JP7602982B2 - Laser processing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a laser processing machine.

Patent Document 1 describes a clamping device in a laser processing machine, which is provided with a first clamp and a second clamp that clamp a workpiece on a work table and move in the same direction.
According to this clamping device, the laser processing area of the workpiece on the work table can be easily changed by moving the first clamp and the second clamp.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-318389

A laser processing machine is generally equipped with a pallet on which a standard-length sheet metal piece, for example a so-called 4 x 8 (1219 mm x 2438 mm) can be placed, and the laser processing head moves two-dimensionally so as to be able to process the entire area of the 4 x 8 standard-length sheet metal piece placed on the pallet.
Incidentally, laser processing machines are also widely used to process fixed-length sheet metal, for example, 4×4 (1219 mm×1219 mm), which is half the size of 4×8. Some users mainly use laser processing machines to process fixed-length 4×4 sheet metal, and in many cases, do not process fixed-length 4×8 sheet metal. For this reason, users who mainly process fixed-length 4×4 sheet metal are requesting space-saving laser processing machines.

In response to this demand, a laser processing machine is being considered that, by applying the clamping device described in Patent Document 1, is equipped with a pallet of a size equivalent to a standard 4 x 4 sheet metal as a work table, and the clamping device grasps and moves a standard 4 x 8 sheet metal placed on the pallet, thereby essentially expanding the processing area.
However, when the sheet metal is thin, there is a risk that the part of the sheet metal that protrudes from the pallet will bend significantly under its own weight, causing problems in processing. Therefore, it is desirable for a laser processing machine to be space-saving yet capable of processing large sheet metals.

In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention has the following configurations 1) and 2) .
1) A base part that is installed inside a reference installation area of an installation surface;
a pallet disposed on an upper portion of the base portion and movable in a horizontal first direction between a first position and a second position where a projection area extends outside the reference installation area with respect to the installation surface;
A connection receiving portion provided on the pallet;
a laser processing head that is movably provided inside the upper region of the base portion and that emits a laser beam toward the metal plate placed on the pallet regardless of whether the pallet is in the first position or the second position;
A connection drive unit that moves with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction and can be selectively placed in a connected state or a disconnected state with respect to the connection receiving portion,
The laser processing machine has a connection drive unit that is in the connected state with respect to the connection receiving unit, and moves the pallet in association with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction .
2) a base part that is installed inside a reference installation area of the installation surface;
a pallet disposed on an upper portion of the base portion and movable in a horizontal first direction between a first position and a second position where a projection area extends outside the reference installation area with respect to the installation surface;
a laser processing head that is movably provided inside the upper region of the base portion and emits a laser beam toward the metal plate placed on the pallet regardless of whether the pallet is in the first position or the second position;
The base portion includes a collection box for receiving dross and scrap generated during laser processing, the collection box being located in a position corresponding to a laser processing area by the laser processing head,
The laser processing machine is provided with a guard plate that closes the gap between the pallet and the collection box.
Thus, in one aspect of the present invention, laser processing can be performed on the metal sheet to be processed that is placed on the pallet both when the pallet is in the first position and when the pallet is in the second position moved from the first position. This allows laser processing to be performed on an area of the metal sheet to be processed that is wider than the processing area, compared to when the pallet does not move, making it possible to process a metal sheet that is larger than the processing area and saving space.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to process sheet metal larger than the processing area, thus saving space.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a normal state of a laser processing machine 91 which is an example of a laser processing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the laser processing machine 91 with the pallet 7 in the extended position. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a moving state of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91. As shown in FIG. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams for explaining the position of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91 and the processable area AR1, in which FIG. 4A shows the reference position of the pallet 7 and FIG. 4B shows the protruding position of the pallet 7. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the pallet connection part 6 of the laser processing machine 91 (see FIG. 1), in which FIG. 5(a) shows the normal position, FIG. 5(b) shows the position for moving the pallet 7, and FIG. 5(c) shows the overloaded state. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the collection box 11 provided in the laser processing machine 91. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7A is a first diagram for explaining the operation of the sputter guard device 13 provided in the laser processing machine 91, and shows a state in which the guard plate 134 is in an upright position. FIG. 7B is a second diagram for explaining the sputter guard device 13 provided in the laser processing machine 91, and shows a state in which the guard plate 134 is laid down. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the laser processing machine 91.

