JP6700614B2 - Laser processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser processing device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an apparatus that laser-processes an object using a laser beam, a technique is known in which a removal laser beam is used to remove a product generated from the object. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of irradiating a laser beam for removal after laser processing (marking step). In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of irradiating a laser beam for removal with or simultaneously with laser processing (irradiation of a first laser beam). Patent Document 3 discloses a technique of irradiating a laser beam for removal during laser processing. The removal laser beam is, for example, a laser beam having lower energy than the laser beam applied in the laser processing.

JP, 10-34359, A JP 2002-263873 A JP, 11-114690, A

  However, depending on the material of the object, the product may adhere to the object over time after the generated product adheres to the object. When the irradiation of the laser beam for removal is performed after the laser processing as in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, in particular, the product generated immediately after the start of the laser processing is performed until the laser beam for removal is irradiated. In some cases, the time became long, the fixation proceeded, and the product could not be completely removed and remained on the object. Further, the product adhered to the object is scattered in the air by irradiation with the laser beam for removal, and is re-adhered to the object after a lapse of a predetermined time. Therefore, even if the laser beam for removal is irradiated at the same time as the laser processing as in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3, the product reattaches to the object after the irradiation with the laser beam for removal. There were cases.

  The present application has been proposed in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a laser processing apparatus capable of performing a removal process at an optimum timing.

  The present specification includes a laser beam emitting unit that emits a laser beam, a scanning unit that scans the laser beam, and a control unit, and the control unit controls the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to form a processing pattern. In the first determination process, a processing process of irradiating a processing object with a laser beam having a first energy density, a first determination process of determining whether a removal timing condition is satisfied after the processing process is started, and a first determination process. When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied, the laser light emitting unit and the scanning unit are controlled to cause the object to be processed to be irradiated with laser light having a second energy density smaller than the first energy density based on the processing pattern. Disclosed is a laser processing apparatus that performs processing and. Since the removal process is executed when the removal timing condition is satisfied, the removal process can be executed at an optimum timing.

  According to the present application, it is possible to provide a laser processing apparatus capable of performing removal processing at an optimum timing.

1 is a schematic configuration of a laser processing apparatus according to this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a laser processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the display screen of a process setting. It is a figure explaining the irradiation area|region of the removal laser beam. It is a flow chart which shows processing contents of processing processing. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of a timing determination process. It is a figure explaining a removal time table. It is a flow chart which shows processing contents of amendment value calculation processing. It is a figure explaining the line segment space|interval in the object with painting. It is a figure explaining a pattern correction table. It is a flowchart which shows the process content of a removal process. It is a flow chart which shows the processing contents of amendment value calculation processing. It is a figure explaining the object space|interval in case a processing pattern has several objects. It is a figure explaining a quality correction table.

<Schematic configuration of laser processing device>
A schematic configuration of the laser processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The laser processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a PC (Personal Computer) 7, a laser processing unit 2, a laser controller 5, and the like. The laser processing unit 2 also includes a laser head unit 3 and a power supply unit 6. The laser processing unit 2 performs laser processing for two-dimensionally scanning the laser beam L on the processing surface WA of the processing target W based on the information transmitted from the laser controller 5 to mark characters, symbols, figures and the like. To do. In the following description, laser processing may be described as printing.

  The PC 7 is realized by, for example, a notebook PC, includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 77, a keyboard 76, a mouse 78, and the like, receives a processing command from a user, creates print data, and outputs the print data to the laser controller 5. Here, the print data is data in which XY coordinate data indicating a shape of a processing pattern drawn by the laser beam L in laser processing and processing condition data indicating laser processing conditions are associated with the XY coordinate data. is there. The laser controller 5 is realized by a computer or the like, and is connected to the laser processing unit 2 and the PC 7 so as to be capable of bidirectional communication. The laser controller 5 controls the laser processing unit 2 based on the print data output from the PC 7. In the following description, the direction shown in FIG. 1 is used.

  The laser head unit 3 includes a main body base 11, a laser light emitting unit 12 for emitting the laser light L, an optical shutter unit 13, an optical damper (not shown), a half mirror (not shown), a guide light unit 15, a reflection mirror 17, It has an optical sensor 20, a galvano scanner 18, an fθ lens 19 and the like, and is covered with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing cover (not shown).

