Cutting

In the severing of glass by irradiating it with a laser beam along the line where it is to be severed, the quality and speed of the severing operation are improved by preliminarily scoring the glass along such line.

This disclosure relates to a method of fabricating tubular bodies having at least one closed end by advancing material along a predetermined path of travel in a predetermined direction, forming the material into a tube during its advancement, placing a closure in-line with the advancement of the tube,...     

A method and apparatus are disclosed for removing nuclear fuel from a clad fuel element. The fuel element is power driven past laser beams which simultaneously cut the cladding lengthwise into at least two longitudinal pieces. The axially cut lengths of cladding are then separated, causing the nuclear...     

A device for cutting layers of textile material by means of a thermal cutting beam, such as a laser beam, in which the material is supported on a perforated plate which allows dissipation of any heat imparted thereto. The plate is detachably mounted on vertically adjustable supports which engage the...     

Apparatus for cutting glass tubing transverse to its length comprises a laser, an optical system for directing the laser along a full circumferential line around the tubing without rotating the tubing and means for forming a point of weakness on the circumferential line so that the stress generated by...     

A semi-automatic feed laser apparatus includes a laser beam focused on a workpiece affixed to a pattern template which is urged by the operator against rotatable guide means rotating at a predetermined rate to feed the workpiece smoothly under the laser yet permit manual override of the feeding operation...     

A Photocoagulating scalpel system including a scalpel having a sharp, transparent blade for forming an incision, and a laser optically coupled to the blade for coagulating blood adjacent the incision. Laser radiation is transported to the blade through a low-loss fiberoptic waveguide. The radiation propagates...     

Method and apparatus for cutting tubular material with two separate laser beams having a constant power ratio by using a laser source having a single output beam of random polarization. A beamsplitter is positioned so that the output of a laser source strikes it at a near normal angle of incidence. The...     

A laser knife includes a tubular member adapted to be inserted into the coeloma by being inserted into the forceps channel of an endoscope, a pair of oppositely located laser radiation emitter and acceptor members on the distal end of the tubular member, a laser radiation receiving element disposed on...     

A laser knife comprises a tubular member adapted to be inserted into the coeloma by passing through the forceps channel of an endoscope, a laser radiation emitter and acceptor disposed in opposing relationship with each other on the distal end of the tubular member, a laser radiation transmission member...     

An improved laser-assisted machining process has special application to difficult-to-machine materials such as the titanium alloys and high temperature superalloys. A layer of material to be removed by a cutting tool is made weaker by drilling a series of holes using a pulse laser beam ahead of the cutting...     

Laser cutting apparatus comprises a laser (20), means (24,25) for directing the output beam of the laser on to a workpiece (26), and means such as a quarter-wave plate (27) for producing circular polarization of the laser output beam. The laser may include within its optical cavity an element which produces...     

The present invention relates to a laser machine having a head assembly for processing a workpiece. A lens is disposed in the head assembly for condensing a laser beam and a nozzle is arranged beneath the lens for applying the laser beam to the workpiece. A device is connected in the head assembly for...     

A machine for cutting sheet material by means of a laser beam comprises a table with an opening through which the laser beam passes and, situated under the table below the opening therein which is itself coaxial with the axis of the laser beam, a vessel containing a conical cap to deflect the rays of...     

In a machine for cutting sheet material by means of a laser beam, the sheet material is placed on a support constituted by a container which moves on a table of the machine while rolling on support balls provided on the table. Thus, the work sheet is not directly in contact with the table, which enables...     

A movable guide system for material or cloth cutting out machines which can be easily manipulated and thereby facilitate the rapid filling of orders. The movable guide system employs the rotary arm machine principle, in which a frame extends over a laying table in a portal-like manner, wherein a carriage...     

A cutting apparatus includes a support table mounted for movement toward and away from a workpiece and carrying a mirror which directs a cutting laser beam onto the workpiece. A carrier is rotatably and pivotally mounted on the support table between the mirror and workpiece and supports a conduit discharging...     