(Example)
A laser processing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a laser processing machine 91 (see FIG. 1) of the embodiment.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a normal state of a laser processing machine 91 which is an example of a laser processing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The up, down, left, right, front and rear directions are defined by the directions of the arrows shown in Fig. 1. The left and right direction is defined as a first direction.

The laser processing machine 91 is composed of a base unit 1, a pair of front and rear side frames 2, 3, a carriage unit 5, a pallet 7, a control device 81 including a control unit CT, a laser oscillator 82, and an input unit 83. The input unit 83 is used by the operator to input instructions for the control of the control unit CT, operating conditions, etc.

The base unit 1 is assembled into a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape and placed on a placement surface FL. A box-shaped control device 81 is connected to the base unit 1 and disposed on the right side of the base unit 1.
The side frames 2, 3 are arranged parallel to the front and rear edges of the base portion 1, respectively.
The carriage unit 5 includes a pair of front and rear support columns 51 , 52 , a carriage main body 53 , a laser processing head 55 , and a pallet connecting portion 6 .
The pillars 51, 52 are supported by the side frames 2, 3, respectively, so as to be movable in the left-right direction. The carriage main body 53 is a beam-shaped member that connects the upper ends of the pillars 51, 52 in the front-rear direction. The side frame 2 has a carriage drive unit 21 that moves the pillar 51 in the left-right direction.

The laser processing head 55 is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction by the carriage body 53. The carriage body 53 has a head drive unit 531 that moves the laser processing head 55 in the front-rear direction.
The pallet 7 has a frame 70 , a skid group 71 G consisting of a plurality of skids 71 , and a plurality of free ball bearings 72 .

The frame 70 has a length in the left-right direction that is approximately the same as the combined left-right length of the base unit 1 and the control device 81, and is a flat, rectangular frame-shaped member when viewed from above.
In FIG. 1, the right edge of the frame 70 enters the gap between the control device 81 and a laser oscillator 82 disposed above the control device 81 at a distance.
A plurality of plate-like skids 71, each having an upper edge formed in a sharp sawtooth shape, are arranged side by side on the upper portion of the frame 70, spaced apart in the left-right direction and in an upright position extending in the front-rear direction.
A group of a plurality of skids 71 is referred to as a skid group 71G. In the frame 70, the skid group 71G is provided in an area capable of mounting, for example, a 4×8 (1219 mm×2438 mm) standard-length metal sheet in its entirety.

The frame 70 has a number of free ball bearings 72 between the skids 71 that rise and fall between a lower position and an upper position relative to the height position of the upper end of the skid 71. The free ball bearings 72 can be manually raised and lowered synchronously by a link mechanism (not shown). The free ball bearings 72 can also be raised and lowered synchronously automatically under the control of the control unit CT by the bearing drive unit 721 (see FIG. 3) instead of manually.

The front edge of the frame 70 is provided with multiple clamps (not shown) that grip the metal plate. The multiple clamps grip the metal plate placed on the skid group 71G or supported by multiple free ball bearings 72 under the control of the control unit CT.

The laser oscillator 82 is, for example, a fiber laser oscillator, and generates a laser beam and supplies it to the laser processing head 55. The laser processing head 55 emits the supplied laser beam as a laser beam with an optical axis PL toward the pallet 7 below.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the laser processing machine 91. As shown in Fig. 8, the operations of the carriage driving unit 21, the head driving unit 531, and the laser oscillator 82 are controlled by a control unit CT.
As a result, as shown in Figure 1, the laser processing machine 91 can move the laser processing head 55 two-dimensionally in the forward/backward and left/right directions on the sheet metal placed on the pallet 7 to perform laser processing along the desired processing path.

