Components of laser cutting machine

Components of laser cutting machine

The laser cutting machine system generally consists of a laser generator, an (external) beam transmission component, a workbench (machine tool), a microcomputer numerical control cabinet, a cooler, and a computer (hardware and software).

1) The main machine part of the machine tool: the machine part of the laser cutting machine, the mechanical part that realizes the movement of the X, Y, and Z axes, including the cutting work platform. It is used to place the workpiece to be cut and can move it correctly and accurately according to the control program, usually driven by a servo motor.

2) Laser generator: a device that generates a laser light source. For the purpose of laser cutting, except for a few occasions using YAG solid-state lasers, most of them use CO2 gas lasers with higher electrical-optical conversion efficiency and higher output power. Because laser cutting requires high beam quality, not all lasers can be used for cutting. The Gaussian mode is suitable for less than 1500W, low-order mode carbon dioxide lasers 100W-3000W, and multimode above 3000W.

3) Outer optical path: Refractive mirror, used to guide the laser in the required direction. In order to prevent the beam path from malfunctioning, all mirrors must be protected by a protective cover, and a clean positive pressure protective gas should be introduced to protect the lens from contamination. A set of lenses with good performance will focus a beam with no divergence angle into an infinitely small spot. Generally, a lens with a focal length of 5.0 inches is used. The 7.5-inch lens is only used for thick materials >12mm.

4) Numerical control system: control the machine tool to realize the movement of X, Y, Z axis, and also control the output power of the laser.

5) Regulated power supply: connected between the laser, CNC machine tool and the power supply system. Mainly play a role in preventing interference from external power grids.

6) Cutting head: It mainly includes parts such as cavity, focusing lens holder, focusing lens, capacitive sensor and auxiliary gas nozzle. The cutting head driving device is used to drive the cutting head to move along the Z axis according to the program, and is composed of a servo motor and a screw or gear and other transmission parts.

7) Operating table: used to control the working process of the entire cutting device.

8) Water chiller: used to cool the laser generator. A laser is a device that converts electrical energy into light energy. For example, the conversion rate of a CO2 gas laser is generally 20%, and the remaining energy is converted into heat. The cooling water takes away the excess heat to keep the laser generator working normally. The chiller also cools the light path mirror and focusing mirror outside the machine tool to ensure a stable beam transmission quality and effectively prevent the lens from being deformed or broken due to excessive temperature.

9) Gas cylinders: Including laser cutting machine working medium gas cylinders and auxiliary gas cylinders, used to supplement the industrial gas for laser oscillation and supply auxiliary gas for the cutting head.

10) Air compressor, air storage tank: provide and store compressed air.

11) Air cooling dryer, filter: used to supply clean and dry air to the laser generator and beam path to keep the path and reflector working normally.

12) Ventilation dust collector: extract the smoke and dust generated during processing, and carry out filtering treatment, so that the exhaust gas discharge meets the environmental protection standards.

13) Slag discharge machine: remove the leftovers and scraps generated during processing.

Laser

CO2 gas laser

Since laser technology was introduced to cut thin metal sheets, CO2 lasers have dominated the market. The CO2 laser light source requires a lot of energy to excite nitrogen molecules to collide with CO2 molecules (laser gas), prompting them to emit photons, and finally form a laser beam that can cut through the metal. The molecular activity in the cavity releases light as well as heat, which requires a cooling system to cool the laser gas. This means that more energy is consumed during the cooling process, further reducing energy efficiency.

fiber-optic laser

The machine using the fiber laser occupies a small area, and the laser light source and cooling system are also smaller; there is no laser gas pipeline, and no lens adjustment is required. A fiber laser light source with a power of 2kw or 3kw only needs 50% of the energy consumption of a 4kw or 6kw CO2 laser light source to achieve the same performance, with faster speed, lower energy consumption and less impact on the environment.

The fiber laser uses solid-state diodes to pump the molecules in the double-clad ytterbium-doped fiber. The stimulated emission of light passes through the fiber core multiple times, and then the laser is output through the transmission fiber to the focusing head for cutting. Since all intermolecular collisions occur in the fiber, no laser gas is needed, so the energy required is greatly reduced-about one-third of the CO2 laser. As the less heat is generated, the volume of the cooler can be reduced accordingly. In short, while achieving the same performance, the overall energy consumption of fiber lasers is 70% lower than that of CO2 lasers.

The MicroVector device uses vectors to describe the path of the laser, making it smoother. The contour edges of the cover film cut by such a laser system are neat and round, smooth, without burrs, and without glue overflow. There will be burrs and glue overflow near the window where it is inevitable to open the window by machining methods such as molds. Such burrs and glue overflow are difficult to remove after bonding and pressing on the pads, which will directly affect the subsequent The quality of the coating. With the MicroVector system, this problem can be solved, because you only need to import the modified CAD data into the MicroVector software system to easily and quickly process the cover film you want to open the window, which will reduce the time and cost. For you to win market competition opportunities. MicroVector equipment integrates CNC technology, laser technology, software technology and other high-tech optoelectronics, with the characteristics of advanced manufacturing technology such as high flexibility, high precision, and high speed, which can enable circuit board manufacturers to be technically, economically, and time-sensitive. Change the traditional processing and delivery methods of flexible boards in terms of upper and autonomy.