The present apparatus for trimming the edges and for cutting holes into three-dimensional hollow work pieces comprises few components and may be easily modified or retooled for use on molded work pieces of different shapes and sizes. For this purpose, the apparatus comprises a support mold 1 having a...     

A laser cutting nozzle for use with a laser cutting apparatus directing a focused beam to a spot on a work piece. The nozzle has a cylindrical body with a conical tip which together have a conically shaped hollow interior with the apex at a small aperture through the tip. The conical hollow interior...     

A method and apparatus for eliminating chipping at the exit surface of a saw blade through material such as wood or the like, the apparatus including a laser source emitting a laser beam which is focused to provide one or more grooves at the surface of the wood in general alignment with the line of cut...     

An automated method of producing stencils is described in which coordinates of points lying on straight or curved lines are determined and recorded in an electronic storage medium. Sequential points determine circular arcs which are transmitted from storage to a cutter used for producing the stencils.

A laser pipe welder/cutter for use where a pipe to be welded or cut cannot be rotated, consisting of a focusing head mounted on a carriage which runs on a track surrounding a hole in a base plate through which a section of pipe to be operated upon can project. The focusing head is arranged to maintain...     

Laser beam monitoring systems include laser-transparent plates set at an angle to the laser beam passing therethrough and light sensor for detecting light reflected from an object on which the laser beam impinges.

A laser machining apparatus includes an optical resonator for generating a laser beam and two polarizers disposed in the form of a V within the optical resonator to linearly polarize the laser beam. The linearly polarized laser beam is focussed on a workpiece for cutting purposes while the workpiece...     

A method of severing fibre from a fell comprises moving a fell in a longitudinal direction and traversing the fell with a laser beam focused onto the fibre adjacent the skin of the fell.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cutting pieces of fabrics of uniform thickness and for stacking these pieces. The method generally includes arranging and maintaining a length of unrolled fabric on a cutting table which comprises a revolving cylinder which rotates so that the...     

A laser apparatus is disclosed comprising a resonator for emitting a laser beam, an assembly for circularly or elliptically polarizing the laser beam emitted from the resonator, a lens assembly for focusing the laser beam from the polarizer to a workpiece with the laser beam from the polarizer to the...     

A method and apparatus for laser cutting sheet material and especially for laser cutting composite sheet material. An inert gas shield, preferably of nitrogen, is provided at the cutting zone to minimize charred edges of the cut material and resulting in an extremely accurate and uniform cut line. The...     

Successively laser cutting configurated openings in the walls of tubular manifold members with a plurality of robots and cooperative fixtures circumferentially around a cutting laser focus, the robots sequentially gripping the tubular members secured in exact orientation and position in the respective...     

A laser cutting machine consisting of a focusing head; an exit nozzle; a joint structure which supports the head; a control unit; a drive device, which is supported by a joint structure and controlled by a control unit to move the head along a specified path in space, whereby a theoretically determined,...     

A laser cutting system comprises a means for controllably delivering sheet material to a laser cutter and automatically removing cut pieces of sheet material and scrap. The sheet material is supported on an inclined bed having longitudinal slots and the means for delivering sheet material comprises an...     

In a laser beam glass cutting method, a glass article to be cut (for example a moulded tumbler having a moil) is maintained at a high temperature below the softening point of the glass and then the glass is repeatedly irradiated with a laser beam along the required cut-off line by rotating the glass....     

A method and apparatus for generating a beam of radiation in which a beam of coherent radiation (2) is fed to a pair of A/O modulators (3,4). The beam is modulated by the modulator (4) in response to a chopped control function which chops between two levels, one of the levels comprising a reference level...     

A laser beam device for cutting a workpiece in which two circularly polarized beams of opposite polarizations and of slightly different frequencies are combined into the cutting beam.