The lateral movement distance of the carriage unit 5 is the left half of the skid group 71G or a distance slightly larger than the left half of the skid group 71G. This distance is at least the length of one side of a standard-length metal sheet of 4×4 (1219 mm×1219 mm) (corresponding to a distance Lx1 described later).
In this way, the laser processing machine 91 can perform laser processing on the entire area of the 4×4 standard-length metal sheet placed on the pallet 7 .

The position of the pallet 7 located above the base unit 1 and the control device 81 as shown in FIG. 1 is the reference position, which is the first position.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the laser processing machine 91 is movable between a second position, which is a protruding position, and a second position, which is a position obtained by moving the pallet 7 a predetermined distance to the left from the reference position.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91 in a protruding position. Fig. 3 is a schematic front view showing the movement state of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the position of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91 and the laser processing area AR1 which is a processable area, Fig. 4(a) shows the reference position of the pallet 7, and Fig. 4(b) shows the protruding position of the pallet 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the laser processing machine 91 has a linear guide 76 that moves the pallet 7 linearly.
The linear guide 76 includes a long rail 73 and two sliders 74 and 75 that engage with the rail 73 and move along the rail 73 .
In the laser processing machine 91, a pair of rails 73 are attached to the front and rear edges of the lower surface of the frame 70 of the pallet 7 so as to extend in the left-right direction.
The sliders 74 and 75 engaged with the rail 73 are attached to the left half area of the base portion 1 and spaced apart in the left-right direction.
This allows the pallet 7 to move horizontally to the left in the first direction from the reference position relative to the base portion 1, as indicated by the arrow DR3.
The maximum distance that the pallet 7 can move leftward from the reference position is equal to or greater than one side of a 4×4 standard length metal sheet (corresponding to distance L7, described later).

The rails 73 of the linear guides 76 are attached to the frame 70 side of the pallet 7, thereby improving the bending rigidity of the frame 70.
This improves the laser processing accuracy of the laser processing machine 91 .

The position where the pallet 7 has moved the maximum distance to the left is defined as the extended position.
FIG. 2 shows the laser processing machine 91 with the pallet 7 in the extended position.
3, if the installation area of the laser processing machine 91 on the installation surface FL when the pallet 7 is in the reference position is defined as a reference installation area RV1, the base unit 1 is installed within the reference installation area RV1. A protruding projection area RV2, which is a projection area of the protruding part of the pallet 7 onto the installation surface FL, protrudes from the reference installation area RV1. In other words, when nothing other than the laser processing machine 91 is placed on the installation surface FL, the part of the pallet 7 in the protruding position that corresponds to the protruding projection area RV2 protruding from the reference installation area RV1 directly faces the installation surface FL.
The reference installation area RV1 is shown in Figure 3 as a schematic diagram of an area where only the base portion 1 is installed, but it means an area required for installing a laser processing machine 91 including a control device 81 as shown in Figure 1.

2, a first pallet sensor 31 and a second pallet sensor 32 are arranged spaced apart in the left-right direction on the inner surface of the side frame 3 that faces the pallet 7. The first pallet sensor 31 and the second pallet sensor 32 are so-called proximity sensors.
When the pallet 7 is in the reference position, the first pallet sensor 31 and the second pallet sensor 32 are both ON, and when the pallet 7 is in the extended position, the first pallet sensor 31 and the second pallet sensor 32 are both OFF. When the pallet 7 is halfway between the reference position and the extended position, the second pallet sensor 32 is OFF and the first pallet sensor 31 is ON.
Detection signals indicating the ON/OFF states of the first pallet sensor 31 and the second pallet sensor 32 are output to the control unit CT (see FIG. 8).

The side frame 2 has a first pallet locking unit 22 and a second pallet locking unit 23 that prohibit movement and lock the position when the pallet 7 is in the reference position and the extended position. The first pallet locking unit 22 and the second pallet locking unit 23 lock and unlock the pallet 7 to the base unit 1 by, for example, a concave-convex fit caused by the operation of a solenoid.
The operations of the first pallet lock unit 22 and the second pallet lock unit 23 are controlled by the control unit CT (see FIG. 8).

