U.S. patent application number 10/446818 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-02 for multi-head lasers cutting/welding cell with vibration control.
Invention is credited to Schadler, Rickie.
Application Number | 20040238507 10/446818 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33451109 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040238507 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schadler, Rickie |
December 2, 2004 |
MULTI-HEAD LASERS CUTTING/WELDING CELL WITH VIBRATION CONTROL
Abstract
Multiple cutting heads are provided in a single cutting cell
whereby vibrations created in one cutting head is isolated from the
other cutting head(s). Each cutting head is supported by separate
support structures to prevent the transfer of vibration from one
cutting head to another. The multi-head laser cell includes a
series of support structures that are staggered with respect to
each other so that the lasers are isolated from each other. In the
preferred embodiment, each laser cutting head has a dynamic
pre-programmed operating zone to prevent collisions with other
cutting heads. The control system will have the proper
communications needed to coordinate motion used to develop the
dynamic pre-programmed operating zone. Furthermore, the laser
cutting heads preferably have multi-axes motion control; e.g., five
axis motion control.
Inventors: |
Schadler, Rickie;
(Fleetwood, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Liniak, Berenato & White
Ste. 240
6550 Rock Spring Drive
Bethesda
MD
20817
US
|
Family ID: |
33451109 |
Appl. No.: |
10/446818 |
Filed: |
May 29, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
219/121.78 ;
219/121.63 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B23K 26/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
219/121.78 ;
219/121.63 |
International
Class: |
B23K 026/08; B23K
026/20 |
Claims
1. A laser weld apparatus for welding at least one work piece,
comprising: a plurality of laser weld heads configured to movably
project individual laser beams, respectively, onto an area of at
least one work piece; individual support structures separately
supporting each of said plurality of laser weld heads in a single
cell, wherein the individual support structures provide independent
movement of each of said plurality of laser weld heads, wherein
said individual support structures are staggered one with respect
to another to locate said plurality of laser weld heads in said
single cell.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said
individual support structures is a one-sided support structure.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said
individual support structures is a two-sided support structure.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said laser cutting
heads incorporate five-axes motion control.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control
system to prevent interference of each of said plurality of laser
weld heads with said plurality of laser weld heads.
6. A laser cell comprising: a first laser head adapted to project a
first laser beam; a second laser head adapted to project a second
laser beam; a first support structure supporting said first laser
head; and a second support structure supporting said second laser
head, wherein said first and second support structures allow
independent movement of said first and second laser heads, and
wherein said first and second support structures support said first
and second laser heads at different levels whereby said first and
second laser heads have free range of motion without interfering
with each other.
7. The laser cell according to claim 6, wherein at least one of
said first and second support structures is a one-sided support
structure.
8. The laser cell according to claim 6, wherein at least one of
said first and second support structures is a two-sided support
structure.
9. The laser cell according to claim 6, wherein at least one of
said first and second laser heads incorporate five-axes motion
control.
10. The laser cell according to claim 6, further comprising a
control system to prevent interference of each of said first and
second laser heads with each other.
11. The laser cell according to claim 1, further comprising at
least one additional laser head.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a new automated
laser cutting/welding system configured to produce, for example, an
improved welded or cut work piece, such as an automotive body
panel, side rail or structure, and a system and method for the
manufacture thereof that includes an improved laser
cutter/welder.
[0003] 2. Background of the Invention
[0004] In the past, work pieces such as body panels or side rails
for use in the automotive vehicle industry were made by stamping or
drawing the panel from either a single blank of a ductile sheet
metal material, including steel, or from a plurality of such blanks
that were previously welded together.
[0005] The automotive vehicle industry is very competitive with
respect to, among other things, quality, raw material costs, and
manufacturing times required to completely fabricate and assemble a
vehicle. To remain competitive, manufacturers have continuously
expended enormous resources to contain, if not reduce, material
costs by reducing part weight, part count, and manufacturing time
while maintaining the needed high degree of quality. A considerable
amount of such resources have been directed to improving and
automating routine tasks such as the fastening together of various
work pieces and vehicle parts such as, for example, body panels for
fenders, quarter panels, trunk lids, engine compartment hoods,
vehicle doors, and other various components.
