Fanuc Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Norio Karube

Mitsuo Manabe

Etsuo Yamazaki

Nobuaki Iehisa

Yasuyuki Morita

Tsutomu Funakubo

Kenji Mitsui

Akira Egawa

Yoshinori Nakata

Kenji Nakahara

Atsushi Watanabe

Akihiro Terada

Yoshiki Fujioka

Mitsuhiro Okuda

Akira Ichinose

Atsushi Mori

Tsuyoshi Nagamine

Gotaro Gamo

Takafumi Murakami

Takeji Arai

Kuniaki Fukaya

Yoichi Sato

Takasi Kuno

Akio Ikesue

Eizo Yamaka

A laser machining apparatus with a simplified laser beam transmitting network. Respective laser beams form laser generators LS&num; to LS&num; divided into groups of G and G are aggregated to fiber-optic cables H and H by confluence devices HC and HC and transmitted to a most upstream laser beam outlet OP The laser beams are further aggregated to a fiber-optic cable H and distributed to a branch fiber-optic cable HH by the laser beam outlet OP and then distributed by laser beam outlet OP to OP to branch fiber-optic cables HH to HH The laser beams distributed to branch fiber-optic cables are focused by the machining tools TL to TL attached to robots RB to RB for laser machining. By controlling output levels of the laser generators with different oscillation wavelengths and different polarization characteristics, blend ratio of the laser beams can be adjusted. Distribution ratios of the laser beams at the laser beam outlets OP to OP are adjustable.

Laser machining apparatus

A plurality of laser generators are provided to be environmentally separated from a machining station, and temperature, humidity, vibration, cleanliness and the like are detected by a sensor, and displayed. When an abnormal environment is detected, machining operation is stopped immediately or after a predetermined time elapsed. The laser generators are grouped according to each machining tool, and fiber-optic cable switching devices FC and FC are arranged for each group. By the switchover of the laser generator, and the selective connection of a fiber-optic cable by using the fiber-optic cable switching device, the degree of freedom in selecting the laser generator and the fiber-optic cable is produced. The degree of freedom is utilized according to the abnormality of the laser generator, the abnormality of the fiber-optic cable, the type of machining work, and the like, by which a machining apparatus in which the occurrence of a partial failure does not lead to long-term shutdown of a manufacturing line can be obtained.

Solid-state laser oscillating device

Laser oscillator

Blower for a gas laser

Laser machining apparatus with head support by angularly movable

Gas laser blower

A laser resonator allows internal optical mirrors to be cleaned easily and minimizes any contamination of the internal optical mirrors. The laser resonator has normally closed cleaning windows disposed immediately in front of output, rear, and folding mirrors for inserting a cleaning instrument therethrough for cleaning these mirrors. A gas inlet discharge tube holder has a discharge tube coupling which interconnects the spaces in parallel discharge tubes for transmitting a laser beam therethrough. The gas inlet discharge tube holder also has a gas flow bypass for bypassing a laser gas that circulates through the discharge tubes. The internal optical mirrors can be cleaned easily with a cleaning instrument inserted through the cleaning windows. As the internal optical mirrors do not need to be removed for cleaning, they and an external optical system are not required to be readjusted for alignment of their optical axes. Any contamination of the internal optical mirrors is minimized because no laser gas flow is caused in the discharge tube coupling.

Laser resonator

There is provided a turbo blower for lasers which is capable of effectively cooling a shaft and bearings thereof. Oil held in a shaft support member is drawn up via an oil inlet port by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of the shaft, and passes through a cooling oil passage extending through the shaft to be discharged from an oil outlet port provided below an upper one of rolling bearings as the bearings. The oil discharged from the outlet port returns via an oil return passage to an oil sump. While passing through the oil return passage, the oil is cooled by a coolant circulating through an coolant passage. Further, part of the oil discharged from the oil outlet port is supplied to the upper one of the bearings for lubrication. On the other hand, part of the oil held within the shaft support member is drawn up along a tapered portion of an oil suction head by the centrifugal force generated by rotation of the oil suction head for lubrication of a corresponding one of the rolling bearings. A large amount of oil flowing through the cooling oil passage can deprive the shaft and the rotor of heat, thereby effectively cooling the bearings as well.

Turbo blower for lasers

A laser discharge tube having electrodes the peeling of which is reduced and a method of manufacturing electrodes of a laser discharge tube by which the peeling of the electrodes is reduced. The electrodes are adhered to the outside periphery of the tube wall of the laser discharge tube. The electrodes contain as components an electric conductive substance, an inorganic binder and boron nitride as a thermal expansion preventing substance for suppressing a coefficient of thermal expansion. When a silica glass tube is used as the laser discharge tube, the laser discharge tube has a coefficient of thermal expansion of +0.5.times.10.sup.-6. When the electrodes are mixed with boron nitride, the electrodes have a coefficient of thermal expansion of +2 to +7.times.10.sup.-6 and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the electrodes can be brought close to the that of the laser discharge tube by mixing boron nitride with the electrodes. Thus, the peeling of the electrodes caused by a difference of the coefficients of thermal expansion can be reduced.

Growing community of inventors

Machida, Japan

Norio Karube