Next, the movement of the pallet 7 and the processing area of the metal sheet W to be processed placed on the pallet 7 will be explained with reference to Figure 4.

In FIG. 4A, a workpiece, for example a 4×8 standard-sized metal plate W, is positioned and placed on a pallet 7 .
As described above, when the pallet 7 is in the reference position, the right side of the pallet 7 of the laser processing machine 91 is inserted between the laser oscillator 82 and the control device 81 (see FIG. 1) located therebelow.

4A, the carriage body 53 moves in the left-right direction through a region of a distance Lx1 as indicated by an arrow DR1, and the laser processing head 55 moves in the front-rear direction through a region of a distance Ly1 relative to the carriage body 53 as indicated by an arrow DR2.
As a result, the laser processing machine 91 has a processable area (processing area) of an area AR1 of distance Lx1 x distance Ly1 indicated by hatching slanting upward to the right, which roughly corresponds to the left half of the pallet 7.

4B, the laser processing machine 91 can move the pallet 7 to the left from the reference position by a maximum distance L7. Distance L7 is shorter than distance Lx1 by distance La. As a result, the processable area AR1 when the pallet 7 is in the reference position becomes area ARW1 at the overhanging position, and overlaps with the processable area AR1 at the overhanging position by a width of distance La in the left-right direction.
In other words, even though the laser processing machine 91 is a space-saving device whose processable area is set to a small area equivalent to a standard 4 x 4 sheet metal, by moving the pallet 7 and processing, the processable area can be relatively expanded, making it possible to process standard 4 x 8 sheet metal.

As shown in Fig. 2, the pallet 7 can be manually moved between the reference position and the extended position with the first pallet locking unit 22 and the second pallet locking unit 23 unlocked. In addition, as will be described next with reference to Fig. 5, the pallet 7 may be moved in synchronization with the movement of the carriage unit 5 by the pallet connecting unit 6.
Figure 5 is a front view showing the pallet connection part 6 of the laser processing machine 91, where Figure 5(a) shows the normal position, Figure 5(b) shows the position for moving the pallet 7, and Figure 5(c) shows the overloaded state.

The pallet connecting portion 6 is composed of a pair of a connecting receiving portion 61 and a connecting driving portion 62 .
The connecting receiving portion 61 is fixed to the frame 70 of the pallet 7. The connecting receiving portion 61 has a base 611 and a column portion 612. As shown in Fig. 5(a) , a receiving surface 613, which is the upper surface of the tip of the column portion 612, is formed as a part of a cylindrical surface centered on a central axis line CL61 extending in the front-rear direction.
The connecting drive unit 62 includes a bracket 621 , a connecting cylinder 622 , a moving column 624 , and a roller 625 .

The bracket 621 is a plate-like member that is fixed to the carriage body 53 and protrudes to the right.
The connecting cylinder 622 is fixed to the bracket 621, and moves a moving column 624 protruding downward from the lower end surface in the up and down direction by its operation. The operation of the connecting cylinder 622 is controlled by the control unit CT (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
5A, the roller 625 rotates about a shaft member 626 extending in the front-rear direction and provided at the lower end of the moving column 624. The radius of the outer circumferential surface of the roller 625 is the same as or slightly smaller than the radius of the receiving surface 613.

When the pallet 7 is not to be moved, as shown in Figure 5 (a), the control unit CT (see Figures 1 and 2) retracts the movable column 624 of the connecting cylinder 622 upward, thereby separating the connecting receiving portion 61 and the connecting driving portion 62.
In this state, the carriage unit 5 moves independently of the pallet 7 without being linked with it.