Features

1. The advantages of laser cutting FPC.

2. The laser has three main functions in the manufacturing process of flexible circuit boards: FPC profile cutting, covering film windowing, drilling and so on.

3. Directly use CAD data for laser cutting, which is more convenient and quicker, and can greatly shorten the delivery cycle.

4. Do not increase processing difficulty due to complex shapes and tortuous paths.

5. When opening the cover film, the cut out cover film contour edge is neat and round, smooth, without burrs, and without glue overflow. It is inevitable to open the window by machining methods such as molds, and there will be burrs and glue overflow near the window after punching.

6. The processing of flexible board samples often leads to changes in the cover film window due to the customer's need to modify the circuit and the position of the pad. The traditional method requires replacement or modification of the mold. With laser processing, this problem can be solved, because you only need to import the modified CAD data to quickly and easily process the cover film you want to open the window graphics, which will win the market for you in terms of time and cost. Competitive opportunities.

7. The laser processing precision is high, and it is an ideal tool for the forming and processing of flexible circuit boards. The laser can process the material into any shape.

8. In the past mass production, many small parts were formed by pressing with mechanical hard stamping moulds. However, the large loss and long lead time of the hard die method are impractical and costly for the processing and molding of small parts.

CO2 laser cutting technology

YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet crystal) laser is a solid-state laser, which can excite pulsed laser or continuous laser, and the emitted laser has an infrared wavelength of 1.064μm.

FPC UV type

Ultraviolet laser cutting machine is a cutting system that uses ultraviolet laser. It uses the characteristics of ultraviolet light to have higher precision and better cutting effect than traditional long-wavelength cutting machines. The use of high-energy laser sources and precise control of the laser beam can effectively increase the processing speed and obtain more accurate processing results.

Ultraviolet laser cutting machine can precisely cut flexible circuit boards and organic cover films without special pressure and mold fixation. Using galvanometer scanning and linear motor two-dimensional worktable combined movement mode, does not increase the processing difficulty due to complex shapes and tortuous paths.

Industry Application

The application of metal laser cutting machine is very extensive, covering many industries, and it is one of the necessary equipment for many companies, including advertising sign production (these are mainly stainless steel LOGO and logo cutting), sheet metal processing (sheet metal cutting) Metal processing basically includes all metal materials. These are generally bending, polishing, etc., and cutting is the most important process), chassis and cabinet production (in this regard, carbon steel or stainless steel is generally useful, but also mainly folding. Bending and cutting 2 cutting processes), springs (belonging to the finishing process), subway parts, as well as the production of elevator shells, mechanical equipment shells, and kitchen utensils (mostly stainless steel), which surpass lasers The laser cutting machine setting of the company is also involved in the production of the seven-seven-shen-eight spacecraft, which actually involves various aspects. Widely used in sheet metal processing, advertising sign production, high and low voltage electrical cabinet production, mechanical parts, kitchenware, automobiles, machinery, metal crafts, saw blades, electrical parts, glasses industry, springs, circuit boards, electric kettles, medical micro Electronics, hardware, knife measuring tools and other industries.

The application of laser processing technology in the advertising industry mainly includes two working methods: laser cutting and laser engraving.

Laser engraving: It is mainly carried out on the surface of the object, divided into two types: bitmap engraving and vector engraving:

Bitmap engraving: We first carry out the screen processing of the graphics we need to engrave in PHOTOSHOP and convert them into monochrome BMP format, and then open the graphics file in the dedicated laser engraving and cutting software. According to the material we are processing, we can set the appropriate parameters, and then click to run, the laser engraving machine will engrave according to the dot matrix effect produced by the graphic file.

Vector engraving: Use vector software such as Coreldraw, AutoCad, Illustrator, etc. to typesetting and design, and export the graphics to PLT, DXF, AI format, marking machine, and then use the special laser cutting and engraving software to open the graphic file and transfer it to laser engraving Processing in the machine.

In the advertising industry, it is mainly suitable for the processing of wood, two-color boards, plexiglass, colored paper and other materials.

Laser cutting: We can understand it as the separation of edges. For such processing purposes, we should first make the graphics in the form of vector lines in CORELDRAW, AUTOCAD, pneumatic marking machine, and then save the corresponding PLT, DXF format, use the laser cutting machine operating software to open the file, according to our The processed material can be run after setting the parameters such as energy and speed. The laser cutting machine will automatically cut according to the flight path generated by the software after receiving instructions from the computer. For example, the existing laser cutting machine can draw a template according to the computer, and then directly input it into the computer to automatically cut the graphics. Existing laser cutting machines generally have their own hard disk, which can input massive data sources.