A fused silica glass optical fiber 10 is machined by a pulsed infrared laser beam 20 from a carbon dioxide laser 22 focussed by a germanium lens 24. The beam has a power density of about 70,000 watts per square centimeter at the focussed machining region b and is pulsed at about one pulse per second...     

A laser processing system consists of three dedicated work stations for cutting to length a family of parts such as exhaust pipes. The processing center includes three laser stations each having a laser beam rotator that receives a laser beam and directs it into a cutting plane for processing the products...     

The subject invention relates to an apparatus for selectively intercepting and redirecting a beam from a laser. The apparatus is particularly suited for use in a photocoagulator having an argon laser and a dye laser which are rigidly mounted to a housing. A set of fixed optical elements are provided...     

A device is disclosed for use in a chromatographic system wherein a component of a mixture is partitioned between a liquid phase and an immobile phase. The device comprises at least one strip of a bibulous material. In the chromatographic system the component traverses at least a portion of the strip....     

A device is disclosed for use in a chromatographic system wherein a component of a mixture is paritioned between a liquid phase and an immobile phase. The device is comprised of a chromatographic material. In the chromatographic system the component traverses at least a portion of the chromatographic...     

A laser beam machine comprises stationary guide means, a first table movably mounted on the stationary guide means for moving between two positions, a movable guide means liftably disposed, and a second table movably mounted on the movable guide means for movement between the two positions. The tables...     

Laser apparatus for performing operations on a workpiece (6) comprises a laser source (2) supplying a laser beam (4) which may be focused onto the workpiece (6) by a focusing unit (3). A representation of the surface of the workpiece (6) is generated by sensing means (7) which are associated with a computer...     

A screen plate and plate and method of making a screen plate for the pressure screening of papermaking stock in pressure screening apparatus includes slots which have been cut therethrough by a machining laser beam focused at the inlet side of the plate, to provide slots with nearly straight walls with...     

A cutting press for working plate-shaped workpieces comprises at least one working station in which a workpiece having a working place is supported and in which a part of the workpiece is to be cut out, a device for cutting out the part of the workpiece, and a device for releasing the cutout part of...     

In the context of a device for directing optical rays along a given path comprising a ray deflecting means there is a pivoting ray exit member, which simultaneously pivotally entrains the deflecting mirror and is arranged to pivot with the mirror about a third axis. The ray exit member is able to pivot...     

A high powered beam dump apparatus and method for absorbing the power of a high power laser, while the beam is shuttered off from contact with a workpiece, comprises two principal features. A reflecting cone reflects and spreads the high power laser beam outwardly from the axis of a high power laser...     

A nozzle for laser processing, such as a cutting, the processing allowing a laser beam (A) to be directed towards an article being processed, and whereby the laser beam is supported by a gas flow directed towards the article through the nozzle. According to the invention the nozzle (11) is able to maintain...     

A plurality of different laser oscillators are optically connected through respective first laser beam transmission paths to a corresponding number of machining stations. The first laser beam transmission paths are mutually connected optically through laser beam converters and second laser beam transmission...     

A compound machining apparatus in which a punch press and a movable table device are provided on separate frames, respectively, and a laser oscillator, a laser beam machining head and a tube for guiding a laser beam from the laser oscillator to the laser beam machining head are collectively placed on...     

A screen plate and method of making a screen plate for the pressure screening of papermaking stock in pressure screening apparatus includes slots which have been cut therethrough by a machining laser beam focused at the inlet side of the plate, to provide slots with nearly straight walls with minimum...     

In a photoelectric conversion device manufacturing method which includes at least a step of forming a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer, a transparent or nontransparent layer, or a laminate member composed of transparent and nontransparent layers by patterning with a laser beam, a laser beam which...     

An apparatus for manipulating a tool along a spiral path into a circular or orbital path includes a first shaft and a second shaft in end-to-end relationship. The apparatus includes a slide device interconnecting the adjacent ends of the first and second shafts for allowing the second shaft to move tranversely...     