  The laser light emitting unit 12 has a laser oscillator 21, a beam expander 22, and the like. The laser light emitting portion 12 is attached to the main body base 11, and the excitation laser light emitted from the excitation laser light emitting portion 40 (described later) is incident through the optical fiber F. The laser oscillator 21 has, for example, a YAG laser and a passive Q switch, which are not shown. The laser oscillator 21 emits pulsed laser light L for performing processing on the processing surface WA of the processing target W in response to the excitation laser light input through the optical fiber F. The beam expander 22 is provided coaxially with the laser oscillator 21, and adjusts the beam diameter of the laser light L. The direction in which the laser oscillator 21 emits the laser beam L is the front direction, and the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the front-back direction of the laser head unit 3 is the horizontal direction of the laser head unit 3.

  The optical shutter unit 13 has a shutter motor 26 and a flat shutter 27. The shutter 27 is attached to the motor shaft of the shutter motor 26 and rotates coaxially. The shutter 27 reflects the laser light L to the optical damper when it is rotated to a position that blocks the optical path of the laser light L emitted from the beam expander 22. The light damper absorbs the laser light L reflected by the shutter 27. On the other hand, when the shutter 27 is rotated to a position that does not block the optical path of the laser light L emitted from the beam expander 22, the laser light L emitted from the beam expander 22 is directed to the front side of the optical shutter unit 13. It is incident on the arranged half mirror. The half mirror transmits almost all of the laser light L incident from the rear side and reflects a part of the laser light L to the reflection mirror 17. The laser beam L transmitted through the half mirror is incident on the galvano scanner 18. The reflection mirror 17 reflects the incident laser light L to the optical sensor 20. The optical sensor 20 outputs a signal according to the emission intensity of the incident laser light L to the laser controller 5.

  The guide light unit 15 has a guide light laser 28 (FIG. 2) and a lens group (not shown). The guide light laser 28 is, for example, a red semiconductor laser that emits visible laser light. A lens group (not shown) focuses the visible laser light into parallel light. The guide light unit 15 is arranged on the right side of the half mirror. The half mirror reflects the guide light, which is the visible laser light emitted from the guide light unit 15, toward the galvano scanner 18. Here, the optical path of the guide light reflected by the half mirror and the optical path of the laser light L transmitted through the half mirror match. The guide light is used to align the workpiece W during laser processing.

  The galvano scanner 18 is attached to the upper side of a through hole (not shown) formed at the front end of the main body base 11. The galvano scanner 18 includes a galvano X-axis motor 31, a galvano Y-axis motor 32, a main body 33, and the like. Each of the Galvano X-axis motor 31 and the Galvano Y-axis motor 32 has a motor shaft and a scanning mirror attached to the tip of the motor shaft. The galvano X-axis motor 31 and the galvano Y-axis motor 32 are attached to the main body 33 such that their motor axes are orthogonal to each other and their scanning mirrors face each other. As each motor 31, 32 rotates, each scanning mirror rotates. As a result, the laser light L and the guide light are two-dimensionally scanned. Here, the scanning directions are the X direction from the front to the rear and the Y direction from the right to the left in the direction of the laser head unit 3.

  The fθ lens 19 focuses the laser light L two-dimensionally scanned by the galvano scanner 18 and the guide light on the processing surface WA of the processing object W arranged below.

  The power supply unit 6 includes an excitation laser light emitting unit 40, an excitation laser driver 51, a power supply unit 52, and the like. The power supply unit 52 is connected to a commercial power supply via a power cord (not shown). The power supply unit 52 converts the supplied AC power into DC power and supplies the power to each unit of the laser processing unit 2. The pumping laser driver 51 drives the pumping laser light emitting unit 40 according to a command from the laser controller 5. The excitation laser light emitting section 40 is optically connected to the laser oscillator 21 via an optical fiber F. The pumping laser light emitting unit 40 has a semiconductor laser, and emits into the optical fiber F a pumping laser light having a power corresponding to the current value of the drive current supplied from the pumping laser driver 51.

<Electrical configuration of laser processing equipment>
Next, the electrical configuration of the laser processing device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The PC 7 includes a control unit 70, a control circuit 74, and the like in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. The control unit 70 includes a CPU 71, a RAM 72, a ROM 73, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 75, and the like. Application software for laser processing is pre-installed in the PC 7. Firmware and the like are stored in the ROM 73. The RAM 72 is used as a main storage device for the CPU 71 to execute various processes. Further, the HDD 75 stores a processing program, character parameter information, and the like. The character parameter information is parameter information for each font. For example, in the case of a stroke font, it is information such as the coordinates of the center point of the character and the parameters of the formula expressing the line connecting the points. Further, in the case of the outline font, it is information such as the coordinates of the points forming the outline of the character and the parameters of the formula expressing the line connecting the points. The CPU 71, the RAM 72, and the ROM 73 are connected to each other by a bus line (not shown). Further, the CPU 71 and the HDD 75 are connected via an input/output interface (not shown).

