The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 23, 1981
Filed:
Mar. 30, 1979
Gunter Makosch, Sindelfingen, DE;
Franz Schedewie, Boblingen, DE;
Arno Schmackpfeffer, Boblingen, DE;
Jorg Ziller, Sindelfingen, DE;
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The gaussian energy distribution common to all laser beams is a serious handicap in most laser beam applications for machining material, such as for drilling, welding and the like. This is especially true in welding extremely thin metal sheets, as in the manufacture and assembly of the transducers of modern magnetic disk files. According to the subject invention, a laser beam is directed to a glass cone or axicon which converts the gaussian energy distribution of the laser beam to one more uniform in cross-section. Depending on the distance of the workpiece from the exit side of the axicon, the energy distribution of the radiation impinging onto the workpiece will be either uniform, saddle shaped or annular cross-section. It has been discovered that saddle shaped or annular energy distributions are optimal for welding very thin metal sheets by a laser beam since the heat dissipation in the center of a welding spot is a minimum and that at the periphery of the laser beam depends on the material, size and shape of the workpiece, which parameters can be matched by adjusting the distance between the axicon and the workpiece.