A laser machining apparatus includes a laser resonator capable of producing a laser beam having a filled-in intensity distribution pattern and a condensing device for converting the beam into a suitable beam to perform an intended machining. A device is provided for regulating phase of the laser beam...     

This invention relates to a high peak power laser sawmill where the material to be cut and sealed is positioned relative to one or more focussed laser beam propagation paths such that said focussed laser beams self-focus into said material forming a hairline cut. The invention has applications in cutting...     

A grass cutting device that establishes an electrically activated energy path at a location proximate to the ground. Alternate energy paths are a hot wire, a discharge path between closely spaced electrodes, and a laser. The grass is cut as the device is moved across the lawn causing the electrically...     

In the present invention, a laser beam is converged upon or in the vicinity of the rear surface of a material to be processed and the pressure of an assist gas is set to be higher than a conventional assist gas pressure. Further, part of the laser beam reflected on the material is extracted through a...     

A laser system having members disposed for rotation and translation and having an X-axis carriage and a Y-axis arm translated on a fixed linear screw and a Z-axis rotation unit including mirrors and pneumatic table providing the capability for three-sided machining of a vehicle chassis.

A method for rolling material between rotating rolls utilizing a lubricant, at least one of the rolls having an anistropic working surface that comprises a topography of smooth bearing areas spaced apart by at least one micron-size groove extending around and along the face of the roll in the general...     

In a laser beam machine comprising: a laser oscillator for generating a laser beam; a machining head for applying the laser beam, as a light spot, to a workpiece mounted on a machining table; and a control unit for controlling the movement of the machining table in an X-Y plane, the laser beam is kept...     

A laser cutting machine in which a laser beam is condensed by a machining lens, and while the laser beam thus condensed is being applied to a workpiece, the laser beam and the workpiece are moved relative to each other, to cut the workpiece, the laser cutting machine comprising optical axis moving means...     

A nozzle assembly for a laser cutting head has a receptacle of insulating material of generally annular cross section with a central passage therethrough. A conductive insert has a body portion of generally annular cross section seated in the receptacle passage and it has a central passage which is threaded....     

A steel rule die set and method for cutting and scoring sheet material in which the male cutting and scoring die has a steel rule with knife and scoring edges secured firmly in a metal face plate having retaining laser cut openings and a complementary female counter plate having a metal plate with laser...     

A teaching tool for programming a laser beam using a robot is provided. The teaching tool includes a sensor which emits a low energy laser beam to be focused on to a predetermined point on a masterwork piece, a photoelectric array associated with the sensor for receiving energization from the laser beam,...     

The present invention provides a complex machine tool wherein the punching center is coincides with the cutting work position so that the range of movement of a workpiece is not subjected to any restriction even during the workpiece cutting work in the same manner as in the workpiece punching work. The...     

A laser beam machining method of processing a machining path having an acute angle in a CNC laser machining apparatus. A numerical control device (CNC) previously reads a machining program, to thereby detect an acute angle not greater than an allowable angle in the machining path. A machining operation...     

Various kinds of raw workpieces are stocked in a stocker. A predetermined kind of the workpiece is selected from the stocker with a lifter so as to move to a loading station. The workpiece is held with a vacuum pad of a loader of a workpiece carrying unit. The workpiece carrying unit is moved to a position...     

In order to make a laser cut in a diamond (1), the diamond (1) is reciprocated transversely, the radiation is focussed onto the bottom of the cut (6) by a stationary focussing lens (4 ), and the radiation is passed to the focussing lens (4) by a mirror (3) which is reciprocated in the same direction...     

An automatic cutting apparatus for cloths is able to designate relevant cloth and so cut the cloth with a laser beam according to characteristics of the cloth under the optimum condition. According to the cutting apparatus, the cloth may be cut by automatically setting the optimum cutting condition upon...     

A laser nozzle has an inner end adapted to be secured to a laser head and an outer end to be disposed adjacent a workpiece. An axial bore extends longitudinally therethrough with an inlet end and an outlet end and provides a passage therethrough for the laser beam and a cutting gas. The bore narrows...     