  The control circuit 74 is electrically connected to the LCD 77, the keyboard 76, the mouse 78, etc., converts the operation received by the keyboard 76 and the mouse 78 into a signal, and outputs the signal to the CPU 71. Further, the LCD 77 displays a display screen corresponding to the instruction from the CPU 71.

  The laser controller 5 is realized by, for example, a computer and has a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43 and the like. The CPU 41 executes various programs stored in the ROM 43 to control a galvano controller 56, a guide light laser driver 58, an excitation laser driver 51, and the like, which will be described later. The RAM 42 is used as a main storage device for the CPU 41 to execute various processes. The CPU 41, the RAM 42, and the ROM 43 are connected to each other by a bus line (not shown). The laser controller 5 creates drive information including drive angle and rotation speed of the galvano scanner 18 and drive information including drive current value of the excitation laser driver 51 based on the print data output from the PC 7.

  The laser head unit 3 has a galvano controller 56, a galvano driver 36, a guide light laser driver 58, and the like in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. The galvano controller 56 outputs control signals such as a drive current value and ON/OFF to the galvano driver 36 based on the drive information input from the laser controller 5. The galvano driver 36 supplies a driving current corresponding to the control signal input from the galvano controller 56 to the galvano X-axis motor 31 and the galvano Y-axis motor 32.

<Outline of removal process>
When laser processing is performed on the processing target W, depending on the material of the processing target W, after the generated product adheres to the processing target W, the product sticks to the processing target W over time. There are cases. The object W to be easily fixed is, for example, a paper used for a label and coated with an adhesive. Therefore, the laser processing apparatus 1 irradiates the processing target with the laser light L having an energy density lower than that of the laser light L in the laser processing. Thereby, the laser processing apparatus 1 can remove the product attached to the processing target W. In the following description, the laser light L in laser processing will be referred to as processing laser light, and the laser light L having an energy density smaller than that of processing laser light will be referred to as removal laser light. Further, the process of irradiating the processing laser beam is called a laser processing process, and the process of irradiating the removing laser beam is called a removing process. When the removal timing arrives, the laser processing apparatus 1 interrupts the laser processing process and executes the removal process. The energy density of the laser light for removal is such that the object W to be processed is not melted or cut. As a result, the laser processing apparatus 1 can remove the product by irradiating the removal laser beam without processing the object W to be processed.

<Processing>
Next, the processing process executed by the CPU 71 will be described. When the laser processing apparatus 1 is turned on and an application for laser processing is activated, the PC 7 displays a main screen (not shown) on the LCD 77. The user inputs print information, which is information such as characters, symbols, and figures to be processed, on the main screen. Here, a pattern such as a character, a symbol, or a figure to be processed, which the user inputs, is a processing pattern. When the print information is input, the CPU 71 stores the print information in the RAM 72. Next, the user operates the mouse 78 or the like to select a processing setting button (not shown) displayed on the main screen for accepting the setting regarding processing. When the processing setting button is selected, the PC displays the processing setting screen 100 shown in FIG.

  On the processing setting screen 100, a processing material pull-down menu 101, a power setting button 102, a scanning speed setting button 103, a removal time pull-down menu 104, a removal range pull-down menu 105, a removal quality setting button 106, an OK button 107, etc. are displayed. It The processing material pull-down menu 101 is for selecting one of preset material types. The power setting button 102 is used to select the power of the processing laser in the range of small to large. The scanning speed setting button 103 is for selecting the scanning speed of the galvano scanner 18 in laser processing in the range of slow to fast. The removal time pull-down menu 104 receives the removal time. Here, the removal time is the time used by the CPU 71 to determine whether the removal timing has come. Specifically, the CPU 71 determines that the removal timing has come when the execution time of the laser processing, which is the time corresponding to the irradiation time of the processing laser light, reaches the removal time. The unit of the removal time is sec. When the user wants to set the removal time to a desired value, he or she checks the check box and inputs the value in the removal time pull-down menu 104. The removal range pull-down menu 105 is for receiving the setting of the removal range irradiated with the removal laser beam. Here, the removal range is a region where the laser processing apparatus 1 irradiates the removal laser beam. The removal quality setting button 106 is used to select a removal processing mode in a range from clean to fast.

