Rotary Workpiece Changer Shielding for Laser Processing Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing workpiece processing machines face challenges with operational safety and compactness due to the need for resilient seals and metal protection sheets to shield against high laser radiation, which can damage seals and limit processing space near the protection wall.
Innovation Solution
A movable protection element that adjusts its position based on workpiece dimensions, allowing for reduced cycle time and increased processing space by eliminating the need for resilient seals and metal protection sheets, and providing a free space for the processing head to operate closer to the protection wall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resilient seals or brush seals are used to seal the rotating protection wall against the partition wall edges, then light-impermeable shielding is achieved, but the high laser radiation damages or destroys the seals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the sealing function from the rotating protection wall system entirely. Instead of sealing against the partition wall, the protection wall rotates within an opening, eliminating the need for resilient seals or brush seals that would be damaged by laser radiation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the protection wall stationary and sealing it against a rotating opening, the patent inverts the approach by making the protection wall rotate with the workpiece support while the opening remains fixed in the stationary partition wall.
2Reliability
If metal protection sheets or sliding members are added to protect seals from laser radiation, then seal protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the sealing components entirely from the system, removing the need for metal protection sheets or sliding members that would add complexity. The solution relies on the geometric arrangement of the rotating protection wall within the fixed opening rather than additional protective components.
3Area of stationary object
If the processing head is positioned close to the protection wall, then processing space is maximized, but the processing head forms an interference contour that limits accessible workpiece surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the protection wall dynamic by rotating it together with the workpiece support, allowing the protection wall to move out of the way during workpiece transport and positioning, thereby increasing the accessible workpiece surface area without compromising processing region size.
Data Source
AI summary
A workpiece processing machine includes a separation device for dividing an operating space into a processing region and at least one additional operating region, a laser processing head configured to process the workpiece, and a rotary workpiece changer having a rotatable workpiece support for transporting the workpiece between the processing region and the at least one additional operating region by an opening. The rotatable workpiece support has a protection wall configured to shield the at least one additional operating region with respect to the processing region. The separation device has a protection element movable between a processing position and a transport position and configured to be in abutment with the protection wall in the processing position to close the opening and spaced apart from the protection wall in the transport position. A spacing between the processing position and the transport position is adjustable based on a dimension of the workpiece.