the set shape with respect to the object; and performing uniform heating compensation to reduce accumulation of thermal energy of the laser beam resulting from a change of speed at a shift point where a travelling direction of the laser beam with respect to the object changes.