  Next, the removal range will be described in detail with reference to FIG. There are three options for the removal range: (1) whole (2) object unit (3) irradiation part. The object is a series of characters, symbols, figures, and the like. Here, a case where the processing pattern has three objects obj1 to obj3 will be described as an example. The object obj1 is the alphabet "ABCD", obj2 is the character "aiueo", and obj3 is the barcode. Further, it is assumed that the irradiation of the processing laser has been completed up to the point 200 of the object obj2. (1) The whole case is the case where the removal range is the area 201, which is one area including the objects obj1 to obj3. Specifically, the removal range is a rectangular area outside the objects obj1 to obj3 and in contact with the objects obj1 to obj3. (2) The object unit is a case where areas 202 to 204, which are a plurality of areas corresponding to the objects obj1 to obj3, are set as the removal range. Each of the areas 202 to 204 is an area including each of the objects obj1 to obj3. Specifically, the removal range is a rectangular area outside each of the objects obj1 to obj3 and in contact with each of the objects obj1 to obj3. (3) The irradiation portion is a case where, of the plurality of regions corresponding to each of the objects obj1 to obj3, the portions 205 and 206 irradiated with the processing laser are the removal range.

  When the user finishes inputting the processing setting screen 100, the user selects the OK button 107 (FIG. 3). When the OK button 107 is selected, the CPU 71 stores the input value in the RAM 72.

  The CPU 71 creates XY coordinate data based on the input value on the main screen and the print information stored in the RAM 72, and stores the XY coordinate data in the RAM 72. Specifically, the CPU 71 decomposes all the lines of the processing pattern into line segments, and creates XY coordinate data in which start point coordinates and end point coordinates are specified for the line segments. For example, when the processing pattern is a character or a symbol, the CPU 71 extracts information corresponding to the font type included in the print information from the character parameter information stored in the ROM 73 and includes the information in the print information. XY coordinate data is created based on the size and position. Further, the CPU 71, based on the input value of the processing setting screen 100, the power of the processing laser light, the pulse width, the number of irradiations, and the line segment interval for each line segment of the XY coordinate data or for each range including a plurality of line segments. Dline, the object interval Dobj, the scanning speed of the galvano scanner 18 and the like are calculated to create processing condition data indicating laser processing conditions, and print data is created in association with the XY coordinate data.

  When the user wants to start laser processing, the user selects a processing execution button (not shown) displayed on the main screen. When the processing execution button is selected, the CPU 71 starts the processing processing shown in FIG. In the processing, the CPU 71 uses a judgment time which is a variable to judge the removal timing.

  The CPU 71 first executes timing determination processing (S1). The timing determination process will be described with reference to FIG. When the timing determination process is started, the CPU 71 first determines whether or not the removal time is designated based on the input value on the machining setting screen 100 stored in the RAM 72 (S21). If the check box of the removal time pull-down menu 104 is checked, the CPU 71 determines that the removal time is specified, and if the check box is not checked, it is determined that the removal time is not specified. When determining that the removal time is designated (S21: YES), the CPU 71 determines the input value of the removal time pull-down menu 104 as the removal time (S33), and ends the timing determination process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the removal time is not designated (S21: NO), the CPU 71 first determines the values of the power parameter PWR and the speed parameter SPD to determine the removal time (S23). The power parameter PWR and the speed parameter SPD have integers of 0 to 10 as values. The power parameter PWR is determined according to the input value of the power setting button 102 on the processing setting screen 100. More specifically, the power setting button 102 receives the power of the processing laser in 11 steps from 0 (large) to 10 (small), and the CPU 71 determines the value of the power parameter PWR according to the received step. .. For example, when the input value of the power setting button 102 is “large”, the CPU 71 sets the power parameter PWR to 0. The speed parameter SPD is determined according to the input value of the scanning speed setting button 103 on the processing setting screen 100. More specifically, the scan speed setting button 103 receives the speed of the galvano scanner 18 in 11 steps from 0 (slow) to 10 (speed), and the CPU 71 determines the value of the speed parameter SPD according to the received step. To do. For example, when the input value of the scanning speed setting button 103 is “slow”, the CPU 71 sets the speed parameter SPD to 0.

  Next, the CPU 71 sums the value of the power parameter PWR and the value of the speed parameter SPD (S25). The value summed here becomes the value of the condition parameter PARAM for determining the removal time of removal. Next, the CPU 71 determines the removal time based on the removal time table 111 shown in FIG. 7 (S27). The removal time table 111 is a table in which the value of the removal parameter is associated with the value of the condition parameter PARAM for each material type. Here, the material type matches the option of the processing material pull-down menu 101. The CPU 71 refers to the removal time table 111, searches the column of the input value of the processing material pull-down menu 101 for the value of the condition parameter PARAM, and sets the corresponding value as the removal time. For example, if the material type is material 1 and the value of the condition parameter PARAM is 2, the removal time is 30.