A filter assembly machine wherein one laser source emits a beam through a dividing device which divides the beam into two secondary beams directed respectively towards a cutting head for cutting a continuous strip into bands connecting double filters to cigarette portions, and towards a piercing device...     

A laser beam generator is mounted stationarily relative to a sheet roll feed mechanism of the type used in roll feed drafting plotters so as to project a laser beam lengthwise of the crossrail of such feed mechanism. A right angle reflecting and focusing assembly is mounted on a carriage moveable along...     

The invention is directed to a pancratic mirror objective system for laser focussing and especially for laser machining apparatus. The pancratic mirror objective system preferably includes a convex paraboloid mirror and an ellipsoid mirror. The ellipsoid mirror can be approximated by a toric or spherical...     

A steel rule die set and method for cutting and scoring sheet material in which the male cutting and scoring die has a steel rule with knife and scoring edges secured firmly in a metal face plate having retaining laser cut openings and a complementary female counter plate having a metal plate with laser...     

A thermal cutting machine, capable of providing a high cutting quality and of avoiding any interference between a cut product and the machining nozzle, comprises a workpiece table (4) for supporting a workpiece (5) to be cut, the workpiece table (4) being capable of moving the workpiece in the X-axis...     

A moving web (1) is severed, after the intended length has been wound up, by fracture mechanical crack propagation starting from perforation cuts introduced by means of a laser system (9-11) into a web material embrittled by cooling (8) at the severance location.

A laser working device for working a workpiece moving in one direction has a converging lens for focusing and directing approximately vertically a laser beam onto the workpiece, a gas injector for injecting and directing an inert gas forwardly with respect to the one direction and toward where the laser...     

Laser machining system including a laser machine, a stack yard for storing pallets, a stacker crane for transferring pallets. Standard pallets and multi-pallets are stored in the stack yard. The standard pallet has a pallet base and plates are piled on the pallet base directly. The multi-pallet comprises...     

Apparatus for the cutting of garment patterns from one or more layers of fabric. A laser capable of producing laser light at an ultraviolet wavelength is utilized to shine light through a pattern, such as a holographic phase filter, and through a lens onto the one or more layers of fabric. The ultraviolet...     

The cutting head is displaceable along a cutting bridge which is in turn displaceable along transversal guidings, so as to be longitudinally and transversally displaceable over a working table in order to cut pieces from flat stock. Said material, or said pieces, respectively, lie on a supporting grate,...     

The present invention relates to a laser cutting process which can easily obtain a fine cut surface without attaching any dross thereto. The laser cutting process comprises the steps of: applying a piercing to a workpiece by irradiating a laser beam toward a focus thereof adjusted onto an upper surface...     

The flat stock (7) to be cut by means of a cutting head (8) rests on a grate of supporting arms (5) which are hinged on a shaft (4). By lowering groups of supporting arms (5) or all present supporting arms, cut pieces or residual skeletons, respectively, can be released and are allowed to drop onto a...     

A laser-machining optical apparatus designed to efficiently work an object through a large area thereof by projecting an image of a mask to the object through a laser beam having a small sectional area and a high energy density. The apparatus has a laser head for oscillating laser light for working the...     

A laser beam machine is provided for irradiating a laser beam onto a workpiece to cut the same. When cutting a workpiece by irradiating a laser beam thereto, stable and reliable corner cutting is carried out according to a machining condition which provides practical effects. It is determined whether...     

A laser cutting machine which invalidates an alarm generated by a distance sensor during piercing, or invalidates said alarm in a first movement after piercing until a movement is made over a predetermined distance, or invalidates said alarm in a block having no movement, or keeps invalidating said alarm...     

A laser ablation apparatus includes a nozzle, disposed through a housing, wherein the nozzle has: (i) a nozzle housing comprised of a bottom surface; (ii) a first orifice defined by the bottom surface; (iii) a second orifice defined by the bottom surface; (iv) a first passageway defined by the nozzle...     

