Beam machining head and method for beam machining

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11975402-B2
Application number	US-202118249193-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2021
Priority date	Oct 16, 2020
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

A beam machining head ( 10; 100; 200 ) for beam cutting of a workpiece is provided, having an interface ( 12 ) for an energy beam source ( 14; 14, 201 ) for generating a focused machining energy beam ( 15; 206 ) selected from a particle beam source, a fuel fluid beam source, a plasma beam source and/or a source for electromagnetic radiation; an exit opening ( 16 ) for the machining energy beam bounded by an opening edge ( 18 ); an optical detector unit ( 19 ) for recording at least one image of an electromagnetic radiation ( 17 ) emitted from the workpiece ( 11 ) through the exit opening into the beam machining head ( 10; 100; 200 ) and induced in the workpiece by the machining energy beam; and a monitoring unit ( 30 ) connected in a data-transmitting manner to the optical detector unit for monitoring a positional relationship between a centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the exit opening, wherein the monitoring unit ( 30 ) has: a first determination module for determining at least one position ( 180; 182 ) of the exit opening in the at least one image; a second determination module for determining at least one position ( 170 ) of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation in the at least one image; and a third determination module for determining the positional relationship between the at least one position ( 170 ) of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the at least one position ( 180; 182 ) of the exit opening ( 16 ). A beam machining device and a method for beam cutting are further disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A beam machining head for beam cutting of a workpiece, the beam machining head comprising:
an interface for an energy beam source for generating a focused machining energy beam selected from a particle beam source, a fuel fluid beam source, a plasma beam source and/or a source for electromagnetic radiation;
an exit opening for the machining energy beam bounded by an opening edge;
an optical detector unit for recording at least one image of an electromagnetic radiation emitted from the workpiece through the exit opening into the beam machining head, which is induced in the workpiece by the machining energy beam and is a process light; and
a monitoring unit connected to the optical detector unit in a data-transmitting manner for monitoring a positional relationship between a centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the exit opening;
wherein said monitoring unit includes:
a first determination module for determining at least one position of the exit opening in the at least one image;
a second determination module for determining at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation in the at least one image; and
a third determination module for determining the positional relationship between the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the at least one position of the exit opening;
wherein the second determination module is configured to determine the position of a centre of highest energy density of the emitted radiation as the position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation.

2. The beam machining head according to claim 1 ,
wherein the monitoring unit has a control module for outputting at least one element selected from a signal indicating the determined positional relationship to a display unit;
a signal indicating a determined positional relationship deviating from a predetermined positional relationship; and
a control command, to a control unit, selected from a command to continue machining and a command to stop machining; and
at least one positioning command, to a positioning unit, for setting the positional relationship between the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the at least one position of the exit opening to a predetermined positional relationship.

3. The beam machining head according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first determination module is configured to determine the at least one position of the exit opening in at least two directions; and/or
wherein the first determination module is configured to determine at least one element selected from the at least one position of the opening edge bounding the exit opening and the position of a centre of the exit opening.

4. The beam machining head according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second determination module is configured to determine the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation in at least two directions; and/or
wherein the second determination module is configured to determine the position of a spatial centre of the emitted radiation as the position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation.

5. The beam machining head according to claim 1 , having
an energy beam source provided at the interface for generating a focused machining energy beam; and/or
a positioning unit, connected to the monitoring unit in a data-transmitting manner, for continuously or discontinuously adjusting the positional relationship between the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the at least one position of the exit opening, to a predetermined positional relationship; and/or
an illumination unit for continuous, discontinuous, intermittent and/or stroboscopic illumination of the workpiece through the exit opening or an interface for such an illumination unit.

6. The beam machining head according to claim 1 ,
wherein the exit opening and the optical detector unit are arranged coaxially with respect to a propagation direction of the machining energy beam through the exit opening; and/or,
wherein the optical detector unit is configured to record at least one image of at least a part of an emitted electromagnetic radiation from the workpiece coaxially through the exit opening into the beam machining head with respect to the propagation direction of the machining energy beam through the exit opening; and/or
wherein the exit opening is configured to be circular and/or with a diameter of 0.025 to 10 mm, preferably 0.6 to 8 mm, more preferably 0.8 to 6 mm; and/or
wherein the third determination module and/or the control module is configured for correcting at least one perspective of the at least one image and/or different perspectives of the at least one position of the exit opening and the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation.

7. A beam machining device for beam cutting of a workpiece, for laser machining or plasma beam machining, having a beam machining head according to claim 1 .

8. A method for beam cutting a workpiece, the beam cutting including laser beam machining or plasma beam machining, with a beam machining head comprising:
an interface for an energy beam source for generating a focused machining energy beam selected from a particle beam source, a fuel fluid beam source, a plasma beam source and/or a source for electromagnetic radiation;
an exit opening for the machining energy beam bounded by an opening edge;
an optical detector unit for recording at least one image of an electromagnetic radiation emitted from the workpiece through the exit opening into the beam machining head, which is induced in the workpiece by the machining energy beam and is a process light; and
a monitoring unit connected to the optical detector unit in a data-transmitting manner for monitoring a positional relationship between a centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the exit opening;
wherein said monitoring unit includes:
a first determination module for determining at least one position of the exit opening in the at least one image;
a second determination module for determining at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation in the at least one image; and
a third determination module for determining the positional relationship between the at least one position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and the at least one position of the exit opening;

wherein the second determination module is configured to determine the position of a centre of highest energy density of the emitted radiation as the position of the centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation, the method comprising:
generating a machining energy beam with an energy beam source provided at the interface of the beam machining head for generating a focused machining energy beam selected from a particle beam source, a fuel fluid beam source, a plasma beam source and/or a source for electromagnetic radiation;
irradiating a workpiece with the machining energy beam through the exit opening;
machining the workpiece with the machining energy beam, inducing electromagnetic radiation in the workpiece which is a process light and is emitted at least partially coaxially with the machining energy beam through the exit opening into the beam machining head;
recording at least one image of at least part of the emitted electromagnetic radiation induced in the workpiece by the machining energy beam through the exit opening into the beam machining head with the optical detector unit of the beam machining head; and
monitoring a positional relationship between a centre of the emitted electromagnetic radiation and

Assignees

• Bystronic Laser Ag

Inventors

• Fahrni Christoph
• Kaltenbach Stefan
• Haas Titus
• Luedi Andreas

Classifications

• B23K10/006

  Control circuits therefor · CPC title

• B23K26/042 Primary

  Automatically aligning the laser beam · CPC title

• B23K26/1464

  Supply to, or discharge from, nozzles of media, e.g. gas, powder, wire · CPC title

• B23K26/1462

  Nozzles; Features related to nozzles · CPC title

• B23K26/38

  by boring or cutting · CPC title