Next, the CPU 71 executes a correction value calculation process (S29). The correction value calculation process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the CPU 71 reads the line segment interval Dline from the RAM 72 (S41). Here, the line segment interval Dline will be described with reference to FIG. The scanning procedure is predetermined according to the type of object. For example, when the object is a filled outline font, vector scanning is first performed along the outline that is the outline of the character, and then the area surrounded by the outline is raster-scanned. Specifically, a plurality of line segments lined up at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction perpendicular to the scanning direction are sequentially scanned along the scanning direction. For example, when the object is a stroke font or a single line figure, vector scanning is performed. If the print data includes a plurality of objects, the objects are sequentially scanned according to a predetermined processing order. FIG. 9 shows an object obj4 that is the alphabet A of a filled outline font. The solid line indicates the contour, and the broken line indicates the line segment of the filled portion. Further, the horizontal direction in FIG. 9 is the scanning direction. The line segment interval of the filled portion is the line segment interval Dline. Next, the CPU 71 calculates the correction value CT by the following formula (S43: FIG. 8).
CT=-Ka/Dline
Here, Ka is a predetermined constant. Next, the CPU 71 acquires the pattern correction value PT based on the pattern correction table 112 shown in FIG. 10 (S45). In the pattern correction table 112, the value of the pattern correction value PT is associated with the type of object. The CPU 71 sets the value of the pattern correction value PT corresponding to the type of the object to which the processing laser beam is first irradiated in the laser processing as the value of the pattern correction value PT. Next, the CPU 71 stores the value obtained by adding the pattern correction value PT to the correction value CT as the correction value CT in the RAM 72 (S47), and ends the correction value calculation process.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the CPU 71 sets the value obtained by adding the correction value CT to the removal time as the removal time (S31), and ends the timing determination process. If the value obtained by adding the correction value to the removal time is less than 5 in step S31, the removal time is set to 5.

  After executing step S1, the CPU 71 instructs the laser controller 5 to start laser processing (S3: FIG. 5). Thereby, the laser controller 5 controls the laser processing unit 2 to cause the processing target W to be irradiated with the processing laser light having the energy density corresponding to the input value of the power setting button 102 based on the processing pattern. Processing (an example of processing) is started. Further, the CPU 71 sets the determination time to an initial value of 0, and starts measuring the elapsed time after instructing the start of laser processing. Next, the CPU 71 stops the measurement of the elapsed time and determines whether or not the determination time has become the removal time or more (S5). In the first step S5 after starting the processing, the judgment time is 0, so it is judged that the judgment time is not longer than the removal time. When the CPU 71 determines that the determination time is not longer than the removal time (S5: NO), the CPU 71 adds the elapsed time to the determination time and restarts the measurement of the elapsed time (S11). Next, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the laser processing process is completed (S13). More specifically, the CPU 71 inquires of the laser controller 5 whether the irradiation of the processing laser light has ended, and when receiving a signal indicating that the irradiation of the processing laser light has ended, the CPU 71 determines that the irradiation of the processing laser light has ended. If it is determined that the laser processing process has not been completed (S13: NO), the CPU 71 returns to step S5. When the elapsed time is added to the determination time in step S11 and it is determined that the determination time is equal to or longer than the removal time (S5: YES), the removal timing has arrived, and therefore the CPU 71 executes the removal processing (S7).

  The removal process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the current scanning point of the galvano scanner 18 is the end of the line segment (S51). Specifically, the CPU 71 inquires of the laser controller 5 whether or not the line segment is being scanned, and when a signal indicating that the line segment is not being scanned is received, the CPU 71 determines that it is the end of the line segment. When it is determined that the line segment is not the end (S51: NO), the CPU 71 repeats step S51 until it is determined that the line segment is the end. When it is determined that it is the end of the line segment (S51: YES), the CPU 71 instructs the laser controller 5 to temporarily stop the laser processing process of irradiating the processing laser light (S53). Next, the CPU 71 reads the input value of the removal range pull-down menu 105 stored in the RAM 72 and acquires the removal range (S55). Next, the CPU 71 instructs the laser controller 5 to irradiate the removal range with the removal laser light (S57). As a result, the laser controller 5 controls the laser processing unit 2 to start the process of irradiating the processing target W with the removal laser light having an energy density smaller than the energy density of the processing laser light in the removal range. Next, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the irradiation of the removal laser beam to the removal range is completed (S59). More specifically, the CPU 71 inquires of the laser controller 5 whether the irradiation of the removing laser light has been completed, and when receiving a signal indicating that the irradiation of the removing laser light is completed, the CPU 71 determines that the irradiation of the removing laser light is completed. When it is determined that the removal laser beam irradiation has not been completed (S59: NO), the CPU 71 repeats step S59 until it determines that the irradiation is completed. When the CPU 71 determines that the irradiation of the removal laser light is completed (S59: YES), the CPU 71 instructs the laser controller 5 to restart the laser processing process of irradiating the processing laser light (S61), and ends the removal process.

