Key Technologies Of Tube Laser Cutting System
Metal tubes are widely used in aircraft manufacturing, engineering machinery, automobile industry, petrochemical industry, agricultural machinery and other industries. Due to different application scenarios, parts of different shapes and sizes need to be processed to meet the needs of different industries. Laser processing technology is particularly suitable for the processing of various metal tubes. Tube laser cutting system has the characteristics of high flexibility and high automation, and can realize the production mode of small batches and multiple varieties of different materials.
Light guide focusing system
The function of the light guide focusing system is to guide the light beam output by the laser generator to the cutting head of the focusing light path. For laser cutting of tubes, to obtain high-quality slits, the focusing spot diameter of the focused beam must be small and the power must be high. This makes the laser generator output low-order modes. When laser cutting tubes, in order to obtain a relatively small beam focusing diameter, the transverse mode order of the laser should be small, preferably the fundamental mode. The cutting head of the laser cutting equipment is equipped with a focusing lens. After the laser beam is focused by the lens, a smaller focusing spot can be obtained, so that high-quality tube cutting can be performed.
Trajectory control of cutting head
In tube cutting, the processed tube belongs to a spatial curved surface with a relatively complex shape. If it is programmed by conventional methods, it will be difficult to process it. This requires the operator to select the correct processing path and appropriate reference points according to the processing requirements, and use the CNC system to record the feed of each axis and the coordinate value of the reference point. Then, through the spatial linear and circular interpolation function of the CNC tube laser cutting system, the coordinate value of the processing process is recorded and the processing program is generated.
Automatic control of laser cutting focal position
How to control the laser cutting focal position is an important factor affecting the cutting quality. One of the key technologies of laser cutting of tubes is to keep the focus perpendicular to the workpiece surface unchanged through automatic measurement and control devices. By integrating the control of the laser focus position with the linear axis (X-Y-Z) of the laser processing system, the movement of the laser cutting head is lighter and more flexible, and the focus position can be known clearly, avoiding the collision of the cutting head with the cutting pipe or other objects during the processing.
Influence of main process parameters
- Influence of optical power
For laser generators with continuous wave output, the size of the laser power will have an important impact on laser cutting. Theoretically, the greater the laser power of the laser cutting pipe equipment, the greater the cutting speed that can be obtained, but combined with the characteristics of the pipe itself, the maximum cutting power is not the best choice. When the cutting power is increased, the laser mode itself also changes, which will affect the focusing of the laser beam. In actual processing, we often choose to obtain the highest power density at the focus when it is less than the maximum power, so as to ensure the efficiency and cutting quality of the entire laser cutting.
- Influence of cutting speed
When laser cutting pipes, the cutting speed must be within a certain range to obtain better cutting quality. If the cutting speed is too slow, too much heat will accumulate on the surface of the pipe, the heat-affected zone will become larger, the slit will become wider, and the discharged hot melt material will burn the surface of the cut, making the surface of the cut rough. When the cutting speed increases, the average slit width of the pipe circumference becomes smaller, and the smaller the diameter of the cut pipe, the more obvious this effect is. As the cutting speed increases, the laser action time is shortened, the total energy absorbed by the pipe decreases, the temperature at the front end of the pipe decreases, and the slit width decreases. If the cutting speed is too fast, the pipe will not be cut through or cut continuously, thus affecting the overall cutting quality.
- Influence of pipe diameter size
When laser cutting pipes, the characteristics of the pipe itself will also have a great impact on the processing process. For example, the size of the round pipe diameter has a significant impact on the processing quality. Through the study of laser cutting of thin-walled seamless steel pipes, it is found that when the laser cutting pipe equipment keeps all process parameters unchanged, the slit width will continue to increase as the pipe diameter continues to increase.
- Type and pressure of auxiliary gas
When cutting non-metallic and some metal pipes, compressed air or inert gas (such as nitrogen) can be used as auxiliary gas, while for most metal pipes, active gas (such as oxygen) can be used. After determining the type of auxiliary gas, it is also very important to determine the pressure of the auxiliary gas. When cutting a pipe with a thin wall thickness at a higher speed, the pressure of the auxiliary gas should be increased to prevent slag from hanging on the cut; when cutting a thicker wall or cutting at a slower speed, the pressure of the auxiliary gas should be appropriately reduced to prevent the pipe from not being cut through or not being cut.
When laser cutting pipes, the position of the beam focus is also very important. The focus position during cutting is generally on the surface of the cutting pipe. When the focus is in a better position, the cutting gap is the smallest, the cutting efficiency is the highest, and the cutting effect is also the best.
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