An apparatus for cutting a material having a thickness, T, defined by the distance between a first surface and a second surface of the material. The apparatus comprises an energy source for providing a beam of energy, and directing mirrors for directing the beam of energy from the energy source to a...     

A laser cutting machine which invalidates an alarm generated by a distance sensor during piercing, or invalidates the alarm in a first movement after piercing until a movement is made over a predetermined distance, or invalidates the alarm in a block having no movement, or keeps invalidating the alarm...     

A laser beam machine easily prepares a data bank of machining conditions and also easily creates a machining program from the machining conditions. When a suitable trial machining condition D1 is derived, the trial machining condition D1 is stored in a memory area as the machining condition for a machining...     

In a laser machining apparatus and method according to the present invention, a chip conveyor provided under the machining head parallel to the moving direction of the machining head recovers chips dropping near a movable area of a machining head, the chip tray provided in a section where the chip conveyor...     

A method of cutting non-metallic materials, specifically glass, resides in the heating of the material by an incident beam of radiation being effected to a temperature short of its softening point, with the rate of relative displacement of the beam and of the material, and the region of the heated zone...     

A metal cutting apparatus which comprises a longitudinally moveable gantry and a transversely moveable carriage which is mounted on the gantry. The carriage in turn mounts a laser cutting head and a plasma arc cutting head mounted in a parallel, side-by-side arrangement. The apparatus may thus be programmed...     

A laser cutting machine having a cutting head that is positionable in X-, Y- and Z- directions and which comprises a laser oscillator for supplying a beam via a plurality of mirrors to the cutting head and onto a workpiece mounted on a flat table surface with rising rollers or a retractable rotatable...     

A laser cutting machine having a cutting head that is positionable in X-, Y- and Z-directions and which comprises a laser oscillator for supplying a beam via a plurality of mirrors to the cutting head and onto a workpiece mounted on a flat table surface with rising rollers or a retractable rotatable...     

A machine or making a fiber web such as paper with the fiber web having a running direction in the machine, the machine including a dryer section which removes moisture from the fiber web and a laser cutter assembly disposed adjacent the fiber web that generates a laser beam for cutting the fiber web....     

A laser beam machining system is provided whereby a distribution of flow velocity of an assist gas suited for high-speed cutting is obtained. A nozzle has a nozzle hole for emitting the laser beam and the assist gas therethrough. A helical groove is formed in the inner surface of the nozzle hole. The...     

A laser beam machine capable of easily generating a machining path for cutting. A reading device reads a designation code for the shape of a hole to be cut, a size of the hole, a central position of the hole, and a start position and a final stop position of a front end point of a machining head. A smooth...     

A relative positioning machine has a first panel for supporting a spindle thereon, a second panel for supporting a workpiece, first through fourth support mechanisms by which the first and second panels are tiltably supported for angular movement about an X1 axis, an X2 axis, a Y1 axis, and a Y2 axis,...     

An apparatus for forming an integral three-dimensional object from a plurality of individual laminations includes a cutting surface on which each of the laminations is individually deposited. A concentrated energy source cuts each of the plurality of laminations into a shape required for assembly of...     

An embroidering and laser processing machine including at least one sewing head, one laser head and one laser generator, a work holder mounted on a machine table capable of movement in an X-axis and Y-axis direction according to predetermined movement data, the laser generator being on-off controlled...     

A system for guiding a cutting tool utilizing a beam generator and a platten having a surface which is capable of presenting a pattern. The beam impinging on the platten is discernable. The beam generator is aligned with the cutting portion of the cutting tool such that the beam on the surface of the...     

This apparatus uses laser beams in place of existing standard glass chopper units affixed to resin mix heads. Conventional glass choppers use steel blades that eventually wear out or break, adding to maintenance costs. The laser device operates in a manner that allows one to set the pulse rate for the...