As shown in Figure 5(b), when the pallet 7 is moved from the reference position to the extended position, and when it is moved from the extended position back to the reference position, the control unit CT (see Figures 1 and 2) pushes the movable column 624 of the connecting cylinder 622 downward, causing the roller 625 to contact the receiving surface 613 or enter the recess of the receiving surface 613 (see arrow DR4). In this state, the carriage unit 5 and the pallet 7 are connected via the pallet connecting unit 6, and the pallet 7 moves integrally in conjunction with the left-right movement of the carriage unit 5.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit CT operates the carriage drive unit 21 to move the carriage unit 5 to the rightmost position. When the carriage unit 5 is in the rightmost position and the pallet 7 is in the reference position, the connection drive unit 62 and the connection receiving unit 61 can be connected.

As shown in FIG. 5B , the control unit CT (see FIG. 1 ) operates the connection cylinder 622 to connect the connection driving portion 62 to the connection receiving portion 61 .
1, the control unit CT operates the first lock cylinder 221 and the second lock cylinder 231 to unlock the pallet 7 and make the pallet 7 movable, and then operates the carriage drive unit 21 to move the carriage unit 5 to the leftmost position. With this movement, the pallet 7 integrated with the carriage unit 5 by the pallet connection unit 6 also moves leftward, and the pallet 7 moves to the extended position.

As shown in FIG. 5(c), the pallet connecting portion 6 is designed to automatically release the connection when the movement resistance of the pallet 7 becomes greater than a predetermined value due to an overload.
The moving column 624 of the connecting drive unit 62 is pushed downward by the air pressure supplied for the operation of the connecting cylinder 622 .
FIG. 5C shows a case where, even if the carriage unit 5 moves, for example, to the right while the pallet connection unit 6 is in the connected state, the pallet 7 does not move for some reason.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the roller 625 rotates along the receiving surface 613 and pushes the moving post 624 itself upward against the air pressure.
Then, the roller 625 climbs over the elevated end of the receiving surface 613 as indicated by the arrow DR5, and the moving post 624 leaves the receiving surface 613.
As a result, the connection between the connection drive portion 62 and the connection receiving portion 61 is released.

As described above, one aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, comprises a base unit 1 (see FIG. 1), a pallet 7 disposed on top of the base unit 1 and movable between a first position and a second position that protrudes from the base unit 1 beyond the first position, and a laser processing head 55 that emits a laser beam toward the pallet 7 regardless of whether the pallet 7 is in the first position or the second position, to perform laser processing on the metal sheet W placed on the pallet 7.

As a result, this embodiment allows for machining of metal sheets W that are larger than the machining area AR1, saving space.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the collection box 11 equipped in the laser processing machine 91. Figure 7A is a first diagram explaining the operation of the spatter guard device 13 equipped in the laser processing machine 91, showing the guard plate 134 in the upright position. Figure 7B is a second diagram explaining the operation of the spatter guard device 13 equipped in the laser processing machine 91, showing the guard plate 134 in the down position.

As shown in Figures 6, 7A, and 7B, a collection box 11 is arranged on the base 1 of the laser processing machine 91 in correspondence with the processing area. The collection box 11 is a box that receives dross and scraps that are generated during laser processing and fall through the gaps between the skids 71, and is arranged below the pallet 7.

The laser processing machine 91 is also provided with a suction device (not shown) that sucks in air. The suction device sucks in air from inside the collection box 11 and exhausts it to the outside through a filter.
By the air suction by this suction device, most of the spatter scattered during laser processing is discharged to the outside through the recovery box 11. However, if the gap G between the pallet 7 and the recovery box 11 is wide open, spatter may fly from the internal space V11 of the recovery box 11 through the gap G to the outside space and adhere to the products, causing defects.
Therefore, the laser processing machine 91 has a pallet guard plate 77 and a sputter guard device 13 so that no large opening is created in the gap G between the pallet 7 and the collection box 11 regardless of whether the pallet 7 is in the reference position or the extended position.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the spatter guard device 13 in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged view showing the same portion when the pallet 7 has returned to the reference position.
6, the pallet 7 is in the extended position. In this state, the gap G between the collection box 11 and the pallet 7 is mostly blocked by the erected guard plate 134 of the spatter guard device 13.
6 and 7A, the pallet 7 has a guard supporter 78 extending downward from the right end in Fig. 7A. The guard supporter 78 extends downward so as to overlap with the upright guard plate 134 in the up-down direction. In the left-right direction, the guard supporter 78 may be in contact with the upright guard plate 134 as shown in Fig. 7A, or may have a small gap therebetween.
The guard supporter 78 is formed from a metal plate material or a rubber plate material.

