JPH058075A - Laser processing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] It is intended to provide a long-life laser processing robot with stable processing accuracy by reducing damage to the arm portion of the robot. In the laser processing robot, at least the outer surface of the arm 18 is formed of a high melting point material 21 such as a ceramic material, so that the outer surface of the arm is melted or erroneously irradiated by laser light or the molten metal adheres. It is possible to reduce damage such as deformation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser processing robot for guiding a laser beam such as a YAG laser transmitted from a laser oscillator to the tip of an arm to perform laser processing such as cutting or welding of a workpiece. ..

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a laser processing robot applied to cutting or welding laser light has been put into practical use. This type of laser processing robot is generally configured as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the arm 1 is supported by a base 2 and has a processing head 3 at its tip. An optical fiber 4 is arranged inside the arm 1, and a condenser lens 5 is arranged inside the processing head 3. A laser oscillator 7 is arranged facing the entrance 6 of the optical fiber 4, and the exit 8 of the optical fiber 4 faces the condenser lens 5.

The laser oscillator 7 is a YAG laser oscillator here, and the wavelength of the laser beam 9 output from the laser oscillator 7 is 1.06 μm (micrometer).

The arm 1 has a joint mechanism 10, and the joint mechanism 10 is driven by a drive motor 11.
The drive motor 11 is controlled by the NC control device 13 via the control line 12.

The arm 1 is generally formed of a steel plate, aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and the joint mechanism 10 which is a part thereof is also the same.

The operation of the laser processing robot configured as described above will be described below.

Laser beam 9 output from laser oscillator 7
Enters the optical fiber 4 through the entrance 6 of the optical fiber 4. The laser beam 9 is transmitted through the optical fiber 4 and then emitted from the emission port 8 of the optical fiber 4.

The laser light 9 emitted from the optical fiber 4 is
It reaches the processing head 3 and enters the condenser lens 5. The laser light 9 is condensed by the condenser lens 5 and is irradiated onto the workpiece 15 arranged on the machining table 14,
The predetermined laser processing such as cutting or welding is performed.

In the laser processing robot having the above structure, the operating conditions of the arm 1 are set in advance by the NC controller 13. Thereby, the arm 1 can perform a predetermined bending motion while irradiating the workpiece 15 with the laser beam 9, and thus the three-dimensional processing of the workpiece 15 can be easily performed.

[0011]

However, as shown in FIG. 6, when the arm outer surface is erroneously irradiated with laser light due to an erroneous setting of the arm operation or an erroneous operation, the outer surface of the arm is melted or deformed. Problem occurs. Also,
As shown in FIG. 7, the molten metal 17 scattered from the processed portion 16
Since the molten metal 17 has a temperature of 1300 ° C. or higher even when adhered to, the melting and deformation of the outer surface of the arm cannot be ignored.

In particular, the joint mechanism 1 which is a part of the arm 1.
If melting or deformation occurs at 0, the operation of the arm is adversely affected, and there are problems such as a reduction in machining accuracy and a reduction in the life of the machining robot.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to obtain a laser machining robot with stable machining accuracy and a long life by reducing damage to the arm portion of the robot. To aim.

[0014]

To achieve this object, in the laser processing robot of the present invention, at least the outer surface of the arm having at least one joint mechanism is made of a high melting point material.

[0015]

In the laser processing robot of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, at least the outer surface of the arm is made of a high melting point material. It is possible to reduce damage such as melting or deformation of the outer surface of the arm caused by the adhered molten metal.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description, the same parts as those of the conventional one will be designated by the same reference numerals.

First, referring to FIG. 1, an outline of the laser processing robot of this embodiment will be described.

That is, the arm 18 is supported by the base 2 and has the processing head 3 at its tip. An optical fiber 4 is arranged inside the arm 18, and a condenser lens 5 is arranged inside the processing head 3.