  After executing step S7 (FIG. 5), the CPU 71 clears the determination time to an initial value of 0 (S9). Next, the CPU 71 determines whether or not the laser processing process is completed (S13). When it is determined that the laser processing process is completed (S13: YES), the CPU 71 ends the processing process.

  Here, the laser processing apparatus 1 is an example of a laser processing apparatus, the excitation laser driver 51, the excitation laser light emission unit 40, and the laser light emission unit 12 are examples of a laser light emission unit, and the galvano scanner 18 is The controller 70 and the laser controller 5 are examples of the scanning unit. Further, step S5 is an example of the first determination process, step S57 is an example of the removal process, step S11 is an example of the accumulating process, and the determination time is an example of the accumulating time. Step S1 is an example of a setting process, step S53 is an example of a stop process, step S61 is an example of a restart process, and step S51 is an example of a second determination process.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects are achieved.
The CPU 71 controls the excitation laser driver 51, the excitation laser light emission unit 40, the laser light emission unit 12, and the galvano scanner 18, and based on the processing pattern, the energy density according to the input value of the power setting button 102. The laser processing process of irradiating the processing object with the processing laser beam that is the laser beam L is performed. Further, the CPU 71 sets the removal time in step S1 after starting the processing. Further, the CPU 71 adds the elapsed time to the determination time in step S11 and accumulates the elapsed time. Further, when it is determined that the determination time exceeds the removal time in step S3, the removal laser light, which is the laser light L having an energy density lower than the energy density of the processing laser light, is processed based on the processing pattern. (S57). The product generated by laser processing reattaches or adheres depending on time. Therefore, based on the judgment time corresponding to the elapsed time from the generation of the product, the removal process is executed when it is judged that the judgment time exceeds the removal time, so that the removal process is executed at the optimum timing. be able to.

  Further, in step S27, the CPU 71 determines the removal time based on the condition parameter PARAM. The value of the condition parameter PARAM decreases as the power of the processing laser light increases. Further, the smaller the value of the condition parameter PARAM, the shorter the removal time is set. Therefore, the removal time is set to be shorter as the energy density of the processing laser light is higher. The larger the energy density of the laser beam for processing, the larger the amount of products generated in the laser processing process, and the longer the interval of the removal process, the more likely it is that the products cannot be completely removed in one removal process. There is. Therefore, it is possible to provide the laser processing apparatus 1 capable of surely removing the product by shortening the removal time and shortening the execution interval of the removal process.

  Further, in step S27, the CPU 71 determines the removal time based on the condition parameter PARAM. The value of the condition parameter PARAM becomes smaller as the scanning speed of the galvano scanner 18 becomes slower. Further, the smaller the value of the condition parameter PARAM, the shorter the removal time is set. Therefore, the lower the scanning speed, the shorter the removal time is set. The slower the scanning speed, the larger the amount of energy irradiated per unit area of the workpiece W, and the larger the amount of products generated by the laser processing. Therefore, if the execution interval of the removal process is long, there is a possibility that the product cannot be completely removed by one removal process. Therefore, it is possible to provide the laser processing apparatus 1 capable of surely removing the product by shortening the removal time and shortening the execution interval of the removal process.

  Further, in step S27, the CPU 71 determines the removal time based on the removal time table 111. In the removal time table 111, the removal time is set according to the material type. Even if the amount of energy applied is the same, the amount of generated product varies depending on the material type of the workpiece W. Therefore, by setting the removal time according to the material type, it is possible to obtain the optimum removal time according to the material type.

  Further, in step S43, the CPU 71 calculates the correction value CT based on the line segment spacing Dline of the filled portion inside the contour portion. In step S31, the removal time is corrected based on the correction value CT. Here, the smaller the line segment interval Dline, the shorter the removal time. When the line segment interval Dline is small, the temperature of the irradiation region of the workpiece W becomes high. The higher the temperature of the object W to be processed by the already applied irradiation energy density, the larger the amount of products generated by the laser processing process. Therefore, if the execution interval of the removal process is long, there is a possibility that the product cannot be completely removed by one removal process. Therefore, it is possible to provide the laser processing apparatus 1 capable of surely removing the product by shortening the removal time and shortening the execution interval of the removal process.