The sputter guard device 13 includes a guard cylinder 131 , a rod 132 , a fixed plate 133 , a guard plate 134 , a hinge 135 , and a link plate 136 .
The guard cylinder 131 is fixed to the upper part of the shelf board 12 disposed to the right of the base part 1. The guard cylinder 131 moves a rod 132 in and out (see arrow DR6) under the control of the control part CT (see FIG. 1).
One end of a link plate 136 is rotatably connected to the tip of the rod 132, and the other end of the link plate 136 is rotatably connected to a guard plate 134 (see arrow DR7).
As shown in FIG. 7B, the guard plate 134 is rotatable about an axis in the front-rear direction relative to the fixed plate 133 via a hinge 135 (see arrow DR9).
With this configuration, in response to the operation of the guard cylinder 131, the guard plate 134 rotates about the hinge 135 between the upright position shown in FIG. 7A and the prone position shown in FIG. 7B.

As shown in Fig. 7A, when the pallet 7 is in the extended position, the control unit CT (see Fig. 1) operates the guard cylinder 131 to place the guard plate 134 in an upright position, and as shown in Fig. 7B, when the pallet 7 is in the reference position, the control unit CT operates the guard cylinder 131 to place the guard plate 134 in a prone position.
On the other hand, the pallet guard plate 77 is attached to the underside of the frame 70 of the pallet 7 in a position to close the gap G between the pallet 7 and the base part 1 in place of the guard plate 134 when the pallet 7 is in the reference position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit CT operates the guard cylinder 131 (see FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B) to raise and lower the guard plate 134 in accordance with the position of the pallet 7 determined by the detection information from the first pallet sensor 31 and the second pallet sensor 32.

As described above, in one aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the base unit 1 is provided with a collection box 11 corresponding to the laser processing area AR1 (see FIG. 4) in which the laser processing head 55 (see FIG. 4) can operate, and is provided with a pallet guard plate 77 that closes the gap G between the pallet 7 and the collection box 11 when the pallet 7 is in the first position, and a guard plate 134 that closes the gap G when the pallet 7 is in the second position.

As a result, the laser processing machine 91 is less likely to scatter spatter generated by laser processing to the outside, regardless of the position of the pallet 7, and product quality is less likely to deteriorate.

The guard plate 134 is in a prone position when the pallet 7 is in the first position, and stands up to close the gap G when the pallet 7 is in the second position.

Therefore, the guard plate 134 does not interfere with the movement of the pallet 7, and the gap G can be more widely closed when the pallet 7 is in the second position.
As a result, the laser processing machine 91 is less likely to scatter spatter generated by laser processing to the outside regardless of the position of the pallet 7, making it less likely that deterioration in product quality will occur.
Furthermore, the gap G may be closed by the guard plate 134 regardless of whether the pallet 7 is in the first position or the second position.
In this case, the pallet guard plate 77 is not necessary. Also, guard supporters 78 are provided in place of the pallet guard plate 77 at the end of the pallet shown in Fig. 7A and at the position where the pallet guard plate 77 is attached. Also, the guard plate 134 is in a prone position when the pallet 7 is moved, and is raised when the pallet 7 is stopped after the pallet has been moved and positioned.
Also, neither the pallet guard plate 77 nor the guard supporter 78 may be provided, and the gap G may be closed only by the guard plate 134 .
In this case, the guard plate 134 may be rotated between a prone position and an upright position, or the height of the guard plate 134 in the upright position may be set to a height that does not interfere with the pallet 7, or a member made of a flexible material such as a rubber sheet may be attached to the tip of the guard plate 134, and a structure may be created that allows for some interference between the member and the pallet 7, and the guard plate 134 may be fixed in the upright position.