The arm 18 has a joint mechanism 19,
The joint mechanism 19 is driven by the drive motor 11. The drive motor 11 is controlled by the NC control device 13 via the control line 12.

In particular, the arm 18 has a main body formed of a steel plate 20 as shown in FIG.
It is formed by 1. The outer surface of the joint mechanism 19, which is a part of the arm 18, is formed of the high melting point material 21 as in the case of the arm 18. The high melting point material 21 here is silicon carbide and is formed by thermal spraying. This silicon carbide has a melting point of about 2
400 ℃, the melting point of general steel materials is about 100
It has a high melting point of over 0 ° C.

The operation of the laser processing robot configured as described above will be described below.

Laser light 9 output from the laser oscillator 7
Enters the optical fiber 4 through the entrance 6 of the optical fiber 4. The laser beam 9 is transmitted through the optical fiber 4 and then emitted from the emission port 8 of the optical fiber 4.

The laser light 9 emitted from the optical fiber 4 is
It reaches the processing head 3 and enters the condenser lens 5. The laser light 9 is condensed by the condenser lens 5 and is irradiated onto the workpiece 15 arranged on the machining table 14,
The predetermined laser processing such as cutting or welding is performed.

In the laser processing robot having the above structure, the operating condition of the arm 18 is set in advance by the NC controller 13. Accordingly, the arm 18 can perform a predetermined bending motion while irradiating the workpiece 15 with the laser beam 9, and thus the three-dimensional processing of the workpiece 15 can be easily performed.

As described above, since the outer surface of the arm 18 is formed of the high melting point material 21, the laser beam 9 is erroneously irradiated on the arm 18 as shown in FIG. Even when the temperature reaches a high temperature, the occurrence of melting or deformation of the arm 18 is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional arm 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the molten metal 17 having a temperature of 1300 ° C. or higher is scattered from the processed portion 16 of the workpiece 15 during the laser processing. However, even if the molten metal 17 adheres to the arm 18, the occurrence of damage such as melting of the arm 18 is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional arm 1.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in a laser oscillator, CO ₂
A laser oscillator other than the YAG laser such as a laser can also be used. The laser light transmission mechanism to the arm tip can be transmitted by a combination of reflecting mirrors other than the optical fiber.

As the material used for the body of the arm, aluminum or aluminum alloy can be used other than the steel plate. When selecting a material, it may be determined with reference to its mechanical properties and cost.

As the high melting point material used for the outer surface of the arm, a material having a higher melting point than general steel materials may be used, and metal materials such as tungsten and ceramic materials such as silicon nitride are conceivable. When selecting a material, it may be determined with reference to its mechanical properties and cost.

As means for joining the high melting point material to the outer surface of the arm, in addition to thermal spraying, a plate-like high melting point material may be mechanically joined such as by screwing or may be adhered by an adhesive. When selecting the joining method, it may be determined with reference to the joining strength and cost.

Further, it is possible to form not only the outer surface of the arm but also a part or the whole of the arm constituent member with a high melting point material.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the laser processing robot of the present invention, it is caused by erroneous setting of arm operation, irradiation of laser light due to erroneous operation, and adhesion of molten metal scattered from the processing portion. It is possible to reduce damage such as melting and deformation of the outer surface of the arm. This allows
The industrially significant effect of being able to obtain a long-life laser processing robot with stable processing accuracy is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a laser processing robot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of an arm portion.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an erroneous irradiation state of laser light.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a scattered and adhered state of molten metal.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional laser processing robot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an erroneous irradiation state of laser light in a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a molten metal is scattered and attached in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Processing Head 4 Optical Fiber 7 Laser Oscillator 9 Laser Light 15 Workpiece 18 Arm 19 Joint Mechanism 20 Steel Plate 21 High Melting Point Material

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A laser processing robot that guides laser light transmitted from a laser oscillator to a tip of an arm having at least one joint mechanism to process a workpiece. A laser processing robot whose outer surface is made of a high melting point material.