LASER OPERATING PROCESS AND LASER DEVICE
First Claim
1. A process for processing and/or joining work pieces by means of laser radiation, with an effective power laser and a pilot target laser that emit an effective laser beam and a pilot laser beam of different wavelengths, with the laser beams of the effective laser beam and of the pilot laser beam being imaged on the work pieces by means of laser optics with randomly selectable beam patterns that are superimposed and identical in terms of position and form, wherein the form of the beam patterns is determined with at least one diffractive optical element (DOE) that is integrated in the laser optics, either with one diffractive optical element being used for the two laser beams and, after the diffractive optical element, the smaller beam cross-section of the pilot laser beam being adjusted to match the larger beam cross-section of the effective laser beam, or with two differently designed diffractive optical elements being used, with one diffractive optical element being associated with each of the two laser beams, with said diffractive optical elements matching the beam cross-section of the pilot laser beam and the beam cross-section of the effective laser beam so that the size of the beam patterns on the work pieces is approximately the same.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device and a process for processing and/or joining work pieces via laser radiation, with an effective power laser and a pilot target laser that emit laser beams of different wavelengths, with the laser beams being directed at the work pieces by laser optics. Regarding the laser beams, by the laser optics that comprise at least one diffractive optical element (DOE) as a masking system, the beam pattern of the pilot target laser is adjusted to match the beam pattern of the effective laser beam. This is accomplished preferably by removing the pilot laser beam from the effective laser beam for part of the path length by dichroic mirrors, and by expanding the diverging pilot laser beam on said part of the path length by deflecting mirrors whose distance from the dichroic mirrors is variable.
-
Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A process for processing and/or joining work pieces by means of laser radiation, with an effective power laser and a pilot target laser that emit an effective laser beam and a pilot laser beam of different wavelengths, with the laser beams of the effective laser beam and of the pilot laser beam being imaged on the work pieces by means of laser optics with randomly selectable beam patterns that are superimposed and identical in terms of position and form, wherein the form of the beam patterns is determined with at least one diffractive optical element (DOE) that is integrated in the laser optics, either with one diffractive optical element being used for the two laser beams and, after the diffractive optical element, the smaller beam cross-section of the pilot laser beam being adjusted to match the larger beam cross-section of the effective laser beam, or with two differently designed diffractive optical elements being used, with one diffractive optical element being associated with each of the two laser beams, with said diffractive optical elements matching the beam cross-section of the pilot laser beam and the beam cross-section of the effective laser beam so that the size of the beam patterns on the work pieces is approximately the same.
- 5. A device for processing and/or joining work pieces by means of laser radiation with an effective power laser and a pilot target laser that emit an effective laser beam and a pilot laser beam of different wavelengths, with laser optics directing the laser beams at the work pieces, and with the laser optics directing the laser beams of the effective laser beam and of the pilot laser beam, imaging said beams on the work pieces with superimposed beam patterns that are identical in terms of position and form, wherein, in order to determine the form of the beam patterns, the laser optics comprise at least one diffractive optical element (DOE) and, in order to determine a uniform size of the beam patterns, a beam expansion system preferably following the diffractive optical element, with the beam expansion system adjusting the size of the beam pattern of the pilot laser beam to match the size of the beam pattern of the effective laser beam.
Specification