  Further, the CPU 71 calculates the correction value CT based on the pattern correction value PT in step S47. The pattern correction value PT is set according to the type of object. Here, the pattern correction value PT of the barcode and the QR code (registered trademark) is set to be smaller than the pattern correction values PT of the single line characters, TrueType characters, and images. Thereby, the removal time of the identification code such as the bar code and the QR code is shorter than the removal time of the characters and the image. The identification code needs to be reliably read by the identification code reader. In the identification code, the removal time is shortened and the removal processing execution interval is shortened, whereby the product can be reliably removed. In this way, the removal time can be set according to the type of object.

  Further, the CPU 71 temporarily stops the processing laser irradiation in step S53, and when it determines YES in step S59, restarts the processing laser irradiation in step S61. In step S51, it is determined whether or not the line segment is being scanned. If NO in step S51, the process waits for YES in step S51, and then executes step S53. .. In this way, the CPU 71 suspends the processing laser irradiation after the scanning of the line segment is completed. When the laser processing is temporarily stopped and restarted in the middle of the line segment, a slight difference occurs in the energy density of the laser light L before and after the restart, and a difference in the processing state of the processing target W occurs. It may happen. Therefore, the processing quality can be maintained by performing the removal processing after the scanning of the line segment is completed.

  Further, the area irradiated with the removal laser light in step S57 is (1) one area including all of the plurality of objects, (2) area including each of the plurality of objects, and (3) processing laser light. It can be the illuminated area.

[Another example of correction value calculation processing]
Next, another example of the correction value calculation process will be described with reference to FIG. When the correction value calculation process is started, the CPU 71 reads out the object interval Dobj from the RAM 72 (S71). Here, the object interval Dobj will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows a processing pattern having an object obj5 and an object obj6. The object obj5 is a non-filled outline font alphabet A, and the object obj6 is a non-filled single-line graphic. The center of gravity 210 is the center of gravity of the object obj5, and the center of gravity 211 is the center of gravity of the object obj6. Here, the center of gravity means a point whose coordinate value is a value obtained by summing the X and Y values of all the start point coordinates and end point coordinates included in the XY coordinate data for each object and dividing by the number of coordinates. is there. The distance between the center of gravity 210 and the center of gravity 211 is the object interval Dobj. Next, the CPU 71 calculates the correction value CT by the following formula (S73: FIG. 12).
CT=-Kb/Dobj
Here, Kb is a predetermined constant. Next, the CPU 71 acquires the quality correction value QT based on the quality correction table 113 shown in FIG. 14 (S75). In the quality correction table 113, the value of the quality correction value QT is associated with the mode of the removal quality. The mode of removal quality matches the mode of the removal quality setting button 106. More specifically, the removal quality setting button 106 accepts the removal quality mode in 11 stages of clean 5 (clean) to fast 5 (fast), and the CPU 71 sets the value corresponding to the accepted stage to the quality correction value QT. Determine the value. Next, the CPU 71 stores the value obtained by adding the quality correction value QT to the correction value CT as the correction value CT in the RAM 72 (S77, FIG. 12), and ends the correction value calculation process.

According to another example of the correction value calculation process described above, the following effects are obtained.
In step S77, the CPU 71 corrects the removal time based on the object interval Dobj. Here, the smaller the object interval Dobj, the shorter the removal time. When the object distance Dobj is small, the temperature of the irradiation area of the processing laser light in the processing object W becomes high. The higher the temperature of the object W to be processed by the irradiation energy density that has already been given, the larger the amount of products generated in the laser processing process. Therefore, if the execution interval of the removal process is long, there is a possibility that the product cannot be completely removed by one removal process. Therefore, it is possible to provide the laser processing apparatus 1 capable of surely removing the product by shortening the removal time and shortening the execution interval of the removal process.

  Further, in step S77, the CPU 71 corrects the removal time according to the quality correction value QT. The quality correction value QT is set in the quality correction table 113 according to the mode of removal quality. If the removal quality mode is “clean 5”, the removal time is set shorter because the quality correction value QT is smaller than in the case of “fast 5”. Thereby, the removal time can be set to a time corresponding to the removal quality mode.

Further, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, although it has been described that there are three removal ranges in FIG. 4, the removal range is not limited to this. In each case, the region irradiated with the removal laser beam in the past may be omitted, and the end of the line segment irradiated with the previous removal laser beam may be set as the start point of the irradiation with the removal laser beam this time. good. Specifically, the CPU 71 stores the start point of the line segment irradiated with the processing laser light after executing step S61 of the removal process. In step S55 executed later, of the removal ranges corresponding to the input values of the removal range pull-down menu 105, the range before the starting point of the processing laser light in the scanning procedure is excluded from the irradiation area of the removal laser light. ..