As described above, the laser processing machine 91 is space-saving because it can process sheet metal larger than the processing area. For example, it can process fixed-length sheet metal of 4 x 8 while saving space. The laser processing machine 91 is not limited to processing fixed-length sheet metal of 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 size, but may be capable of processing fixed-length sheet metal of 5 x 10 size in a processing area of 5 x 5, or processing fixed-length sheet metal of 3 x 6 size in a processing area of 3 x 3.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The laser processing machine 91 is not limited to one in which the pallet 7 is locked at two positions, the reference position and the extended position. The pallet 7 may be capable of being locked at three or more positions including the reference position and the extended position, or may be capable of being locked at any position between the reference position and the extended position.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Base 11 Collection box 12 Shelf 13 Spatter guard device 131 Guard cylinder 132 Rod 133 Fixed plate 134 Guard plate 135 Hinge 136 Link plate 2, 3 Side frame 21 Carriage drive section 22 First pallet lock section 221 First lock cylinder 23 Second pallet lock section 231 Second lock cylinder 31 First pallet sensor 32 Second pallet sensor 5 Carriage section 51, 52 Support 53 Carriage main body 531 Head drive section 55 Laser processing head 6 Pallet connection section 61 Connection receiving section 611 Base 612 Pillar section 613 Receiving surface 62 Connection drive section 621 Bracket 622 Connection cylinder 624 Moving pillar 625 Roller 626 Shaft member 7 Pallet 70 Frame 71 Skid 71G Skid group 72 Free ball bearing 721 Bearing drive unit 73 Rail 74, 75 Slider 76 Linear guide 77 Pallet guard plate 78 Guard supporter 81 Control device 82 Laser oscillator 83 Input unit 91 Laser processing machine AR1, ARW1 area (processing area)
CT Control unit FL Installation surface G Gap Lx1, Ly1, L7, La Distance PL Optical axis RV1 Reference installation area RV2 Projection area (projection area)
V11 Space W Sheet metal

Claims (5)

A base part installed inside a reference installation area of the installation surface;
a pallet disposed on an upper portion of the base portion and movable in a horizontal first direction between a first position and a second position where a projection area extends outside the reference installation area with respect to the installation surface;
A connection receiving portion provided on the pallet;
a laser processing head that is movably provided inside the upper region of the base portion and that emits a laser beam toward the metal plate placed on the pallet regardless of whether the pallet is in the first position or the second position;
A connection drive unit that moves with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction and can be selectively placed in a connected state or a disconnected state with respect to the connection receiving portion,
A laser processing machine in which the connection drive portion is in the connected state with respect to the connection receiving portion, and the pallet is moved in association with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction . A base part installed inside a reference installation area of the installation surface;
a pallet disposed on an upper portion of the base portion and movable in a horizontal first direction between a first position and a second position where a projection area extends outside the reference installation area with respect to the installation surface;
a laser processing head that is movably provided inside the upper region of the base portion and emits a laser beam toward the metal plate placed on the pallet regardless of whether the pallet is in the first position or the second position ;
The base portion includes a collection box for receiving dross and scrap generated during laser processing, the collection box corresponding to the laser processing area by the laser processing head,
The laser processing machine includes a guard plate that closes the gap between the pallet and the collection box . A connection receiving portion provided on the pallet;
A connection drive unit that moves with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction and can be selectively placed in a connected state or a disconnected state with respect to the connection receiving portion,
3. The laser processing machine according to claim 2, wherein the connection drive portion is in the connected state with respect to the connection receiving portion to move the pallet in association with the movement of the laser processing head in the first direction. The laser processing machine according to claim 3, further comprising a pallet guard plate that closes the gap when the pallet is in the first position. The laser processing machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the guard plate is in a prone position when the pallet is in the first position, and stands upright to close the gap when the pallet is in the second position.

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