[0006] Previously, multi-part sheet metal blanks have been welded
together into a single work piece before being stamped into a final
shape. These blanks were prepared by a variety of fastening
techniques including chemical, arc, and CO.sub.2/Nd:Yag laser
welding, riveting, bolting, cold forming, and similar methods. Of
particular interest in recent years is the use of more efficient
laser welding using CO.sub.2/Nd:Yag lasers in automated,
numerically controlled manufacturing processes. Such laser welding
can be accomplished for joining together sheet metal blanks at a
common seam by means of, for example, a lap weld, or a butt weld.
Butt welds are often preferred because only a single seam needs to
be welded in contrast to lap joint which usually require that two
seams be welded.
[0007] Laser cutting machines of the type to, which the present
invention is directed are well known in the art. In their most
usual form, they comprise an elongated main frame having upstanding
front or operator-side and rear or beam-side portions in
substantially parallel spaced relationship with a cutting zone and
a loading/unloading zone located therebetween. The parallel,
upstanding, main frame portions are generally described as
extending in the directions of the X-axis, while the Y-axis extends
transversely of these main frame portions and the Z-axis is
vertically oriented. The machine is provided with a gantry, the
ends of which are mounted on the upstanding frame members for
movement therealong in the X-axis directions. The gantry carries a
carriage-mounted laser cutting head capable of traversing along the
gantry in the Y-axis direction. Movement of the gantry in the
X-axis directions and movement of the laser head carriage in the
Y-axis directions assure that the laser cutting head can be located
anywhere in the cutting zone of the machine.
[0008] CO.sub.2/Yag laser cutting cells available today primarily
comprises one cutting head; although, some system utilize two
cutting heads mounted to a single structure. When two heads are
mounted on a single structure, vibrational problems arise because
the starting and stopping moments from one cutting head create
vibrations in the other cutting head. This vibration creates
swiggles or irregularities in the cuts created by the vibrating
cutting head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] This invention provides multiple cutting heads in a single
cutting cell whereby vibrations created in one cutting head is
isolated from the other cutting head(s).
[0010] The invention is a laser cutting cell having more than one
cutting head in the cell, whereby each cutting head is supported by
separate support structures to prevent the transfer of vibration
from one cutting head to another. The multi-head laser cell
includes a series of support structures that are staggered/stacked
with respect to each other so that the lasers are isolated from
each other. The x-direction rails and laser guides are mounted in
staggered heights.
[0011] In the preferred embodiment, each laser cutting head has a
pre-programmed dynamic operating zone to prevent collisions with
other cutting heads. Furthermore, the laser cutting heads
preferably have multi-axes motion control; e.g., five axis motion
control.
[0012] These and other benefits of the present invention will
become apparent with reference to the following drawings and
associated written description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing multi-head
laser cell including a series of one-sided support structures that
are staggered with respect to each other.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an alternate
multi-head laser cell including a series of two-sided support
structures that are staggered with respect to each other.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] This invention is a stacked, staggered series of gantry
supports, having a laser and laser delivery system mounted to
corresponding numerically controlled carriages. The gantry and
carriage assemblies are of such construction and strength to
support a high powered laser typically used in the automotive
industry. The gantry is provided with means to rapidly transport
the laser and laser delivery system, about the gantry, allowing the
laser delivery system to provide a laser beam to any x, y, z
coordinate within the workcell of the gantry. The gantry may have a
numerical control console that directs the movement of the carriage
and laser delivery system, such that the gantry can perform
preprogrammed manufacturing methods on various workpieces.
[0016] Referring to the drawings more particularily by reference
numbers, FIG. 1 shows a series (i.e., three shown in FIG. 1) of
numerically controlled gantry assemblies having X, Y and Z
coordinates as indicated. The gantry assemblies are supported on a
single side as described below and the assemblies can be controlled
by a conventional numerically controlled system as known by those
of skill in the art. The gantry assemblies each have an x-beam 10a,
10b, 10c attached to a respective end beam 12a, 12b, 12c which are
respectively supported by a plurality of support posts 14a, 14b,
14c that elevate the end beams 12a, 12b, 12c and x-beams 10a, 10b,
10c above a workcell 20. The support posts 14a, 14b, 14c, x-beams
10a, 10b, 10c and end beams 12a, 12b, 12c are made from a high
strength material of sufficient dimension to provide a rigid
structure.
