Liquid Jet Guided Laser Cutting With Overlap-Trace Passes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid jet guided laser machining faces challenges in achieving a balance between processing speed and treatment quality, as existing strategies often result in either fast but imprecise cuts or slow but precise cuts, due to the unique characteristics of liquid jet guided laser beams which differ from dry laser and high-speed water jet processing methods.
Innovation Solution
The process involves producing a liquid jet, impinging it on a reference surface to create a footprint, displacing the jet to form a trace with overlapping sections, and irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam to ablate material, allowing for a variable balance between speed and quality by optimizing the overlap areas and irradiation patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the liquid jet guided laser beam moves at constant speed along the cutting line (pencil on paper strategy), then processing speed is maintained, but treatment quality and edge precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting path is divided into multiple segments that are processed sequentially. The laser beam performs multiple passes over different segments rather than attempting to complete the entire cut in a single continuous pass at constant speed. This segmentation allows optimization of processing speed in some segments while ensuring treatment quality in others.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser beam performs preliminary processing on certain segments before moving to other segments. By pre-processing specific areas, the material is prepared for subsequent cutting passes, enabling faster overall processing while maintaining edge quality through the preliminary preparation of the workpiece surface and material structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple passes are made over the same segment to improve edge quality, then treatment precision improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different segments of the cutting path receive different numbers of processing passes based on their specific requirements. Segments requiring high precision edge quality undergo multiple passes, while other segments are processed with fewer passes or single passes. This local differentiation optimizes the balance between edge quality and processing time by applying intensive processing only where necessary.
3Productivity
If the laser processing strategy is optimized for speed, then productivity increases, but the unique characteristics of liquid jet guided laser (cooling and material removal) are not fully utilized
Solution Approach 1:
The processing strategy is made dynamic by allowing the laser to selectively revisit and reprocess specific segments based on real-time requirements. The system can adapt the number of passes, processing speed, and laser parameters for different segments, utilizing the cooling and material removal characteristics of the liquid jet guided laser to optimize both speed and quality throughout the cutting process.
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
This approach enables high-quality edges to be machined at relatively high speeds, as demonstrated by comparisons showing improved kerf quality compared to prior art methods, with the ability to adjust processing strategies based on material properties and desired edge characteristics.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating the workpiece at least during part of the time frame with a laser beam coupled into the liquid jet, whereby material is ablated
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns a process for treating a workpiece, preferably for shaping a workpiece by ablating material, by a liquid jet guided laser beam. The process comprises the following steps: Production of a liquid jet by a nozzle; impinging the liquid jet on a reference surface allocated to the workpiece, whereby an intersection of the liquid jet with the reference surface defines a liquid jet-footprint; effecting a displacement between the liquid jet and the reference surface, whereby the liquid jet-footprint evolves to a trace along a trajectory associated with the trace during the time frame, wherein the trace covers a trace-area; irradiating the workpiece at least during part of the time frame with a laser beam coupled into the liquid jet, preferably for ablating material such that the trace has at least one overlap-area, wherein each of the at least one overlap-areas is defined by an associated common area of an associated second length-section of the trace and an associated first length-section of the trace and wherein the workpiece is irradiated by the laser beam along at least one of the length-sections. It concerns further a computerized numerical control (CNC) program for controlling a liquid jet guided laser machining device and a computer readable medium containing such a CNC program. Further, it contains a computer program for generating the above mentioned CNC program. Finally the invention concerns a liquid jet guided laser machining device to perform the above mentioned process.