  Further, in the above description, the number of the laser oscillators 21 is one, and the configuration for performing either one of the laser processing process and the removal process is illustrated, but the configuration is not limited to this configuration. For example, the number of the laser oscillator 21 may be one, and the laser light L emitted from the laser oscillator 21 may be branched into the processing laser light and the removal laser light. In addition to the laser oscillator 21 that emits the processing laser beam, a laser oscillator that emits the removal laser beam may be provided. Further, the removal laser light irradiation period and the processing laser light irradiation period may overlap with each other.

  Further, in the timing determination process, the steps S29 and S31 may be skipped. Further, the removal time may be a value obtained by adding the correction value CT calculated in the correction value calculation process shown in FIG. 12 to the removal time calculated in step S31 of the timing determination process.

  Further, although it has been described that the removal time table 111 and the quality correction table 113 are used to set the removal time, it is also possible to use a function instead of the tables. Specifically, for example, it may be configured to use a function representing the processing condition parameter versus the removal time.

  Further, as the processing target W, the paper coated with the adhesive is illustrated, but the material of the processing target W is not limited.

1 Laser processing device 5 Laser controller 7 PC
12 Laser Light Emitting Section 18 Galvano Scanner 40 Excitation Laser Light Emitting Section 51 Excitation Laser Driver 70 Control Section

Claims (12)

A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser beam;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam of the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The control unit, in the setting process,
The higher the value of the first energy density is large, the predetermined time shorter characteristics and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to set. A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser light;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting section and the scanning section to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The control unit, in the setting process,
The processing Slower scanning speed of the scanning unit in the processing, characteristics and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to set a short predetermined time. A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser beam;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting section and the scanning section to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The control unit, in the setting process,
Features and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to a predetermined time according to the material type of the workpiece. A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser beam;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting section and the scanning section to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The object included in the processing pattern is composed of a contour portion and a filled portion inside the contour portion,
In the processing, the scanning unit scans a plurality of line segments arranged in a predetermined interval in a vertical direction perpendicular to the scanning direction in the scanning direction in order along the scanning direction,
The control unit, in the setting process,
Said predetermined distance is smaller, the predetermined time shorter characteristics and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to set. A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser beam;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam of the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The processing pattern includes a plurality of objects,
The control unit, in the setting process,
Wherein the plurality of higher spacing between objects is small, the predetermined time shorter characteristics and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to set. A laser beam emitting portion for emitting a laser beam,
A scanning unit that scans the laser beam;
And a control unit,
The control unit is
A processing process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam of the first energy density based on a processing pattern;
A first determination process of determining whether or not a removal timing condition is satisfied after the start of the processing process;
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A removal process of controlling the laser beam emitting unit and the scanning unit to irradiate the object to be processed with the laser beam having a second energy density lower than the first energy density, based on the processing pattern. Run and
The control unit is
An accumulation process for accumulating the execution time of the processing process,
Execute the setting process to set the predetermined time,
In the first determination process,
It is determined whether or not the cumulative time accumulated in the cumulative processing exceeds the predetermined time, and when it is determined that the cumulative time exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied,
The control unit, in the setting process,
The processing pattern according to the type of object included in the setting characteristics and, Relais chromatography The processing apparatus to a predetermined time. The removal process has a plurality of modes in which the predetermined time is different from each other,
The control unit, in the setting process,
Depending on which mode is set among the plurality of modes, the laser machining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that sets the predetermined time. The control unit is
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
A stop process for temporarily stopping the processing process before the removal process is executed;
After execution of the removal process, a laser machining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that to perform a restart process for resuming the processing. The processing pattern is composed of line segments,
The processing is to sequentially scan the line segments,
The control unit is
When it is determined that the removal timing condition is satisfied in the first determination process,
In the processing process, a second determination process is performed to determine whether the line segment is being scanned,
9. The laser processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein when it is determined in the second determination process that the line segment is being scanned, the stop process is executed after the scan of the line segment is completed. The processing pattern is composed of a plurality of objects,
In the removal process,
The region to be irradiated with the laser beam of the second energy density, the laser machining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the one area that includes all of the plurality of objects. The processing pattern is composed of a plurality of objects,
In the removal process,
The region irradiated with the laser beam of the second energy density is a plurality of regions corresponding to the plurality of objects, and each of the plurality of regions is a region including each of the plurality of objects. The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 . In the removal process,
The region to be irradiated with the laser beam of the second energy density, of claims 1 to 9, wherein the laser beam of the first energy density at the processing process is characterized in that a region including a region irradiated The laser processing apparatus according to any one of claims.

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