[0017] Resting essentially perpendicular to the X-beams 10a, 10b,
10c are respective Y-frames 16a, 16b, 16c. The Y-frames 16a, 16b,
16c have respective X-drive mechanisms (not shown) that
independently move the Y-frames 16a, 16b, 16c along the X-axis of
the gantry assemblies. The X-axis drive mechanisms may be a rack
and pinion drive as shown in FIG. 1, where electric motors drive
spur gears along racks that are located along grooves `g` in the
x-beams 10 a, 10b, 10c or in any other manner know to those of
skill in the art--taking into account the other aspects of the
instant invention set forth herein. The X-axis drive mechanisms and
associated control provides accurate location of the Y-frames 16a,
16b, 16c as they independently move along the X-axis of the gantry
assemblies.
[0018] In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the multi-head
laser cell includes a series of two-sided support structures that
are staggered with respect to each other, whereby the X-axis drive
mechanisms may be a track drive system as shown in FIG. 2, where
electric motors drive a rolling treads 40 along tracks 50 that are
located along the x-beams 110a, 110b, 110 c or in any other manner
know to those of skill in the art--taking into account the other
aspects of the instant invention set forth herein.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a series (i.e., three shown in FIG. 1) of
numerically controlled gantry assemblies having X, Y and Z
coordinates as indicated. The gantry assemblies are supported on
two opposite sides as described below and the assemblies can be
controlled by a conventional numerically controlled system as known
by those of skill in the art. The gantry assemblies each have
x-beams 110a, 110b, 110c attached to a respective end beam 112a,
112b, 112c which are respectively supported by a plurality of
support posts 114a, 114b, 114c that elevate the end beams 112a,
112b, 112c and x-beams 110a, 110b, 110c above a workcell 120. The
support posts 114a, 114b, 114c, x-beams 110a, 110b, 110c and end
beams 112a, 112b, 112c are made from a high strength material of
sufficient dimension to provide a rigid structure.
[0020] Resting essentially perpendicular to the X-beams 110a, 110b,
110c are respective Y-frames 116a, 116b, 116c. The Y-frames 116a,
116b, 116c have respective X-drive mechanisms that independently
move the Y-frames 116a, 116b, 116c along the X-axis of the gantry
assemblies. The X-axis drive mechanisms and associated control
provides accurate location of the Y-frames 16a, 16b, 16c as they
independently move along the X-axis of the gantry assemblies.
[0021] The X and Y drive mechanisms can be controlled by a
conventional numerical control console (not shown) that provides
input to the mechanism's electric motors in accordance with a
computer program that is loaded into the console. The combination
of drive mechanisms and console allows the carriage to be located
along any series of x, y coordinates in the gantry workcell 12,
120, in accordance with the instructions of the console program, as
is well known in the art.
[0022] Mounted on the carriage 30, 130 is a laser system 40. The
laser delivery system provides a laser beam 42 that is directed to
a workpiece (not shown) disposed in the workcell 12, 120. The laser
delivery system typically utilizes a telescoping tube assembly 35,
135 that houses a mirror arrangement that delivers the laser beam
42 from a source to the area of the workcell 12, 120 or a fiber
optic cable. The laser delivery system is also connected to the
carriage 30. The laser head 40 may receive its laser beam from any
type of laser, be it CO.sub.2, Nd:Yag, or the like.
[0023] From the foregoing description, it will be apparent from
those of skill in the art that this invention provides multiple
cutting heads in a single cutting cell whereby vibrations created
in one cutting head is isolated from the other cutting head(s). The
laser cutting cell has more than one cutting head in the cell,
whereby each cutting head is supported by separate support
structures to prevent the transfer of vibration from one cutting
head to another. The multi-head laser cell includes a series of
support structures that are staggered with respect to each other so
that the lasers are isolated from each other. The x-direction rails
and laser guides are mounted in staggered heights. Moreover, in the
preferred embodiment, each laser cutting head has a dynamic
pre-programmed operating zone to prevent collisions with other
cutting heads.
[0024] While this invention has been shown and described with
reference to a number of embodiments, it will be understood by
those of skill in the art that various changes in form and detail
may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of
this invention.
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